CATS 'N DOGS/ ELKHART TO QUAD CITIES, IOWA

9/2/10

   So on Thursday, we loaded Xian up with Happy Traveler, an herbal concoction designed to cut down the anxiety, and it seemed to work a bit better than what we tried previously. But we will all three of us unequivocally say that Route 80 around Joliet, Ill. is the worst road we have ever traveled. Every bridge expansion joint, concrete patch, and pothole conspired to jolt our bodies and minds into oblivion. Happy Traveler would have benefitted all of us. On a bridge in Chicago we gaped in sympathy at a group of people trying to rescue their belongings from a blazing rental van.

It had been raining off and on intermittantly as we went along, breaking long enough for us to have lunch and a game of ball amongst a grove of burr oaks at a rest stop. While Bill stopped to talk with some bikers, it started to rain again, and I ran over to the truck to put up some windows. Now understand,  this is a newish pickup, and I'm not technically savvy with all its bells and whistles. With the rain coming down in buckets at this point, Bill and Xian came racing for the truck. Inadvertantly I had locked the doors again. Picture this: the driver's seat ( with me in it) is moving back and forth, up and down ( and maybe even heating up) as I frantically work the buttons. The windows are raising and lowering, and Bill is still pounding , probably on the door now. FINALLY, I get the doors to unlock, and man and dog pile in, much worse for the wear. The rain lasted most of the day and into the night, which seemed ok to us, who think of rain now as something unique! We pulled into our campsite here in Rock Island, Iowa, in the late afternoon, glad to be staying for more than one day!