Christmas in July by Jeff

Woke up to a nice day near St. Louis but had to work a little before heading off to Louisville, KY. Once we got on the road, I immediately took a wrong turn that put me right back into downtown St. Louis. Nice. Not a trip killer, but I had wanted to avoid the city traffic again in the RV. Once Lynn found me a way out of there, we headed east on I-64 through southern IL. If by any chance one can avoid pretty much any part of IL, by all means do so. Either they are crushing you on tolls in the CHI area or they are all stimulused up with construction in the southern part. What a crock! Sure, I bet those contracts were granted on a up-n-up process! Plus I didn't find one thing of interest in the entire state and was incredibly happy not to spend one discretionary dime there for gas or even a snickers. IL can join Quebec and hit the road for all I care. Once we got to IN, things started to look better. Roads were better, driving manners improved, smelled better. It just felt like the good ole USA again. We noticed that Lincoln's boyhood home was near the interstate and decided to try and find it but the signs weren't that great so we never found it, but we did stumble into a town called Santa Claus, IN. Small town but 100% devoted to Santa. There must have been more statues of Santa than actual people living in the town. We stopped at none other than the 'Saint Nicholas' restaurant for lunch before making our way back to I-64 for the remaining drive to Louisville. We're actually camped about 10 miles south of L'ville and plan to visit Churchhill Downs tomorrow after Lynn finishes with her airport visit. After a morning in Louisville, we'll head out to God's country - Madison, WV. There's a small water park near Madison and Henry and Ruth have been looking forward to it since we left Omaha. (If I had only known that water parks would have been the highlight for them, I wouldn't have driven 8,000 miles over the past 40 days). Geez.

Added by Lynn:

I also wasn't that impressed with our time in Illinois. Unlike Nebraska, the state created nothing to stop and see along the way, and the construction was pretty awful. Santa Claus, Indiana was an unexpected treat - great club sandwiches at the St. Nick Restaurant.

It's true that the kids have been more excited about waterparks than mountains or museums, but I'm very happy to have gone the 8,000 miles for the memories. They will be too someday.