Where in the world is Gary?

In his latest adventure to raise funds for Kinship Partners, Gary Walters and his son, Jackson, are Rollerblading to Washington, D.C.

Check out his progress through Friday: They crossed the Wisconsin/ Illinois border, with miles of empty and reasonably flat road with one big hill and a "rather cool old train bridge." Friday, day nine of the trip, provided the best day so far.

Miles traveled: 39 Thursday and 61 Friday.

Total miles traveled: 486 miles.

Total funds raised: $6,666 in pledges.

Daily destination reached: Ended southwest of Chicago.

Mile musings: "Farm country in this part of Illinois I had never seen since we normally travel by interstate. ... The roads allowed us to get to 30 miles in for the day faster than any other day. ... Until this point every day was hard painful work, and if not for the goal of Kinship I would have quit a long time ago. Today, it actually felt like I could do this. Oh, I know Jackson can do this. Most of the time he is waiting for me. ...

"Not far into what I will call the Bermuda Triangle, we were stopped by a state trooper. I was informed I could not Rollerblade in this area and needed to leave. Yes, I did question this request. It was suggested that Rollerblading is not allowed on any roads ... I was firmly told this was not up for discussion. ... We drove about 10 miles from the Bermuda Triangle, and went back to it."

For more information or to donate, contact Kinship Partners at kinshippartners.org or 829-4606.