Saturday, August 27, 2011

Day 73- Who Knows Where We’ll Be Tonight

Neither of us had a particularly restful night. It was about 100 in the part of Kansas we stopped in and to top it off, we had been seeing beautiful rest areas with shady picnic and RV parking loops all day. But, when it came time to stop for the night, the rest area we had in front of us didn’t include the shady loop. We set up in the parking area and climbed into the 100 degree camper. I opened ever window possible and we both set there and sweat. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees when the sun set but it was nearly impossible to get the cooler air into the camper. Our Air conditioner remains unusable because of ongoing problems with the generator. I did have wireless internet but it was slow and very frustrating. By the time I edited the photos from yesterday and got them uploaded to face book, I was pooped and climbed into bed. But just before I did, I made myself a cup of coffee and put it in the frig for the morning. That backfired because there was a sediment in the bottom and as we bounced down the road, it got stirred up and was really bitter. Carl made a joke about Dunkin Donuts and I countered with they were only in New England and some parts of Florida. We were both taken by surprise when we pulled into the service plaza to find a Dunkin Donuts there offering my favorite iced coffee. This was also the very first service plaza I’ve been in that offered a storm shelter for it’s patrons. Did I mention we were just outside of Lawrence, KS, the geographical center of the contiguous 48 states. It’s also reported to be the headquarters for a very large array of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile silos which, in the event of a nuclear attack, would make it a primary objective. I didn’t see any missile complexes and I didn’t see any signs pointing me in their direction but I guess they wouldn’t be very secret if that were the case. Is Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO the only two like named cities split by a state line? Niagara Falls, NY and Niagara Falls, ON come to mind but half of that is Canada. Somewhere near noon time, we needed to get more gas for the next leg of the trip. Carl pulled into a Dairy Queen / gas station and Carl asked if I wanted to stop. We had both been holding out for either Kansas City or Missouri BBQ so I opted to hold off a bit longer. Can you imagine passing up ice cream for ribs? Shortly, I spotted a billboard that boasted Jon El’s BBQ at Exit 103 in Booneville, MO. Now, I have to tell you, I’m not an expert on what makes the best BBQ but I do know what I like. And, I like Jon El’s food, everything about it, in fact. We were greeted as we entered, not rushed to a decision and the food was dished out before our eyes. The serving sizes are huge so Carl and I opted to share a Combo plate of pulled pork and brisket. There were a number of sides to choose from, macaroni and cheese plus baked beans ended up on our plate. A couple slices of bread, double the silverware and a Styrofoam cup of soda rounded it out. At the table were two kinds of sauce, the vinegary spicy blend and the sweet tomato based kind along with a whole roll of paper towels and of course, salt and pepper. We walked away full and thankful to Jon El for spending all that money for the billboard. I’m posting his face book page with a glowing review of food, service and price. In 11 weeks, other than friends and families meals, this was the absolute best food we’ve eaten and we told him so. Oh, and his hours of operation, seven days a week 11:00 AM to 8:00PM or until the food runs out which Jon El says is often. If you are even on I-70 in MO, make sure to get off on exit 103 and stop in for some great BBQ at a reasonable price. The push today was to hit IL and our road took us through St. Louis, MO. I wanted to catch a glimpse and get a photo of the Gateway Arch, the huge shiny monument to the hardy souls who headed west from this very area in large wagon trains with hopes of finding new opportunities beyond the Mississippi. Our directions took us around the bulk of the city so although I caught a far off glimpse of the arch, there was no way I could get a photo. The rest area here in Illinois is quiet, at the moment, although there is the potential for large numbers of trucks before morning. The good news is there is a nice breeze and it’s a bit cooler than last night. Our supper was wild caught Salmon thanks to Carl and fresh beets from Joe’s Gardens in Bellingham, WA.

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