After breakfast we load up and head to Chicago to see Wrigley Field. I had wanted to take Mark to a game but, no one was playing on this particular day so, we just walked around and took lots of pics of the venue from the outside.
As I'm writing this I'm uploading pics to my photobucket album as the pic app within blogger doesn't appear to be working! So, I will most likely have a large group of pics at the end of the post rather than pics strewn throughout.
After we finished our tour of Wrigley, we set the GPS to take us to the sign that marks the beginning of historical Route 66. It was quite foggy as we made our way along Lakeshore Dr. on the edge of Lake Michigan! Also, quite chilly! However, there was a non-stop parade of joggers on the path along the beachfront! I'll stick to motorized transport!
We found the sign and parked directly in front of it so we could take pics. We left our helmets on because another sign said absolutely no parking and that it was reserved for some foreign consulate and we wanted to be able to make a quick getaway if necessary! A nice lady who happened to be from Britain took our photo leaning against the sign! Then Mark wandered off to take pics of the EL as he is a huge Blues Brothers fan.
After Mark returned we hit the road and headed towards St. Louis to meet up with an old friend and her family. When I programmed the address in my GPS (on my phone not a standalone device) the female voice would tell me it was X amount of miles to St. Louis but, then after about 20 miles, she suddenly started referring to it as St. Looeee which I found odd but, cool!
We stopped in a Subway to get a little lunch and relaxed for just a little bit. The young Spanish lady who took our order had the most breathtakingly beautiful face! She was also quite pregnant! Very sweet and lovely! We had our little lunch then hit the road!
We rode for many miles when we/I had a sudden realization! We were right there at the sign for Historic Route 66 but, we weren't following the old road! Turns out we actually were on Route 66 but, this part was one of many that were also other roads as is often the case where one road will have many designations. Oh well, no worries.
Many miles down the road there was a sign that said traffic was at a standstill a few miles up the road and offered a detour. Now, I don't know if the route we took saved us any time and I don't really care as we were on no real schedule and most importantly, we were able to keep moving! For those that don't ride, you have no idea of the torture that is stopped traffic! Especially when the temps are in the 90's or above! I would rather add an hour to a journey than sit for 15 minutes in traffic! It's hell on the clutch cable and can turn you into a puddle of sweat in no time! So, to the detour we went!
The detour turned out to be a wonderful ride through some lovely, long two-lane roads for probably close to 100 miles. We didn't get too many pics along the way as nothing really stood out but, was lovely nonetheless. We finally reconnected with the main route and pulled-off to refuel and Mark saw a Route 66 marker and stopped to take a pic while I went on to get fuel and a drink and snack.
I sat down outside on a bench and a lady who worked at the store sat down and started chatting with me. We had a very nice conversation for quite a while and Mark asked about the road and she said we didn't want to go down it as it was in terrible condition and best avoided. Well, you know what we did! We hadn't gone far when we hit a straight stretch that was picture perfect Route 66! There were cracks in the road with grass and other plants growing in them and absolutely no traffic. We pulled over so we could take some pics and Mark forgot about his fat-ass and plowed his bags into mine and left gouges across my right-side bag! Oh well, chicks dig scars! We travelled along the old road for several miles until as happened many times along the ride, the road ended and you were forced to take the interstate. I truly wish we could have taken the old road everywhere as the pace was better and more relaxed and there was so little traffic to deal with.
I'm not sure what time it was when we arrived in St. Louis but, it was late. Lisa and David welcomed us into their home and David and Mark began a deep bromance based on British comedies which apprently David is reallly into! After quite a while of chatting we headed off to bed! "Bed" consisted of two couches made up with sheets and pillows and was quite welcome! One thing that was very nice was we were able to park inside their garage so we didn't have to unload everything as we usually did!
We awoke the next morning and took showers and I fixed eggs and toast for breakfast and we began work on repairing the mounting plates for my luggage which was still quite bent from my little incident at the gas pumps! We also did our laundry.
After Lisa returned, she had gotten us tickets to a Phillies game and she took us to the stadium and dropped us off. We also stopped at a Harley shop along the way to buy a couple of bungee nets and some oil which is something I would need a lot of!!
Lisa had suggested we eat before the game but, we decided to eat inside the stadium. OOPS! Tradition dictates we have a drink and a hotdog. So, that's what we ordered. For two hotdogs, two tiny bags of chips, a Coke and a water it cost $28!!!!! That is insane!
The game was delayed due to rain for about 45 minutes but, we were nice and dry as our seats were under the upper deck. We were also protected from the glaring sun which beat down relentlessly when it wasn't raining. Mark had a great time being at a major league ballgame! I really have no interest in professional sports but, I'm happy to tag along.
We left the stadium and Lisa had told us to call her and she would tell us how to get on the train that would get us back to her. I called her and got no answer so, I left a message. We hung around for quite a while and finally asked someone how to get to the train. He told us to go 6 blocks and we couldn't miss it. It would have been really nice if he had just pointed to the train entrance that was ACROSS THE STREET!! But, we wandered off to the train station and I called Lisa a few times with no answer. When we finally arrived at the station, Lisa finally called me back. She hadn't quite grasped the concept that the ringer has to be on for the phone to ring! :) She told us that either of the two trains would take us to a point she could pick us up we just needed to let her know which train we got on. So, we boarded the train and I started to call Lisa when I realized I had no idea which train we were on! Luckily, the young man in front of us overheard us and told me which train it was so I was able to call Lisa with the information! We arrived at the end of the line (literally) and Lisa picked us up and along the way home had a brief drag race with some idiot in a POS trans-am who didn't stand a chance! Back home and back to bed!
We woke the next morning to David cooking pancakes and Lisa cooking bacon! No better way to start the day! The kids had asked before we arrived if we would take them for rides but, now had chickened-out so, we figured we would give them a little show on our departure. I pulled out and rode a wheelie down the street which would have been better but, my right luggage was quite a bit heavier than the left and it leaned me towards a parked car so I had to abort the wheelie before it ended-up being a repeat of a moment from my past we won't speak of at this moment. Mark did a screaming burnout as he pulled away from the house! See what you missed kids!!
Lisa had taken the time to write down directions to keep us on the old road as much as possible all the way to uh...I forget. Unfortunately, she hadn't put any mileages on the directions so, we had no idea how far it was in-between turns and as such, had no way to know if we were on track or if we had missed a turn. So, I fired-up the GPS again and let her guide the way.
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