Made it to the Homeland

My apologizes for the long delay between entries...
All through Illinois and Indiana it has been raining, and there have been very few libraries.
Muscatine to Kewanee
I have been fortunate enough to catch the first rain the area has had in two months. The farmers get mad if I complain about riding in it, because the corn has been doing so bad. The last couple of mornings have consisted of sitting in the corner gas station eating doughnuts, drinking coffee and talking about how many bushels of corn the local farmers think they will get this year. I ended up catching lunch in Cambridge, and ran in the Zimmermans again. (I think they are following me) A woman at the dinner came up to me and asked what I was doing, after I told her she insisted on buying me lunch. I didn't argue to long. I decided to take a short day, and caught "The Wedding crashers" at the local theatre. It was a cool escape from reality. Later on I decided to camp on the outskirts of a Relay for Life fundraiser. It wasn't a good idea. I was kept awake until 1 am by blaring country music and kids screaming, fortunately the rains came and quieted things down.
Kewanee to Cornell
Today was rather uneventful just lots of riding through cornfields and rain. I decided to camp in a Lutheran RV site, and was awaken in the middle of the night by 22 bullets zinging off of a near by sign. I figured I was low enough to the ground that I wouldn't have to worry about any stray shots, and fell back asleep. The next morning I saw a couple of people checking their cars to see if they got hit. Apparently a truck was driving down the road in the middle of the night shooting at random targets. Glad I wasn't one of them.
Cornell to Brook
I ran into AJ again this morning, it is nice to have someone to talk to again. We hit an all you could eat buffet, and had to roll out of the restaurant. Later we hungout with some kids in a pizza parlor and they were telling us about the recent increase in the Mexican population. I find it interesting how some of these farm towns are really struggling to adapt to these new people. Right now it seems as though there is a lot of frustration. We finally made it to Indiana, and were disappointed because there were no signs welcoming us.
Brook to Fletcher
Today is the day I finally got to meet up with my family. Upon seeing me they immediately insisted that I wash my clothes and take a shower. (I can't understand why...) So after spraying me down at the YMCA, and cleaning everything I had brought with me, we went out to dinner. It was great! We stopped at a health food store and a very kind woman(Rosemary) donated a bottle of soap to the cause. Later we camped by a lake and drank good beer.
Fletcher to Monroeville
Today we made our way to the border. After bacon, eggs fried in bacon grease, toast fried in bacon grease, and coffee my mother and I started riding. We got a good 20 miles in and she got to experience how I talk to the cows, and how I wave/talk to everyone I see. My sister Meredith then joined me for a while through the rolling hills of Indiana. We took a stop at the all you could eat pizza hut buffet, and then made our way to Yoder city and rode on Yoder road. (my mother's maiden name). It was quiet exciting. It has been great to be with my family, and I have decided to take a rest day and will resume riding again on Thursday.