Day 35

Day 35 – Wednesday – July 11, 2010

0645 Wake up.  Shower.  Coffee.  Pack.  Load.

0815 Leaving.  It is 67 degrees, cloudy, cool, breezy and nice!

0825 McDs in Macomb

0840 Colchester.  The Scrapbook Nook is still there.  Cool!

 0846 Dang!  I just turned onto 336.  Which means I could’ve been on the bypass this whole time but didn’t realize it.  That’s what happens when your GPS has outdated maps!

0856 Cows

0858 Carthage, IL – Does anyone know what important event happened in this town?  Anyone?  It’s the birthplace of ME!

0920 I am starting to think it may have been worth it to backtrack a little bit and head north towards I-80 after all.  Jo is taking me south through Quincy and Hannibal.  I’m still 30 minutes from Quincy and headed in the wrong direction!

0923 Story on the radio about a Japanese farmer who put pagers on his cows.  He says it only took the cows a week to know that the ringing sound meant that it was time to come in to eat.

0948 Mississippi River and Missouri

0954 Bear Creek.  On the side of the highway is a patriotic family of wooden bear sculptures.

1006 Mark Twain birthplace sign.  Hmm… Haven’t been there yet – I’ve only been to Hannibal where he lived later.

1015 Salt River

1044 Macon, Missouri – Gas, $3.25/gallon.  78 degrees

1055 Sonic

1112 Back on the highway

1125 Mailbox on highway but no houses or roads around.  I wonder who gets mail there.  Maybe a troll living under the bridge?

1133 Horses

1134 Picked up a couple flies while we were at Sonic.  Killed one!  That other fly better watch out…

12:20 p.m. Okay, I think the fly flew out the window.

12:21 p.m. DJ on the radio is talking about what your office décor says about you.  If you display trophies and pictures of yourself with important people, you are motivated and want to excel.  If you have plants and candy, you are a softie (that’s me!), and if your office is neat and tidy, you are OCD.

12:23 p.m. Hamilton, MO.  JCPenney home and museum.  Possible future visit.  I checked the GPS to see how far off the highway it is, and Jo does not have a listing for it.  She does show some Jesse James stuff along our route though.

12:35 p.m. Hey!  Who put a stoplight in the middle of my highway?!

12:44 p.m. Ryan finished his second half-book of the day.  Apparently forgetting his mp3 player has helped him get caught up on his reading.

1:01 p.m. Platte River.  Looks low.

1:07 p.m. On I-29 North.  We’ve never gone this way before.  St. Joseph has a lot more to offer in food choices along 29 than it does on 36.

1:15 p.m. Amazonia, MO

1:24 p.m.  Grr.  That fly is still here after all.

1:37 p.m. Mound City, MO – stop for a potty and stretch break.  Our food selection at this stop is gas station snacks- chips and beef jerky.

2:24 p.m. Iowa

2:25 p.m. Lots of dead trees along the highway.

2:37 p.m. Missouri River.  Nebraska.

2:38 p.m. Spur of the moment stop at the Lewis and Clark Center.

3:35 p.m. Leaving the center.  86 degrees.  I’m glad we stopped.  That was a really nice place.

3:51 p.m. See a train peeking out from behind the trees.

4:21 p.m. Outskirts of Lincoln

4:25 p.m. Skeeter Barnes – what a weird name for a restaurant.

4:30 p.m. Arrive at Shannon’s apartment.

5:02 p.m. Going to dinner at Sam and Louie’s Pizza.  Almost get run over in the roundabout by a crazy Nebraska driver.

6:25 p.m. Back at Shannon’s.  Hang out while the kids watch Disney channel.

9:30 p.m. Bedtime.