Burger Me This...

Zena wolfs down her $1.95 hamburger at a restaurant in Cambridge City, Indiana . Actually, she got the deluxe version with veggies so make that $2.30. It's really easy to get used to these midwest prices. We are dreading the NYC economy.

Arch de Saint-Louis

Zena and Dave Kaleidoscope

Gateway to the Midwest

Little did I know that one could ride to the top of the arch and peer out the tiny windows. Little did I know that it symbolizes the expansion into the west during the 1800's.

Day 18: Alton, IL to St. Louis, MO to Maryland Heights, MO

Total Miles: 45
Total Number of Times a Clausterphobe Would Have Freaked: 35
Total Times Crossing the Mississippi: 1

We crossed the Mississippi (again) to arrive at the City Museum of Saint Louis, where we crawled and climbed through structures of wood, stone, wire and plastic that formed tunnels and crawl spaces, three-story slides and a host of other potential adventures. Zena crawls out of a tight tunnel, though not the tightest of those we made it through.

We enjoyed some live blues music and overpriced food at the Big Muddy Blues Festival, then made our way to Dan's house for a house party. Dave and Kevin got their first lesson in "washers," a St. Louis game akin to horseshoes.

LIfe as a Hamster

Dave gets a fresh perspective on hamster life. He's about 150 feet off the ground in a steel tunnel. Next time he plans to wear knee pads.

Day 17 Bloomfield, IA to Alton, IL

Miles Ridden: 254
Number of Times we Crossed the Mississippi: 1

It was a leisurely day on back roads with a long breakfast where we met a retired couple who each have ridden over 800,000 life miles on various motos. We did a short side trip and visited their home moto museum full of various motorcycle memorabilia.

We traveled a very scenic road along the Mississippi river where this panoramic shot is from. We got lots of deer warnings and deer collision stories so we are sufficiently scared to ever ride at night through deer country.

Bee Sting #2

Why me? Kevin inspects his sensitive nipple just after being stung by a bee while riding. Is it the red riding suit? Does he look like a huge flower? While cruising at 15mph through the streets of Lincoln, Nebraska, Kevin drove into the bee or the bee flew into his supersuit (jellybean) and attacked. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUCH!