10.02 am cdt.

Everything turned out well last night. We made incredible time last night that more than made up for the late start and construction. We arrived in Lake Forest at 1.15 and met up with Amanda shortly thereafter. She was very personable, and extremely helpful in getting us set up for the night. I got the bed, Dan got the floor, and after talking for a bit, I was out cold.

10.30 am cdt. highland park, il.

Suburbia looks the same here as it does outside of Philly and DC. We are sitting in Denny's waiting for our food. I ordered the normal Cheese Omelette, and I have no clue as to what Dan is getting. The biggest suprise so far was the congeniality of our waitress. She introduced herself and asked us how we were doing, and actually meant it. This is something that would never happen on the east coast.

The coffee feels good going down. I've been away from coffee for way too long, but I have decided to start drinking it again for the trip. I need to keep some sort of schedule while on the road, and a morning coffee seems to be the most pragmatic thing to do.