11/6/25
Hello from Waterford, Virginia! I am here for about a week with my parents, looking forward to (very low-key) celebrating my birthday the day after tomorrow, on the 8th.
I’ll be sharing photos soon from the scenic train ride here from Chicago, and of course some photos of the homestead here, as well.
But I’m behind on documenting my travels, so today, I’m sharing the splendor of Warrenville, Illinois, about 30 miles (50 km) west of Chicago.
I had visited Warrenville once before, in 2022 during my year of travels. My Warrenville friend Gill had introduced me to her friend Terri, and Terri’s husband Jim, who graciously hosted me for nearly a week back then. This time I was on a bit of a deadline to head east, then south, trying to outrun the chilly fall weather in various regions. So I just stayed for three nights and two full days.
When I was here that first time—in summertime—I found myself enchanted by all the nature preserves surrounding this small city of 15,000. There are beautifully graded and maintained bike baths running through them all. I was doubly impressed when Terri told me that many of these nature preserves had previously been garbage dumps, in decades past. One would never guess it now.
This year, I arrived into town—and later, exited—by way of these paths. I landed in Naperville on the Amtrak Southwest Chief train from Galesburg in the afternoon, which was perfect timing to catch the sunlight through the trees as I pedaled about seven miles (11 km) north to their home. Seeing the paths in the fall season added a new layer of magic to them, and the air temperature was quite pleasant.
The next day, I climbed into the van of my friend Gill and her husband Jeremy, who live nearby, to once again visit the Morton Arboretum, outside of town. The arboretum had some cool displays, including beautiful autumn veggies and an artist’s installation of large sculptures of native animals.
I got a kick out of noticing how color-coordinated I was with the squirrel!
The snail stole the show with its vibrant rainbow coloration. (Both Gill and I identify strongly with rainbows and their colors, so it seemed extra poignant to pose in front of it.)
Terri has volunteered in cat rescue and fostering for many years. I was happy to see that she was fostering two cats during my stay—Angelo and Sasha. Both of them greeted me enthusiastically shortly after I entered their bedroom.
On my third and final morning, I embarked on my bicycle journey to Chicago’s Union Station. The route was to take me 34 miles (55 km) and I hadn’t biked more than about half of that in one day for many months, possibly even years. The route was almost entirely flat, but I secretly worried I might be pretty out of shape, and hoped I would be able to make the journey OK without struggling. Terri generously offered to come and rescue me if I were to get stuck in any way, but fortunately, I biked it all easily, and was thoroughly glad to have undertaken such a scenic ride, along the Illinois Prairie Path. I had made the ride in reverse when I visited them in 2022, but in the fall everything looked totally different.
At one point, I realized I would need a restroom stop. I found a trail map at a resting point with a bench, and it showed that there was a public restroom just about three blocks later.
I searched for it—heading left off the trail onto a neighborhood street—but couldn’t see any sign of it. A suburban father was removing the cobweb decorations from his house since Halloween was over, and I asked him if he knew where the restroom was. He did not, but he very graciously offered that I could use his.
He held back the large dog, and pointed me to the bathroom while his young children looked on.
Upon opening the bathroom door, I was startled and delighted to see a framed image of King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King album cover on the wall.
What are the odds? You never know when and where you might encounter a fellow prog fan. All part of the magic of the journey…
Thus refreshed, I continued my trek toward Chicago.
It remained a beautiful ride until I got into the city, at which point there was a several-mile stretch that felt dicey, along a busy road whose drivers seemed quite unconcerned with the safety of a bicyclist, perhaps especially a slow cyclist towing a wide trailer. Fortunately, the last segment of the ride was calmer, on downtown city streets but somehow with calmer traffic.
The total ride—including a few short breaks—took me almost exactly five hours. Out of an abundance of caution, I had allotted myself seven and a half hours. Therefore, I had about three rather unremarkable hours to sit and chill in the first-class lounge at Union Station. I was surprised and pleased to notice that my legs and body didn’t particularly feel tired, though I also noticed that my mind did feel a bit overextended and sleepy. I dozed off and on until it was time to board just after 6:00 pm.
Photos from that overnight journey from Chicago to Washington, DC in the next post!
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