Happy Summer Solstice!
The midwest is neat because it has "Emergency Snow Routes" and somehow 90 degree mornings also. Yes, I know it's summer (first day!), but shut up. The hot hot mornings are at least enough to force you out of your already burning sleeping bag and make you do stuff. Like run to Wally World and slam some OJs and doughnuts! (Did you know that if you sit in one of those little shopping buggy things, people will give you the strangest looks?) We left Wal-Mart feeling like we HAD saved money and lived better so its was greatalicious. Riding was pretty typical until we found Farmington and a White Castle.
None of us had ever been to a White Castle before, but we were pretty sure they served cheap food, so we stopped for a pre-lunch situation. Apparently White Castle's thing is sliders (midget burgers for us non-PC folks) and GRATUITOUS use of the word "crave." Seriously WC, this crave thing is getting pretty craving annoying. Still it was good (I kept it at 2 burgers, Aaron had around 56) and we pressed on.Suddenly the road turned all angry again and we found ourselves up, down, and all over the place on the way to Ste. Genevieve. We made it halfway and consumed our team's 457th and 458th 32oz Gatorades (where I accidentally walked into a furniture place looking for drinks) and pressed onward to town. We found a Save-A-Lot (I got homesick for at least 3 seconds) and totally ate lunch there. After several peanut butter jars, a gallon of Actavia yogurt (I am REGULAR), and a huge muffin, we were ready to go again. We pushed through the hill regions until we hit the Mississippi floodplain, which was gloriously flat and godawfully blazing. I'm pretty sure the heat index was in the severals of hundreds.
Finally we saw the huge bridge spanning the Mississippi in Chester--a pretty significant structure! When we hit the Illinois side, we were greeted with at least forty signs practically yelling that we were in the land of both Lincoln and Popeye.
I hear that Illinois and Indiana quarrel over who has more right to Honest Abe's memory. I hope that one day I too will be famous and awesome enough to have states argue over who had greater influence and connection with me.
North Carolina: Sam Townsend was born and spent 3 of his most formative years here! That was one righteous 2-year birthday party!
Virginia: He was essentially raised and educated here. He even graduated THE UNIVERSITY. We get to have the statue of him!
Nebraska: He had lunch and totally hit the loo here once!
...and so it would go.
Anyway, we met up with my good friend Casey at a park just east of the mighty Missississississippi and she very kindly gave us many homebaked goods, which we dealt with unmercifully. Thanks Casey!!! After our brief rendezvous in Chester, we said our goodbyes once again and hit the road toward Murphysboro.
Like most late afternoon rides, this one felt really long and extra hot (TWSS teehee). We found that Illinois also has some sneaky hills and we were thoroughly angry at them. Still, we finally made it, and soon took shelter in the local Riverside Park. We sat and began preparing our various dinner foods when a large family also joined our shelter for a Father's Day picnic. We discussed our journey and they were very much impressed, apparently enough to give us tons of delicious fresh catfish. We of course ate ourselves silly and continued speaking with some of them.
James eventually went to sleep at a different shelter while Aaron and I continued hanging with the other visitors. Somehow (I don't really know how or when exactly) we found ourselves at the fringe of what can only be described as babymamadrama, and boy was it fierce. We wanted to leave but we really couldn't without completely running away, and these colors don't run. So we slowly packed our stuff while the spat continued in the most vibrant of manners and eventually secured our escape. Whew! Too much real life at one time!
We made it to our 100 degree mosquito infested shelter and went to sleep, the last night with James--and the iPhone so our posts will naturally be less frequent. Don't worry, we aren't dead. It'll be Aaron and me carrying the RLPT torch from here on, so make sure to rage double hard and double awesome for us. Day off in Carbondale tomorrow, Hoowah!
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