3000 miles

This morning Jackie an I woke from a restful nights sleep at the hotel. We went down to the continental breakfast and there was another cyclist there. I was evidently feeling very antisocial because I did not even go over to say hello and inquire about his trip. We left with the plan of eating brunch in Murphysboro, about 31 miles into our day. This seemed like it would be a good plan since Murphysboro had a sizable population of 10,000 people. Definitely large enough to sustain a diner or cafe. We were totally wrong. After pedaling through the main strip of town and asking around, we discovered that out options were McDonalds or Hardees. Instead we picked up some snacks at the Walgreens and planned on eating an early dinner in Goreville when we arrived.

The ride today was hilly and hot. In the morning I quickly surpassed 3000 miles. Wow. After 70 miles we arrived into Goreville, starving. We asked around and three people all recommended that we go to this one restaurant. They were not wrong. The food was excellent and we topped it off with blackberry cobbler and chocolate cake. Fully stuffed, we managed to roll ourselves the remaining 2 miles to the campground where we promptly set up and showered.

Today Jackie broke into a song about sharing and proceeded to sing for the next couple of minutes. The mom would have been so proud. Speaking of the mom, she has purchased the official sag wagon for the remainder of the trip (aka my future car during med school, looks like I will be writing the first of many large checks to my parents!). It remains to be determined when she will make the drive down to join us. Jackie and I are hoping it is before we hit the bulk of the Appalachians.