Day 5 and 6 - September 22 and 23

Day 5 & 6 (Sep 22 and 23) – Travel Day and Family Day

Dave here. What a great but tumultous two days. First off, Will's meal last night was really good as was his tequila. The grilled chard and garlic were super. Thanks, Will. You do good work.

 

At about 9:30pm at my daughter's house, we were watching tv when we heard a loud pop outside. Sounded like a small caliber gunshot to me. We looked outside and saw a gentleman standing by Lisa's car, his car parked nearby with lights on. Daughter Lisa got there first and I was right behind. He had sideswiped Lisa's Chevy and tore off the driver's side rear view mirror. Did not hurt the rest of the car nor himself. The street there is very narrow, with parking on both sides and two way traffic in which one car pulls into a bare spot while another passes. I even saw a city bus on that street, amazing. It's a wonder the street is not littered with side mirrors. Good of him to stop. Got info exchanged. Lisa very concerned about driving 400 miles to St. Louis area without a mirror there for passing. We scouted via internet for Chev dealers and found one open at 6:30am for service. I got up early and called, explained situation of travel and the kindly man said see you at 7am. We got there, waited a half hour to be informed there were none in stock, best option would be next day. My other daughter, Mara, and my grandson, Noah, who live in California, were arriving at 4pm in St. Louis and would be leaving on Wed with only one full day to visit. No way I was going to miss that visit so I put my portable, bipedal, vocal, rearview driver's side mirror (wife Lisa) in the back seat to check the left side before I made lane changes on I 70 and wherever. Got daughter Lisa and we headed West on the interstate an hour later than planned. The girls kept calling Chev dealers ahead to see if we could get the mirror and get it installed but with mixed results. Also lots of calls to insurance company. Finally got directed to a body repair shop very near the home of my brother and sisinlaw, Paul and Jeanine which is where we are now. More complications but the repair is supposed to be made today, Tuesday, 23d. We did arrive without incident in time to greet Mara and Noah's arrival. He is a beautiful and loving child.

Almost forgot. I am a devotee of the Roadfood radio spot and the website. There were many recommendations to stop in Indianapolis for lunch at John's Famous Stew, a tavern in the factory district. We did and were very glad of it. We ordered the specialty and it was the best beef stew I have ever tasted. Beef melts in the mouth, good potatoes and carrots, smothered in a wonderful near-gravy. Huge portion and we ended up bringing most of it with us for lunch today because Lisa wife and I were so full from the other specialty, the pounded, breaded pork loin sandwich which we split. It almost covers the dinner plate. Wonderful and I recommend it if you are ever that way. Well worth the stop and say hi to Pauline and her sister, the waitresses, from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, with appropriate accent, who will trade life stories with you before you leave. 

Continuing our drive along the highway there was this huge cross and no explanation as to why it was there. 

Happy 7th annivesary to Paul and Jeanine!.

 

Getting to spend lots of time with relatives and grandson. All the siblings and their spouses who live in the area are coming here to Paul's for an Italian dinner tonight. They are a loud and frisky bunch and it will be a shock for Noah, 1 ½ years old.

Decided to get a quick glimpse of the Piasa bird.  The story is the early explorers, Pier Marquette and LaSalle, saw a painting of a giant creature on the white, limestone bluffs along the Mississippi near what became Alton, my home town.  Here is a website about the legend if you are interested:http://www.altonweb.com/history/piasabird/.

 

Driving along the Mississippi River, Lisa spotted this beautiful cloud formation and had to take some photos.

 

We only have about 150 miles to drive tomorrow to Cape Girardeau, MO so we will leave a bit later in the day, waiting for Mara and Noah and Lisa daughter to leave for their planes. I miss them already.