Okay,
Bottom Line Up Front...
As promised.....minimal talk, max photos.
Springfield Ohio to Vandalia Illinois...
Took off about 7 am - said goodbye to the grandkids and bolted down Interstate 70 - to Indiana - Rode Hwy 40 the rest of the way - into Vandalia, Illinois. Stopped by the world's largest cross in Effingham. Lots of farms and flat land today.
Will be sharing "dragon photos" and Madonna of the Trail photos tomorrow - we saw them both - but we were running late and could not stop today. Should be crossing the Mississippi in Chester and will be driving through some nice curvy forests....
Now....for those of you who want.....
The Rest of the Story....
321 miles down.....(we only planned to go 290 or so). Well, after all the talking, the planning, the double checking, the packing, the worrying (it's what I do best....) - we were off in a blaze of glory this morning. How much have we been planning this? Well, notice in the "takeoff" photo - that we are wearing matching blue sunglasses. Also, (and you can't see this - but....) Jeanette had her toenails painted blue to match the bike (only we know that - as she always wears boots when we ride - but we all have our own ways that we prepare....).
Our granddaughter, Jaide, is feeding and taking care of the dogs and the cat - so she has a "part-time job" this summer - while we are away. And we said goodbye to the grandkids - and took off bright and early (7 am for those of you counting) on Memorial Day.
We started out bombing down I-70 - we were just going to go to Hwy 49 (about 20 miles) - and turn onto Hwy 40 from there - the plan was to miss all of the traffic through Vandalia and get a head start on the trip. So we hopped on I-70 and after about twenty minutes - we took off the Hwy 49 exit (and got gas) and started to proceed down Hwy 40. Well, only a mile or two further and there was construction - a bridge was out - so they "detoured" us right back on to I-70. The traffic was light, the motorcycle was riding good - so we just took I-75 into Richmond, Indiana (approx 50 miles west of Springfield Ohio). We stopped at one of our favorite places - Carvers - for breakfast. The cool thing about Carvers is that they give you "double eggs" - so when you order two eggs - they give you four. So Jeanette and I split a breakfast - and we still couldn't finish it all... Jeanette also got a side of cantalope - a half of a cantaloupe....that was a lot of fruit.
We headed through old town Richmond on Hwy 40 - lots of beautiful old houses and ran parallel to I-70. But on Hwy 40 we could drive around 55 or 60 - and didn't have to deal with all of the semis and trucks. The bike handles freeway speeds fine - but we just wanted to do a little more sight-seeing. We continued on Hwy 40 into Cumberland (about 60 miles west of Richmond). It was starting to get warm - so we hit a McDonald's and got some water and some diet coke. We then turned south of Indianapolis - as we wanted to avoid any "leftover" parties from yesterday's races - or not have to wait for any Memorial Day Parades - so we turned off Hwy 40 and got a wonderful surprise - we took Raymond Ave - it runs parallel to Main St. - but it was a beautiful drive - nice roads, very little traffic, neat little houses....as we got closer to the west side of Indianapolis - the area got more industrial - but the traffic was still very minimal.
Eventually, we hooked up with Hwy 40 again - and started cruising towards our final destination for the day. We were running behind schedule and had to stop for gas (and a much needed "butt break") near Brazil, Indiana. We hit a Marathon station about 11:30 am - and got a bottle of water and a protein bar. Immediately got back on bike and dead-headed towards Terre Haute, Indiana. We stopped for a "quickie lunch" at McDonalds (as it was almost 2 pm when we finished) - and from here, we deviated from Hwy 40 again - going through downtown Terre Haute (and crossing over the river on Hwy 150). From there we got back on Hwy 40 after about 20 miles - and headed to Effingham to see our "first" roadside attraction. The world's largest cross - or simply - the cross.
Yep, it is impressive - it is a big, old cross. But here is the thing....the cross is over 20 stories tall. The project was started right after the 9/11 World Trade Center, Pentagon, and other terrorist attacks. Since it was built, over 20 million people have visited the cross. They have a visitor's center - and at the base is the ten commandments set in a circle around the cross. Each of the commandments has a monument and a recording you can listen to.
The road leading to the cross was gravel - so it was a little dicey getting there, but they had a nice concrete pad that motorcyclists can park on - so it worked out nice.
We were really feeling tired after around 9 hours on the bike by this time - so we snapped a few photos and hopped back on the bike. We got into Vandalia, Illinois around 5 our time (they are an hour behind us...) - after 10 hours on the bike - we promptly got lost (and of course by "we" I mean "me"...)....we drove around (we saw the fire breathing dragon and one of the "Madonnas of the Trail" - but didn't make a stop this evening) - as by the time we got to the hotel, got checked in, unloaded the bike, made arrangements for a light dinner - it was almost 8 pm. And frankly, we are partially sun burned and we are dirt tired. So we will be tourists at those two sites tomorrow (first thing) - so I will have pictures of those tomorrow.
Any rate, that is it for day one. Hope you enjoy the photos - we will try and take a few more photos tomorrow to share with you all.
