Day 66: Chester, IL

Day 66

July 21, 2015

Miles: 64

St. Louis to Chester

We got up a little before 7am and went for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  The quality and quantity of the breakfast was mid-sized, but the cost was certainly oversized.  The Marriott is a nice place to stay, but it is like a money vacuum cleaner.  Today we are staying at the Best Western and we will pay less then half the amount we spent at the Marriott and we will sleep just as well.

We each got (expensive) french toast and split an (expensive) egg sandwich

We got ourselves ready and we were on the road a little after 9pm.  We headed east towards the Mississippi River and rode through downtown St. Louis one last time.

Business district of St. Louis

Bear and Bull outside a financial institution that wants to impress you with its statue so you give them your money 

Di had mapped out our route and plugged it into the Garmin GPS, so we were hopeful we wouldn't get as lost as we usually do.  The Garmin brought us unerringly to the Eads Bridge and the pedestrian walkway that would take us over the Mississippi and into Illinois.

Looking back at St. Louis

Now looking away from St. Louis

One last look at St. Louis and the Arch (we went in that thing!)

The Arch looks much more impressive from the vantage point of the river.  It really does look like the gateway to the west.  If you ever decide to get to St. Louis by paddling your canoe up the Mississippi River, I'm sure you will be amazed as the Arch comes into view, not to mention relieved to know you don't have to paddle anymore.

Once we crossed the Mississippi we were in Illinois.  Wahoo! Another state.  Sadly, we could find no sign welcoming us to Illinois, but three ducks making up a welcoming committee were waiting on the Illinois side of the river to greet us.

These ducks seem very happy and fluffy

Perhaps it was the benefit of two days of rest or the gift of a tailwind, but for whatever reason Di and I chose not to take any breaks and found ourselves in the town of Red Bud at 12:30.  We stopped at a bar and grill place where we got sandwiches that I forgot to take pictures of.  We relaxed for a while in the restaurant, taking advantage of the air conditioning and the free refills of pink lemonade.  It wasn't a particularly hot day, with temperatures in the 80's, but an air conditioned room makes a summer's day feel even hotter, and that makes it a little bit tougher to get going again.  After about an hour and a half of lounging around, we went outside to get ready to ride.  Before donning her helmet, Di first had to put on her latest purchase, a nylon skull cap.  Di bought this yesterday at the bike shop to help keep her wild hair until some semblance of control.  Every time I see her in this cap I can't help myself from calling her "Dr. Di."

Dr. Di getting ready for surgery

Shot of downtown Red Bud

We had ridden 37 miles to Red Bud and now had 27 miles remaining to Chester.  Di always likes to exceed the halfway mark before stopping for lunch.  I agree with that philosophy; its a good feeling to know you have fewer miles to ride after eating lunch than you've already ridden.

The ubiquitous church

Mysterious farm equipment

You got your corn (row crop)

And your soybean (at least Di told me it was soy)

We arrived in Chester around 4pm and were greeted by a sign featuring Popeye.  Seems the creator of Popeye, Elzie Crisler Segar, was born in Chester and the town is apparently quite proud of that fact.  I remembered that Jen and Ben's went to Chester when they rode cross-country and their blog featured Popeye pictures also, and that made me smile.

Popeye welcomes you to Chester

Popeye and Olive Oil on top of the house

Popeye on the side of the house

We got a room at the Best Western Motel and ordered dinner for delivery (meatball sandwich and a pizza for me, veggie sandwich and a salad for Di).  We ordered delivery not because we are lazy, but because it made sense to do so.  Really.  We had to descend a steep and long hill extending from town down to the Best Western and we would've had to climb back up in order to get to the restaurants.  Its bad enough that we have to climb it tomorrow in order to get back on the trail, you don't expect us to climb it needlessly again tonight, do you?

By the end of the day our total mileage is over 2600.  If Di's planning is correct, and her planning is always correct, then we now have just 1000 miles remaining on our trip.  

Also, this is day 66 of our trip and I think I remember that Jen and Ben finished their entire cross-country trip in that amount of time.  Well, we are going slower on purpose because we think that is more fun, so there!

I can't say where we are headed tomorrow because Di is already asleep and as you all know, she is the planner.  We are back on the TransAmerica Bike Trail, so the next stop will be somewhere on the trail about 60 miles from where we are now (Chester, for those not paying attention).