[color=0076a3][b][i]April 16, 2016[/i][/b][/color]
The power went out last night. None of the lights work and the electrical outlets are useless. We may need to pick up a generator and mount it in the back of someone's truck. Then we can fuel it as necessary. This gives us another reason to leave Chicago.

Speaking of leaving Chicago, this morning one of the pseudo-Chicago Street Gangs approached us this morning around 6AM. Corbin was getting ready to do some repairs on his Jeep. These people told us we had to [i]"pay them"[/i] to stay in [i]their[/i] city. I cannot believe the audacity of some people. Whatever happened to helping out your neighbors? This attitude disgusted me before the illness killed everyone and now it is worse. Now, there is no one to stop them. A man needs to stand up to punks like this. Unbelievable.

Seven of these punks showed up. Some of them wielded handguns while others held non-military grade rifles; a few bolt actions, a level action and a pump action shotgun. I tried to reason with this one young man, who may have been twenty years old when Gene Moll rolled up behind me in my HMMWV. Ellis was in the cupola manning the M240 Machine gun. Ellis simply pointed the thing at the [i]leader[/i] and he just about shit bricks.

I tried to explain to him that we meant them no harm and that were about to leave [i]their[/i] city anyway. I pointed to Corbin Chandler and explained he needed to make a few repairs to his truck and we would be gone. The presence of the Machine gun seemed to do the trick. The [i]Party Animals[/i] or whatever they call themselves, backed down and left us alone. We were able to clear out of the city without another incident.

That evening, we made it as far as Davenport, Iowa. Amazingly enough, the power was still on in Davenport. On the East side of the river, Moline, Illinois, the power was out, but on the Iowa side, the lights were on. We checked ourselves into St. Ambrose University. From St. Ambrose, we scouted the area for supplies; grocery stores, Department stores, gun stores and whatever else we could find. We also ran into another group of peopled who have the same plan as we do. They have agreed to link up with us and head west.

So our band of survivors has grown. These are the additions:

Donald McGyver, 41 (Bradford, IL)
Denise McGyver, 38
Donald McGyver Jr. 16
Michelle McGyver, 14
Gary McGyver, 12
Tobias Santana, 33 (Peoria, IL)
Chantel Santana, 34
Randall Santana, 14
Fedor Bakara, 28 (Lansging, MI)
Babette Fadil, 27 (Lansing, MI)
Son Zhang, 33 (Chicago, IL)
Samantha Zhang, 31 (Chicago, IL)

The McGyvers are driving in a Sundance Motorhome.  I suggested to Don McGyver that he get something smaller, but he seems to enjoy the comfort of the RV. I'll keep an eye on him. The Santanas are driving in a Ford Mutang and the couple from Michigan are both riding Harley Davidson Motorcycles. The Chinese couple from Chicago are driving a Toyota Highlander.

We agreed to spend a few more days in Davenport. It appears to be considerably safer here than it was in Chicago.

Let's see what the next few days bring.