Madison, Wisconsin

William (Fluitt) dropped me off on the south side of Madison (Verona Road & Beltline Highway) yesterday at about 4:30. I then called my friend Jeff, who was driving back to Madison from Minnesota, to see where he was; he was approaching Madison. I told Jeff I would start walking toward his apartment if he would tell me where to go, so he said to head up Midvale Boulevard northbound. He said if I reach University Avenue before he finds me, take a left. I ended up three miles up the road, at University Avenue, when Jeff finally caught up with me. We then headed to his apartment in Middleton.

I took a shower shortly after arriving at Jeff's place. That was a welcome experience.

Before long Jeff and his friend/roommate Don MacKay were talking about going to see a movie. Jeff also did some coordinating with his friend Kevin Hagel so the three of us could meet him, get something to eat, and watch Live Free or Die Hard. We ate dinner at a place called Noodles & Company. (Thanks, Jeff and Don.) My pasta entree was very tasty; unfortunately we had to eat very quickly to make it to the movie on time.

There were some things I thought were annoying about the movie, but it was good. (Thanks, Kevin, for buying my ticket.) The great thing is that the writer(s) clearly had a statement to make about the incompetency of the Bush administration. It wasn't blatant Bush bashing; it actually required the viewer to think a little bit and to have an understanding of what's going on in the world.

The plan for today was to meet back up with William late this morning and ride with him to Texas. However, when William called to let me know what time he would be coming back through Madison, he said there was a change of plans. Instead of taking a load to Texas, he is now going to Michigan. Although I'd like to go to Michigan, I've already backtracked quite a bit on my journey out west, so I let him know I'd have to make new plans. That kind of sucks because I was looking forward to riding a little while longer with William. But it kind of doesn't suck, too, because it gives me another day to hang out with Jeff and it keeps me on the northern route I had been hoping to follow west.

Madison is very pretty. In fact, all of southwest Wisconsin is very pretty. I hadn't been in Wisconsin in many years, and I never realized how hilly and pretty it is up here. Iowa is actually pretty nice, too. The weather was gorgeous here yesterday.

It's been several nights since I've had anywhere near enough sleep. Even last night I was unable to get even close to enough sleep because I thought I needed to prepare for the next ride with William. Last time I had a full night's sleep was at Jay's place about a week ago. Since then I have averaged maybe 3.5 hours of sleep per night (over six nights). That adds up. (Jay, did I leave my soap container at your place? I don't seem to have it anymore, but I thought I had everything when I packed up.)

The Mississippi is not very wide where it passes by Dubuque. That felt kind of weird because it is very wide in St. Louis, where I crossed it the other day. Near Dubuque it is even narrower than the Ohio River. I guess it's because Dubuque is reasonably close to where the Mississippi begins, so there is simply not as much water.

I intend to obey my two night rule and leave Jeff's place tomorrow, probably heading toward Minnesota from here and continuing west across the northern states. San Francisco is probably the place I most want to reach on this leg, but I also think I'll spend a lot of time in Oregon and Washington and possibly the mountain states, too. I don't know; we'll see.

I wonder where Ronnie and John are now.

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