Tuesday, February 26...Like A Rock (Bob Seger)

Spent the night in Franklin, IN….about 90 miles north of Louisville, KY.  When we embark on a road trip of this nature we look for the Mom n Pop type restaurants for a variety of reasons:  Support the little guy…eat where the locals eat…interesting conversation with whoever takes our order or possibly locals sitting nearby (especially if we’re on the motorcycles)…sometimes cheaper, always tastier food...and so on. The one exception we make is Waffle House…if there’s one near our hotel, it’s a good bet that’s as far as we need to go to get a meal.  Sure Waffle House is nationwide but it feels like a down to earth diner where the locals gather, the waitresses are apt to call you Hon, Sugar, or Sweetie in their southern accent and the food is good.  My favorite is a bowl of grits…oh, and hash browns.  Love me some Waffle House hash browns!  This morning’s visit didn’t disappoint except our waiter didn’t call me Hon or Sweetie.😉 While the majority of the music was low key and maybe in the hip hop range, the jukebox eventually played a little ditty about Jack and Diane followed by a Michael Jackson tune that had my feet moving and the lady at the next table and myself talking about doing our own flash mob dance.  Good times at the local Waffle House. 👍 

----------  

   Made a plan to meet Callie and the KY WonderKids in Louisville…actually met them in the parking lot of the Louisville Zoo.  The kids didn’t know that we were meeting up…Callie wisely kept that information to herself.  Therefore the kids were able to enjoy their time at the zoo without wondering where Grampa and Gramma were.  We were waiting just outside the entrance and it was fun watching and listening to them key into the fact that we were there.  The twins ran to greet us and Shelby wasn’t far behind.  After the initial hugs, kisses and greetings it was mentioned that today was somebody’s birthday.  Dylan proudly proclaimed that indeed it was his birthday and when I asked how old he was now, he answered, “I’m four…and a fifty-five.”   Hmmmm…..

----------

   Hadn’t really discussed our route beyond Louisville so after lunch I turned to Rapunzel for some guidance.  I like to try different routes just to see what’s out there…we decided to head west to lower Colorado (Trinidad) where we’d  head south into New Mexico.  We actually did part of this route in reverse on our Final Four bike trip back in 2015.  Anyway, checked the weather forecast to make sure we weren’t heading into inclement weather and then set our course, which had us heading west on US 64…and back into lower Indiana.  My phone indicated that we’d crossed into Central Time but neither of us realized that we were in Illinois until we saw a memorial sign at a rest area about Illinois POW/MIAs.  And the one thing a traveler should be able to count on for guidance at a rest area is the wall map; however, the wall map at the Skeeter Mountain Rest Area was more humorous than helpful as it had two locations designated as ‘You are here’.  😊

----------    

  Last year I enjoyed finding the painted rocks that someone scattered around the Picacho campground.  That prompted me to try my hand at rock painting.  But what to do?  While I’m creative, I’m not especially artistic so I started simple.  I’ve always been partial to the original Smiley Face so I painted some rocks yellow, put a smiley face on one side and positive words on the other side and left them around for people to find.  I eventually branched into using different colors and painting flowers, cacti, and the occasional Kokopelli figure.  Carried rocks in my car and on my bike to leave around the country in my travels.  My rock painting has morphed into what I call Knowledge Rocks...I painted a letter on one side and then wrote a word starting with that letter and its definition on the other side. My aim is to leave these rocks along the way as we travel west; I left the first one today on a bag of mulch at a gas station in Mt. Vernon, IL.  I have to say that it felt a little odd leaving a member of my tribe behind in a strange place but I took a picture and quickly walked away before it got weird.  Just doing my part to spread a little knowledge as well as having some fun.😎

----------   

   On our way to Louisville on US 65 we crossed the Ohio River and then crossed it again heading west on US 64…we crossed the Wabash River which separates Indiana and Illinois…we crossed the Mississippi River which separates Illinois and Missouri…and we crossed the Missouri River twice just because it was there.  Had supper at a Chinese buffet tonight and my fortune read “You will soon be crossing great waters on a fun vacation”.  Well...all righty then!! 👍

----------  

   The grass is visible and showing signs of green, the sun was an all-day companion until it became a glorious sunset behind the St. Louis skyline and the temperature got into the upper 50s.  Jackets were no longer required while riding in the truck and I put my shoes away in favor of my Keen sandals, although I haven’t given up my socks yet.  The AC was on low most of the afternoon because the sun streaming through the windshield was actually making the truck cab a bit too warm.  Not bragging, just stating some items on today’s gratitude list.

Today's route....about 550 miles