Man, am I beat. It has been a LONG day, but quite enjoyable.
The kids did a lot of their school work in the room this morning while I took a walk around the area. I am determined to continue exercising while we are on this trip lest I move up a waist size.
We got going around noon and set course for St. Louis. I did not realize that the mountains/hills went this far north. On top of that, we noticed that the leaves were beginning to turn, making the scenery that much better.
Arriving in St. Louis, we made a beeline for the St. Louis Gateway Arch. It was a good thing, because we were one of the last ones to make it to the top before they closed for the day. It was quite a site, and I would post our own photos except for the fact that I forgot my compactflash card reader at home. Doh! I'll pick one up at Wal*Mart tomorrow.
Rather than camp out in St. Louis, we decided to get another start on tomorrow by driving into Illinois. We ended up in Jacksonville, a pleasant little town just a bit southwest of Springfield (tomorrow's destination).
This evening, I had the opportunity to be a guest on the nationally syndicated, Online Tonight with David Lawrence. We spoke of the trip, technology and blogs, among other things. I'll be doing a weekly call to his program to keep him posted on our exploits.
As for now, I am pooped. Heading to bed and eager to start a new day. We plan on going to Beardstown to visit a friend of Mary's, Springfield to learn more about Abraham Lincoln, and Champaign/Urbana, to visit my old University stomping grounds. I'm sure the kids will be fascinated to see where I wasted the better portion of four years.
It sounds like a lot of fun...so far. I haven't been down to U. of I. since you graduated.
I love the fact that Jenna thought McDonald's was the highlight of the trip. Reminds me of the "pigeons" all over Europe. I'll keep reading. Love.
Well you just went through my old stomping ground, moved from St. Louis to Rhode Island last year. Perhaps you can drop me an e-mail when coming up to that area.
FrankX
Dude, Looks like y'all are having a great time. No pictures of Socrates yet? What is that about? Were you able to share the gospel message with the manager of the Best Western in Niagara before you got into the fight with him? Just kidding man.