Crossing the Mississippi

Sat June 9 - Leaving Indiana early, we crossed into Illinois. Still saw lots and lots of farmland, rolling hills and fields of corn, soy and other crops. We crossed our first time zone line into Central Time (a bit disappointed that there was no marker or indication of it.) We stopped at a Tourist Information Center just inside Illinois and talked with the agent there. Her name was Molly, and she was a hoot! So friendly and helpful, she let me behind the counter to take a picture of the white squirrel poster - Olney, IL, the home of a population of white squirrels (albino grey squirrels) that are protected (they have the right of way in traffic) as well as celebrated. She also gave us a bottle from Route 66 Beer (root beer) since we were near the beginning of the historic Route 66. That was especially meaningful, since we'll be living near the other end of Route 66 in California! She talked our ear off before we were able to leave, but was just so nice, we felt very welcome. Other major events for us were spotting the world's largest catsup bottle and world's largest free-standing cross (Collinsville and Effingham, respectively.)

We took a slight detour through St. Louis to get a peek at the Gateway Arch - Lil' BC tried to jump into the Mississippi while Carol was shooting the picture - guess he doesn't appreciate the fact our car's AC doesn't work - it's getting a bit warm. We continued through Missouri, and stopped at another Tourist Information center. This time, we found an older gentleman who was, oddly enough, an avid Red Sox fan! (small world, eh?) He regaled us with stories of trips to Boston with his grandkids - wonder if talkativeness is a requirement for the Tourist Centers? He was fun, though.

We arrived in Kansas City, MO about dinner time (today's drive was one of our longest for the trip) and were treated to - of course - barbecue! We crossed over into Kansas to a place called Brobeck's for some of the best baby back ribs and burnt ends (BBQ beef brisket) we'd ever had. We topped off the evening with some homemade cobbler and another viewing of "The Court Jester"with our friends.