ich whaWALKING ROUTE 66

I Was Invited to The City Hall

But I was not allowed to go in.

Day 5, Sunday 7/24

After getting my three and a half winks of sleep in front of the casino, I headed to the Joliet Diner, which opens at 6 AM.

Breakfast was excellent; perfectly cooked sunny side up eggs, raisin toast, and hashbrowns made with sliced potatoes — more like what we call country-fried potatoes in Texas.

When I went to pay the bill, the waiter was staring at my flyer I had handed him earlier. “You’re doing this?” he asked. Yes, I am.

It turns out that the waiter Erubey Salas, was the owner of the restaurant and told me to keep my money; breakfast was on the house. It was the first of countless complimentary meals I would receive over the following six months.

If you’re ever in Joliet, do me a favor and support this great restaurant.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” ~ Mark Twain

Oh, did you know that Joliet is the birthplace of Dairy Queen? Me neither. It’s incredible, the things you learn when you travel.

After snapping some mandatory shots around town, I headed towards Elwood, 9.5 miles away, according to Google, where I planned to spend the night.

I estimated it would be about a four-hour walk, giving me plenty of time to find a place to hunker down for the night once I got there.

Halfway to Elwood, I saw a couple of truck stops and decided to go in and get some rest, which I missed out on the night before. I could also freshen up and recharge my phone, and the two power packs, and maybe get a snack. The corner booth of the restaurant inside turned out to be perfect.

Surprised and Delighted

There is a Subway at the edge of town where I stopped to get dinner and information about where might be a good place to pitch a tent or spread out a sleeping bag under the stars.

The young man who was hanging out with the cashier told me that there is a park with a Gazebo in town; it might the best spot because it is supposed to rain later. He offered me and my buggy a ride to the park if I wanted it. #SurprisedAndDelighted became a theme throughout the journey. But the real surprise was yet to come.

Once I was at the park, I secured my buggy against the rain, even though I was in the gazebo. I wanted to make sure that nothing got soaked overnight as I slept.

As I finished the job and looked around, I was greeted with this. How does it get any better than this?

There is a homeless man in the park

I was sound asleep, but a voice woke me up. A lady was standing near where I was sleeping. My phone said it was 9:30; she wanted to know if I was hungry and had a pork chop, some chips, and a soda for me. I thanked her and told her I didn’t eat any of those things.

A few minutes later, I received a visit from the local law enforcement officer. I told him about y trip and shared my flyer with him.

“Oh, so you’re doing this willingly. You’re not homeless.” No, I am not.

There was a problem, though. The park closes at 10 PM, and I can’t stay there. I asked him if he had any suggestions. He thought for a moment and said he’d be back in a minute.

He talked to the officer who would be replacing him. He agreed that I could stay at the City Hall as long as I am out of there before 6 AM when his shift ends. Oh, and I can only stay in the foyer, I can’t go into the building.

Beggars can’t be choosers; besides, it was more secure and comfortable than the gazebo. I am an early riser, so that wasn’t an issue.

Day 5 Sunday 7/24 (original blog)

I invite you to tag along daily if you’re up to it. I am tagging a few friends who I think will be interested. If you are tagged but don’t want to read my stories daily, just let me know in the comments, and I will not tag you moving forward. If you are reading this and aren’t tagged but would like to come along, let me know so that I can tag you.

Michele Amy Trista Henery Timothy Tim P.G. Sherry Gurpreet Saloni Indra Sharon Tree Linda Britni Desiree Elisabeth Simona Kristin Helen Julia Rosennab Tom Truenorth Agnes Aurora LauraRaduenz Catherine Joe

As always, thank you for reading and responding.

Here are a couple of earlier stories:

Rasheed Hooda is a published author, and a regular contributor and editor for ILLUMINATION, a writers’ community on Medium, where writers support each other.

He is a self-proclaimed weirdo who lives a Freedom Lifestyle and writes about related topics — Travel (a top writer), Personal Growth, Freedom, and entrepreneurship. (Get the Newsletter)

More about me:

An interview by Dr. M Yildiz for ILLUMINATION

Testimonial by other writers.