The night before we left St.Louis, Carolyn rented a car and the next day we headed on separate vehicles down to Southern MO, where my nephew Tom and his wife and daughter live. Before we left though, my brother's insurance agent came by and gave me a check for a new fairing. It was a short ride down to where Tom and Beth live and we arrived in the area a little early, so we killed time exploring a state park called Elephant Rocks. These are big granite rock formations that supplied a lot of the materials for St. Louis streets and buildings back in the 1800's. Carolyn, being the vandal that she is, tried to pick this rock up and throw it in the weeds:
Tom and Beth live in an interesting house. It's a country schoolhouse that was built by the WPA in 1940 and was in use as a school until 1959. Previous owners had done a half-assed job of using it for a dwelling, but Tom bought it in 1994 or so, and did a complete makeover inside. The workmanship of the basic structure is outstanding and Tom has done an excellent job on the interior. Here are some pics:
The whole family, including dogs:
The next day Tom rode his Kawasaki KLR dual sport bike with me to my nephew's house in Russellville, KY. Carolyn tagged along in the car.
The ride to Russellville was hot and flat with lots of traffic. I don't think I'll use that route going back. My nephew Mark had plenty of cold beer and hospitality, though, and we were ready to go by morning........Tom to head back to MO, and Carolyn and I to go our separate ways to Kingston, TN.
Tom, me and Mark.
Carolyn stopped on her way to Kingston to visit a woman who had worked for her before she moved to Tennessee, and I took the roads less traveled. In fact, today was a stellar day. Once you get a little ways into Eastern TN, the flats go away and the roads get really curvy, with little traffic (Good Roads). The dry weather continued, but not so warm, which was nice. I actually got to work on my chicken strips a little.
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