101407

                                                                   Rochester to Chester and walking, ride to WI

Sunday October 14, 2007

     8:59am  I am leaving the Dorothy Day House. Even though it's drizzling outside. Not rain, sleet nor snow will stop Victor Antonio. I've got my rainsuit on and everything.

 

Next stop is Winona. I'm going to go Highway 14. I have to walk South Broadway. Hopefully somebody will pick me up. If not, I'll just walk it.
                  
     9:18am  I came to the Rico Mex.

 

                  It's cool that they're open. I just walked in and asked to use the restroom. I came and layered down. I'm too layered up for my walk. I was getting hot as hell, even though it was drizzling. I took off my thermal bottoms. Man, I scored me some badass green thermal tights from Troy in Albert Lea. Well, I did do all his laundry. I set aside some items I wanted to somehow acquire and when he finally came home I showed him my work and hit him up. At first he said I couldn't have the thermals, that his dad had given them to him, but once he realized the magnitude of my cleaning he eventually gave them to me.

                   Yesterday when I was walking to Virgil's I found this little heart thing that fits perfectly on my pole. It's awesome.

     9:26am  I left from the Rico Mex. They hooked me up with tacos for the road, awesome.

     9:37am  I just got to Highway 14, turning left. Winona.

     9:42am  I stopped at the Quik Trip on Highyway 14. I'm going to ask for a ride. I don't know.

     9:55am  I came to the Quik Trip to get out of the rain and smoke a cigarette. Kevin just volunteered me a sandwich! I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, man. Thanks a lot.

                   Awesome! That guy just hooked me up with a croissant sandwich! I'm going to start walking. I've got enough fuel.

     10:02am  I left the QT. I'm walking.

     10:14am  I forgot to tell you. I stopped underneath this bridge and put on my rainpants. It's drizzling a little bit harder now. I'm going to smoke some weed down here too.

     10:41am  I came to the 15th Avenue stoplight. I'm going to hold my thumb out for a little bit. It's drizzling still.

                    Oh yeah, before the big railroad my rainjacket I have on my pack fell off. Some other guy walking the other way told me about it. It would've sucked if I lost it.

     10:47am  Mile maker 215.

     10:54am  My Adidas rain pants aren't waterproof anymore, so I had to put my yellow ones on. Damnit, there was nowhere to stop. I suddenly spot this neighborhood they're building right here. I kind of spy a porch of a house I can stand underneath. Like under the stairs.  

     11:07am  I am leaving my porch. It's drizzling a little lighter now. I changed my pants and I'm all waterproof now. The house I found shelter at was over on Tee Time Road SE.

                     Eyota 11 miles, Saint Charles 19, Winona 41.

     11:41am  Mile marker 217.

     11:57am  Passing 50th Avenue SE. Also known as County Road 11. The mile marker is coming up.

     11:58am  Mile marker 218. I'm going to stop and take a leak somewhere.

     12:18pm  Leaving.

                     Shit, I forgot to take a swig of Riovida. I'll do that at my next stop.

                     It stopped drizzling so I layered down. I took my rainsuit off, but now it's cold, brrr.

     12:35pm  219. I'm going to pause here and set my chronometer for this next mile.

                     I am in the town of Chester, MN. Passing the Greenway, I don't know what it is. Some company. "Personal Attention. Positive Results." 6435 Hwy 14.

                     I'm going to stop at the Chester Pump & Munch and ask them how far the next gas station is.

     12:50pm  The next gas station is six miles away. I'm going to walk to that one. This pause messed up my timing on that last mile, oh well.

     12:56pm  Mile marker 220. By Harley Davidson Motorcycles.

     1:00pm  It started drizzling hard again. It was really convenient that that Harley Davidson place had a covered front porch. I doubled back a little bit and took shelter. I need to put my rain pants back on.

     1:16pm  Thank you, Love for giving me that cover right when I needed it. Second time in a row today. It's raining hard now. It's coming down. I'd be getting soaked if I was out there. You know, the only reason I got soaked that night in the woods is because I had my old rain pants on. They used to be waterproof, but they're not at all anymore. I need to get some new ones. I'm still going to keep them around. They're an awesome layer. Now this rain suit that my sister gave me the day I left, remember, we forgot it and had to go back for it, it works like a charm. I'm all dry. Well, also because I'm underneath the Harley Davidson covering, hehe.

