Year 7 Day 6

Waking up in Chicago we were greeted by a slightly quieter city. The sun was just beginning to shine in between the buildings illuminating them in a golden glow. The streets were more empty and the sounds were muted. It was a bit more peaceful. We took a walk down the magnificent mile once again and headed into Millennium Park to see "the bean". Its a super cool piece of artwork that reflects everything around it. It gives a very cool perspective of the skyline.

Sam our hotel friend said to leave before 1pm, that the traffic would be better. We headed out about 10. Our drive out was significantly easier than in which we were thankful for. Our next stop was the Polka Dot drive in on route 66. We grabbed a milkshake and took some pictures with Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Boop. Across the road was a "Zoo". The "animals" were in a pen about 20 x 20...and they were all crafted from some sort of material. Interesting.

This state has just as many fields of corn as the last one. Apparently the US produces between 10 and 12 MILLION bushels of corn a year. I'm pretty sure they are all grown in this general region. So we ended up a few hours later in Springfield. This is Lincoln territory. He was born here and buried here. We chose to stop at the Lincoln Museum and library. It was a very educational stop. The most interesting part was the section on how much he was ridiculed during the election. Lots of things were said about him and his wife that sounded very similar to those things we hear during elections today. Amazing that things haven't changed much in over 100 years.

The heat was almost unbearable. 95 with humidity that apparently made it feel like 113. I'm pretty sure it felt 190. The storms are behaving so far. They seem to be following us. That's fine as long as they stay either ahead of or behind me.

Our stop for the night is St. Louis. Its another city which I am tiring of, but we wanted to see the arch. Yep, there it is. A big grey arch near a big river. Cool looking, but in a very stinky location. Got a sweet room though as it seems this city has been deserted. Maybe it because we had all of Chicago last night. At dinner we had a visit from nature. A bat flew around the restaurant and landed in the window near where we were sitting. Someone finally caught it in a tablecloth and released it outside. From our room we watched the deserted streets and a gang of motorbikes do wheelies. They reminded me of those characters on Return to OZ.

Rest and cool air tonight.