Out of Egypt, Into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and I Shake the Dirt From my Sandals as I run

9/9/10

Day 4: Indiana Dunes to Elkhart, IN

     After a few minor complications with getting a bike on a train to the Indiana Dunes from Chicago on the previous day, I had arrived with my friends from Chicago for a farewell camping trip. On the edge of Lake Michigan in Indiana, there happens to be a huge pile of sand, just like in a desert, hence the reference to Egypt in the title. It was from here that I truly stepped out into the vast expanse of land and strangers that separated me from the east coast.

     We spent the night on a moonlit hike to the shoreline over the tallest dune in the park to yet again contemplate the grandeur of our world, this time with the lights of Chicago shining brightly in the distance in a sea of deep blues and blacks. We sat around the campfire and enjoyed each other's company for one last time. The plan was for me to bike to South Bend the next day and for the rest of them to return to Chicago.

     A very cool thing happens when you are on the road in a situation like this. Suddenly, your hierarchy of needs changes, and a great deal of your energy goes into the most basic requirements of survival. All of the problems that usually cloud your head disappear, and you are left with finding food and shelter. It is a cleansing process, and it leaves you as a very simple, genuine person.

     I came into South Bend after a light day of biking and went straight to the Notre Dame Campus. The buildings and landscaping combined to produce one handsome looking university. I did a little bit of exploring and found myself in the main chapel where the choir was rehearsing "Amazing Grace". It was breathtaking.

     I had planned on staying with a guy from Couchsurfing, but when I called him he said he was busy and couldn't help me out. Upon hearing this, I momentarily freaked out and frantically found a bush behind a sign in the main courtyard that I thought I might be able to sleep behind. Luckily for me, he called me back and told me that his friend Stephen would be able to take me and my bike in his pickup truck another 20 miles east to his mansion Elkhart to spend the night. I was not hesitant in the slightest to accept the offer.

     I met the six foot five, two hundred and forty pound middle-aged Stephen and I was a little bit intimidated by him, considering that he was taking me to his mansion in the woods outside of town. Most of what we talked about during the late night ride to Elkhart, and 100% of the advice he had to give me was about making money. He was very driven and success oriented, as am I, although my measure of success is not necessarily measured in dollars.

     I was in utter disbelief when we arrived at his house. I had to have some kind of luck on my side to go from considering sleeping in a bush, to staying in a mansion with two dogs and all the frozen pizza I could eat.

     This Dog's name is Zeus. He is real big and friendly.

     I went to sleep feeling like I had lucked out, but still anxious about the next day, because surely, it could not possibly work out any better than this for me. Or so I thought...