(Jeanette's notes: Great time today. Just about the time I think I've had enough heat, or sun, or sitting - we will stop and move around a bit and I'm ready for another section of the trip. I am having a great time with my travel buddy. And now we're just relaxing and watching a little TV. So, goodnite, Tiff - you can go to bed now!) xo
Wade and Jeanette
Bottom Line Up Front...
As promised.....minimal talk, max photos.
Springfield Ohio to Vandalia Illinois...
Now....for those of you who want.....
The Rest of the Story....
321 miles down.....(we only planned to go 290 or so). Well, after all the talking, the planning, the double checking, the packing, the worrying (it's what I do best....) - we were off in a blaze of glory this morning. How much have we been planning this? Well, notice in the "takeoff" photo - that we are wearing matching blue sunglasses. Also, (and you can't see this - but....) Jeanette had her toenails painted blue to match the bike (only we know that - as she always wears boots when we ride - but we all have our own ways that we prepare....).
Our granddaughter, Jaide, is feeding and taking care of the dogs and the cat - so she has a "part-time job" this summer - while we are away. And we said goodbye to the grandkids - and took off bright and early (7 am for those of you counting) on Memorial Day.
We started out bombing down I-70 - we were just going to go to Hwy 49 (about 20 miles) - and turn onto Hwy 40 from there - the plan was to miss all of the traffic through Vandalia and get a head start on the trip. So we hopped on I-70 and after about twenty minutes - we took off the Hwy 49 exit (and got gas) and started to proceed down Hwy 40. Well, only a mile or two further and there was construction - a bridge was out - so they "detoured" us right back on to I-70. The traffic was light, the motorcycle was riding good - so we just took I-75 into Richmond, Indiana (approx 50 miles west of Springfield Ohio). We stopped at one of our favorite places - Carvers - for breakfast. The cool thing about Carvers is that they give you "double eggs" - so when you order two eggs - they give you four. So Jeanette and I split a breakfast - and we still couldn't finish it all... Jeanette also got a side of cantalope - a half of a cantaloupe....that was a lot of fruit.
We headed through old town Richmond on Hwy 40 - lots of beautiful old houses and ran parallel to I-70. But on Hwy 40 we could drive around 55 or 60 - and didn't have to deal with all of the semis and trucks. The bike handles freeway speeds fine - but we just wanted to do a little more sight-seeing. We continued on Hwy 40 into Cumberland (about 60 miles west of Richmond). It was starting to get warm - so we hit a McDonald's and got some water and some diet coke. We then turned south of Indianapolis - as we wanted to avoid any "leftover" parties from yesterday's races - or not have to wait for any Memorial Day Parades - so we turned off Hwy 40 and got a wonderful surprise - we took Raymond Ave - it runs parallel to Main St. - but it was a beautiful drive - nice roads, very little traffic, neat little houses....as we got closer to the west side of Indianapolis - the area got more industrial - but the traffic was still very minimal.
Eventually, we hooked up with Hwy 40 again - and started cruising towards our final destination for the day. We were running behind schedule and had to stop for gas (and a much needed "butt break") near Brazil, Indiana. We hit a Marathon station about 11:30 am - and got a bottle of water and a protein bar. Immediately got back on bike and dead-headed towards Terre Haute, Indiana. We stopped for a "quickie lunch" at McDonalds (as it was almost 2 pm when we finished) - and from here, we deviated from Hwy 40 again - going through downtown Terre Haute (and crossing over the river on Hwy 150). From there we got back on Hwy 40 after about 20 miles - and headed to Effingham to see our "first" roadside attraction. The world's largest cross - or simply - the cross.
The road leading to the cross was gravel - so it was a little dicey getting there, but they had a nice concrete pad that motorcyclists can park on - so it worked out nice.
We were really feeling tired after around 9 hours on the bike by this time - so we snapped a few photos and hopped back on the bike. We got into Vandalia, Illinois around 5 our time (they are an hour behind us...) - after 10 hours on the bike - we promptly got lost (and of course by "we" I mean "me"...)....we drove around (we saw the fire breathing dragon and one of the "Madonnas of the Trail" - but didn't make a stop this evening) - as by the time we got to the hotel, got checked in, unloaded the bike, made arrangements for a light dinner - it was almost 8 pm. And frankly, we are partially sun burned and we are dirt tired. So we will be tourists at those two sites tomorrow (first thing) - so I will have pictures of those tomorrow.
Any rate, that is it for day one. Hope you enjoy the photos - we will try and take a few more photos tomorrow to share with you all.
(Jeanette's notes: Great time today. Just about the time I think I've had enough heat, or sun, or sitting - we will stop and move around a bit and I'm ready for another section of the trip. I am having a great time with my travel buddy. And now we're just relaxing and watching a little TV. So, goodnite, Tiff - you can go to bed now!) xo
Wade and Jeanette
So glad you guys made it....I hope you're watching the Bachelorette too! Hey, what did you have for dinner? I don't know, it wasn't Effing Ham. Ha ha ha, it never gets old. :) LY!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou guts look great! Have fun! Love hearing about your adventures.
ReplyDelete