 

                   Alright, I'm all loaded up, waterproof and I'm going to keep walking. I just took my last hit of weed. That sucks. I have a lot of resin to scrape though. It's some good quality resin too. All that resin from the weed Troy gave me. It's some good sheet, mang. I also have another pipe to scrape. That dude's pipe that I never got to return to him. I wonder why it went in my bag. Maybe it fell.

     1:21pm  I'm all loaded up and ready to go. I might just walk back to that gas station and ask the girl if I can ask for rides. Well, I am waterproof after all. I should just walk those six miles. Maybe somebody will pick me up.

     1:29pm  Gadzooks! Man, the spirit's got my back today! I took off from the Harley place. It was coming down hard. All of a sudden I see this car pull over for me and started backing up. It was some old couple, so I was a bit confused. I thought, "Hmm, they're going to give me a ride?" They rolled down the window and the lady told me, "You dropped your jacket back there." Oh shit! It happened again! And these people pulled over and told me about it! Man, my bag would've gotten soaked! It got pretty wet already from the walk back to the Harley place. I just repacked it all. I took a picture. I'm real lucky Dave picked me up in Iowa. He hooked me up with the perfect thing I need for my pack. That railroad workers jacket. I got it affixed great now with the sleeves tied together. It's not going to come off again unless I loosen the sleeves. I'm going to load up and walk. I'm waterproof.

                     Oh yeah, when that old couple pulled over and told me I had dropped my jacket I freaked, "That means my bags getting soaked right now! Thank you so much!" and ran back, not caring if they were going to offer me a ride.

     1:48.35pm  Mile marker 221.

     2:04.45pm  Mile marker 222.

     2:06pm  Leaving 222. I'm going to set my chronometer.

                    Maker 223. 16.15 on the last mile. I'm going to chill out and smoke a cigarette.

     2:35pm  Leaving marker 223.

     2:52pm  Mile marker 224. Seventeen minutes on the dot. I'm going to reset my watch and keep going. I'm not going to stop.

                    That last mile it was all windy and I had a couple inclines.

                    Save our water. Save our air. No to ethanol!

                    Six twenty one of this mile. Coming up on a sign that says Eyota, population 1644. Highway 90 to the right.

                    I sacrificed my timing because I stopped and took a picture of all these cows. They saw me walking up and they all started walking to the fence. I turned around and there's a sign that says Rochester 12 miles. I'm going to keep walking. I got pictures of those cows.   

                    The first one I took they were all in the back of the field and they saw me. I took another picture when they all got to the fence.

                    Ha, they're following me now. I took a third picture of the cows. That's funny.

                    Highway 42. Whoa, there's a Quik Trip down there. Let's see if I can ask for rides. Or how far the next gas station is.

     4:40pm  They eventually told me that I couldn't ask for rides at the Quik Trip. Damn, oh well, I guess I'm going to walk the ten miles. I'm going to get back on 14 headed towards Winona.

     5:28pm  I stopped in front of Fast Guys Auto Sales. I drank the rest of my water and I took a shot of Riovida. I even took a hit of resin. Alright, I'm going to take off now.

     5:50pm  Oh man, this guy just pulled over who was going the other way. What was your name, again? Mike Jay.

 

He's going to take me to Wisconsin! I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, man. Thanks.

     6:13pm  Hell yeah, that was awesome! Thank you, Love. Mike had driven by me, turned around and pulled up and asked me, "Do you want to go to Racine, Wisconsin?" I don't have to go to Lolita, or whatever that town is, Winona. I'm getting a ride! He told me about Madison. I've gotta go to Madison. I've heard about Madison. It's another vortex. I can't wait.

     6:30pm  I'm looking in my pocket atlas. Mike's changing out a radiator on his van. He came to his friend's garage. Anyway, I'm looking at a map and Racine is all the way on Lake Michigan, dude. All the way on the other side of Wisconsin. I think it's about seventeen miles South of Milwaukee. I'm going to go to Racine, tell my story there a lot, then I'm going to walk North on 94 to Milwaukee. Then I'm going to head West. I have to go to Madison. I've been told to go there so many times. Then, after Madison I'll head a little South and hit Chicago. Great. It's awesome how everything is working out.

                    First thing I did when I got to the Quik Trip was go in the bathroom and scrape my one-hitter. I've got a little resin ball in my pipe with the cap on it. I'm all resinated. This weed was so good. Troy is my buddy, man. I love Troy to death. Thank you so much, Troy.

     8:15pm  I'm in Wisconsin.

     10:22pm  Mike Jay and I stopped at some rest area and he's going to switch out a whole electrical system on his van.

Next day..