I had allotted plenty of time for the trip. My only guide was that I wanted to be back in Florida by the 4th of July. No particular reason, but maybe a nagging need to see Miss Norah, again. The day comes when you have spent all your money, and done everything on your list, or almost everything, and it seems as good a time as any to take off.
Mr. Sutor had wanted to meet up on my trip up but the logistics didn't work out, so he wanted to escort me for a few hours down the long state of Illinois. We had originally picked a route (67) that would take us down past St. Louis and to Chester, Missouri. from there, it is a scenic drive through Cairo and then on to Paducah. Never having been to Cairo I was looking forward to it and that scenic stretch along the Mississippi. But, alas, the threat of rain propelled me to change our plans and Jeff recommended Route 51 which would take us through Decatur, Pana and a bunch of other towns I'd never heard of. Like Clinton, Mowequa, Assumption, Oconee, and Ramsey. It was an amazingly good stretch of road where you could see the sights but also get a few miles under your butt. It was a combination of 2 and 4 lane roads.
Our cycles outside of McDonald's in Knoxville.
Somewhere outside Decatur is a restoration shop for old cars and trucks. We stopped there just to get a breather, gas up and see Elvis.
I love big cars. This may have been about the biggest that came out of Detroit. Mid-70's huge Cadillac.
Here's Elvis in his earlier years. I appreciate the ingenuity and creativity of people with metal, but frankly, besides just a cursory glance, this kind of thing just doesn't interest me. I like the stock stuff, the cars that teams worked on and decided this was "it". And yes, a lot like Miss Frump.
Did I ever tell you my parents got my older brother a Camaro convertible like this one while the Wombie and I had to share. I'm not bitter. I've never figured out why they liked Phil better. Just shows you parents make mistakes, and golly, the twins were just so cute.
I got to drive Phil's car once or twice when he wasn't looking. The interior and dash arrangement was as good any I've ever seen. Except for Miss Frump.
Jeff and I parted around Centralia so Jeff could be home for supper while I was going to try and reach Clarksville, Tennessee. I moved over to Interstate travel around Vienna, and from there it was just humping it along to get to a place. No stops other than for gas.
My destination was a fondly remembered Days Inn we used a lot when Brendan was stationed here with the Screaming Eagles. It represented truly fun times for the family. Kenzie would join us and we often had little Michael or met him since for a time he lived here. We had a lot of fun here.
This was the pool we used for a get-together with Brendan and his family. Michael and I were inseparable (Two Hearts Beating as One) and we always enjoyed the pools wherever we were. As a reminder of past good times, I decided to take a dip in the pool again. It was a long day and I had to get up early, so i wanted to cool off and get tired so I'd have a good nights sleep for tomorrow. My plan since I was only 32 miles from Nashville, was to arise early and tackle this bastard of a traffic snarl early, before anyone else woke up. It was a good plan.
RETURN TRIP DAY ONE - 471 miles.
51 South....beat that road up a many a times, and your right.....good roads and nice little towns. Where 51 came into Pana: Rosebuds Cafe on the left and you went right. If you took a left there, you would have been less than 15 minutes to Llyod's house in Tower Hill.
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