Road Trip. Chicago, Head South and Back

Some pics of the inside.
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Walked down to the river before beer and steak at a bar in the market district.
The bridge we walked over earlier changes colour.
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I overheard a guy at the hotel bar who had driven up from Louisiana. The weather was pretty bad with lightning and heavy rain. That puts to rest my regrets about not reaching New Orleans.

Forgot to mention that we were woken in the night at Memphis by the room gently shaking. Saw on the news the next morning that there had been a small quake in Oklahoma, minimal damage.

Heading NW after breakfast towards the lakes and forrests in the Ozark region. Tomorrow is Labor Day (bank holiday) so it could get a bit busy.
 
Took just over an hour to reach Petit Jean Park which is up in the hills, roads were clear.
Stretched our legs at the overlook.
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Tried to get a room there but the lodge was fully booked.
So headed north to a place I saw on Google maps.
The road through the Ozark Forest was bends and hills for miles.
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By the time we got to Table Rock on the lake we'd had enough.
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Stretched our legs again and watched the showboat pull away. A proper paddle boat.
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Tapped hotel into the satnav and drove to a Hampton Inn at Branson Missouri, luckily they had a room.
Tried downtown for dinner but all the parking was full, the restaurant we managed to get to was queuing out of the door. So we ended up in a Wendy's which was empty. For good reason as it turned out.
Guinness and wine from Walmart ends the day.
 
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North on the interstate. Fast and nose to tail with bank holiday folk heading home. Saw 2 accidents in the first 20 mile so took the slow route.
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Stumbled across a watering hole so parked under the bridge and took a stroll.
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Arrived at Boiling Springs MO which I goggled last night.
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The water was cold but it was the weather that was boiling.
Booked a cabin for the night, well, shed. Very basic and rustic but a nice change.
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Plywood walls and one window.
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Nipped to the next town for bbq supplies.
 
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Bit ott with the salad there :D
 
Just a tiny bit creepy when the sun went down. Noises from the fridge didn't help but we gained a little comfort from this :D
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Headed NE and had sausage and eggs along the way. Drove through some rain before reaching St Louis.
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Got a downtown room with a view of the Gateway arch.
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Walked to the old court house and bought tickets for the arch.
Looked around the exhibits.
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This is the type of car the gets you to the top of the arch.
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Some pics of the arch along the way.
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And 630ft view from the top.
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Walked around town in 92' heat.
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Before having a good pint of draft Guinness in the Irish bar adjoining the hotel.
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Pub quiz starts at 8pm, going to have dinner there and join in.
 
I had cod and chips, Julie had shepherds pie. We did poor in the quiz. As expected, too many US questions.
 
North on an empty interstate after breakfast. Then turned off onto the old route 66 for a while.
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Came across an old covered bridge.
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Drove into Springfield IL, Lincolns resting place.
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Visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.
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Before scraping the near side wing in the car park, then finding a hotel. :rolleyes:
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^oops!

Nice pics and interesting places you have visited / stayed at.

^^^ that covered bridge is a luxury one - some we drove over / through didn't have brick or stone supports, just wood that looked like it would snap if you sneezed the wrong way!

Can recommend a decent place to stay close(ish) to Chicago if you aren't staying in the city before heading to the airport:

Geneva (on the Fox River) 45 mins to the west of O'Hare. Nice little town, great pizza on N 3rd street.
 
^oops!

Nice pics and interesting places you have visited / stayed at.

^^^ that covered bridge is a luxury one - some we drove over / through didn't have brick or stone supports, just wood that looked like it would snap if you sneezed the wrong way!

Can recommend a decent place to stay close(ish) to Chicago if you aren't staying in the city before heading to the airport:

Geneva (on the Fox River) 45 mins to the west of O'Hare. Nice little town, great pizza on N 3rd street.

I've always wanted to see one of those bridges. This one was preserved, no traffic, so I'm still looking for a real one.

Thanks for the tip mate but I think we will stay downtown in Chicago. We once had a few days there and would like to see it at night again.
 
OK - in Chicago we stayed at the Public which is just 5 mins north of the central downtown.

Nice hotel - we had a nice room/suite but it was spoilt by the noisy air conditioning units, so can't recommend it because of this one thing.

A must do is eat at Lou Malnati's Pizzeria on N State Street - if it is a nice evening see if you can get a table outside at the front.

Enjoy the rest of your trip.
 
Thanks, we haven't eaten Italian yet so we'll check that out.
Had snow crab at the Red Lobster. I don't do finger food but I always make an exception for these.
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We decided to go there.
Woke up to heavy rain and the weather channel shows rain from Chicago to St Louis, so that's been lucky.
After an hour of driving the rain stopped and it's warm but cloudy in Geneva lL.
Our room at the Herrington.
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Riverfront view from our balcony.
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Yep, that's where we stayed. Room looks similar - ours had a fireplace, bed way was bigger than super-king and also a massive bathroom with two sinks, toilet round a corner (with its own phone!), large shower and huge spa bath - the bathroom had a heated floor which was fighting with the air-con, but we managed to get it to our liking. Best sleep of the holiday!

I think our room number was 312 or 314 or something like that.

Enjoy the little town charm of Geneva before the madness of Chicago - hope it's not too hot for you - it was 90+f & 90+% humidity when we were there, but still loved it.
 

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