One More Day

It's 7:10, and I've been up for an hour, having my coffee in the dining area of a Hampton Inn in Effingham, Illinois. It's a busy place — most guests are retirees like us, up and ready to hit the road. We, however, are in no hurry. We have a five-hour drive ahead to a Hampton Inn just south of Columbus, where we'll spend the night before heading back to the lake on Tuesday.

Our View This Morning At 8:10

Sunday was an easy ride, though it seemed long. I suppose that's true of any drive — whether it's nine hours or five, it always feels long. We took our time leaving, packing up in the morning, getting the car ready, and then sitting down to one more great breakfast with Tom and Mary: steak, eggs, and potatoes. We said our goodbyes around 10:00 and promptly took a wrong turn, following the GPS down a path it inexplicably wanted us to take toward Kansas City. We got back on track quickly enough. Traffic was heavy, especially around St. Louis, where Evie took the wheel. All told, I drove about three hours and Evie two as we traded off along the way.

Easy To See From #70

Around 2:30, we stopped for gas and found ourselves pulling in right next to the Blue Springs Café — a place we'd long wanted to try because of their advertised foot-high pies. We decided this was finally the day. It was packed on a Sunday, full of elderly folks, likely farmers, enjoying a big midday dinner. We weren't sure what to order, so we settled on sharing the fried chicken dinner, which came with coleslaw, beets, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, and French fries. Needless to say, the two of us couldn't come close to finishing it — and there was certainly no room for pie.

Firefly Grill

By the time we were done, it was 3:00, leaving us just over an hour's drive to Effingham. We collapsed on the beds, worn out, and debated whether to go out for dinner or just get carry-out. In the end, we went out — the Firefly Grill is one of our favorites, and it didn't disappoint. The bar was nearly empty despite the restaurant being busy, so we settled in there, chatted with the bartender over beers, and ordered shrimp cakes for Evie and a pizza for me. Both were excellent, and we've got half a pizza left for today's lunch. We were back by 8:00, watched some basketball, and read for a while, but by 9:30 it was lights out.