Update #10 - May 30th, 2001
Niles, MI - 2499 miles

The ride from My. Gilead, Ohio to Niles, MI went okay. The first couple of days I had to deal with rain. I am really glad that the low pressure weather pattern finally moved out of the way. The past couple of days have been pretty well dry and sunny. It is really great to get out of my rain gear for a while.

Near Findlay, Ohio, I stopped to check out the high school that I attended as an exchange student back in 1973. It hadn't changed much except that it seemed a little more run down and smaller than I had remembered. I even had the chance to meet for a while with one of the teachers who taught there when I was there. I found out that two of my favorite teachers had passed away. The high school is to be replaced by a newer building in three years.

In Woodville, Ohio, I got to meet with a pastor friend who I hadn't seen in maybe four years. I had meet him when he was an associate pastor at a church in Oxford, Ohio. We had been corresponding off and on since then and I told him that I would see him again. He has had his own church for the past year and is doing great things.

I have also met some really nice people. In Bowling Green, Ohio, I stayed with the president of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. The group had been a charter member under the Toledo, Ohio affiliate but last October they became seperate and one of the newest affiliates here in the United States. So far, they have built six homes in Wood County and built the last home in three weeks.

In Bryan, Ohio, I got to stay at one of the local Methodist churches for the night. Here in Niles, MI, I'm staying the night with one of my new friends who I had met over the internet. From Niles, I'll be heading northward to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and then riding down into Wisconsin. The farthest west I'll probably go is to Council Bluffs, Iowa.