Thursday, July 15, 2010

Day 3 - Springfield, Illinois to Stanton, Missouri

Today was our first full day in the Mustang. It ran like a champ but it does not seem to love the A/C so we did without. That was a hot, sweltering reminder of why I live in the Pacific Northwest. Now for the recap from Adrian...

- Seth!

We rushed through the morning packing and preparing until 10:15 when we hit the road. We chose to take the earlier 1926-1930 route instead of the post-1930 route. The way we went took us through classic Illinois farmland, including an original stretch of roadway from the 1920s. That same stretch had turkey tracks in the concrete, a very famous anomaly. We had a great lunch at the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield. We then traveled through the tiny villages of southern Illinois and crossed the muddy Mississippi River into the "Show-me" state.

Our first "real" trouble on the road was in confusing St. Louis. A combination of vague directions and poor signage made for a nightmare in the gateway to the West. To make matters worse, the temperature was way into the nineties and humid as all get-out. But after that incident, it was smooth riding through the emerald Ozarks, winding through green cliffs and hills. Relief from the heat was welcome as we arrived at our motel in Stanton by the Meramec Caverns--and in fact called the Meramec Caverns Motel. We ended our day calmly at our quaint motel room.

- Adrian

Below: Adrian at the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield, Illinois

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