11 June 2012

Marion KY to Dixon Springs State Park IL 48 miles (TransAm 1,110)

Illinois. The Prairie State. Home of the first franchised McDonald’s. Now this is Gina’s kind of state.

Across the border our TransAmmers rode today. On a ferry, that is, crossing over via the Ohio River. They won’t be spending much time in Illinois, just a couple of days to traverse her tail end. A few stick pins in the map at most.

Today’s campground is extra special, perhaps even a reminder that Kentucky still isn’t all that far away, in that it’s located next door to a correctional facility. Orange jumpsuits and all. In keeping with this colorful theme, Gina and Wendy went to work mixing up a batch of Vodka Oranges (with a splash of cranberry). The girls need their vitamins and I, for one, could use a drink.

You see, life here at the condo can be an interesting affair. The neighbors are all friendly, beyond friendly, really, always asking about one’s comings and goings, like a probation officer checking in on his parolee. It’s good to know you’re being looked-out for, but at the same time, I occasionally wonder if their reach extends a titch too far, like maybe some boundary between normal and just a little bit crazy has been breached and no one notices how odd (or funny) it is besides me. Case in point: someone is tracking – and documenting – the backyard raccoon’s comings and goings on the condo lobby calendar:

I have not a clue as to why. People don’t usually want to know my schedule unless (a) they have something they want me to do or (b) they want to invite me to something. How our backyard Rocky fits into that schema, I’m really not sure. Maybe a pending invitation to the next homeowner’s meeting, at which he will be told that the top of the fence will soon be spray-painted orange, indicating a “no loitering” zone? There are strict rules around here, Rocky, and you can be darn sure somebody’s watching.