Finally Westward bound!
We left Chattanooga a bit later than we wanted to, but felt relieved that we would soon enter the Central time zone and gain back that hour anyway.
Sadly due to cutting yesterday short we were forced to use the interstate for a bit. I am not sure anything is more soul-sucking than humming along on the highway. There is nothing to see, experience or absorb. Alas, we didn’t have much choice and put our heads down for a few hours.
We stopped for breakfast in a lovely little town somewhere in Tennessee. As we ate our eggs on the patio, Jay noticed a self-wash station across the street. Since the bikes were cooling down we figured it made sense to give them a quick one over. I have to admit, part of me was happy to see 1200 miles of dirt, tar and grime come off my new baby. However, part of me was upset that I even cared. The bike is meant to be ridden and get dirty, and all the imperfections I am picking up along the way are pushing me closer to a healthier relationship with this immaterial object.
Hours later, and countless semis and inattentive drivers vanquished, we made it to Kentucky. Pitting for lunch, I consulted my GPS and determined that if we push it we can still make the ferry across the Mississippi. That seemed like the perfect way to cross the iconic river and something I have been really looking forward to knocking off the proverbial bucket list. This goal breathed new life into my day and helped give a reason for the monotonous slabbing that we were doing.
Wary of the fact that the last ferry out of Kentucky left at 6:15, I picked up the pace as we made our way to Hickman. After consulting with the locals, we finally made it to the dock at 5:50, just in time for the last ferry. Seeing the majestic river in person really transformed the trip for me. Prior I was having a great time and seeing new places, but it felt like a vacation that was destined to end. And yet when I saw those famous waters it began to feel like a real journey.
We paid the $5 per bike and chugged along to the Missouri side. For the first time this entire trip, I didn’t have a real good sense of where we would be staying. I knew it had to be somewhere close for the roads we will be taking tomorrow, but it didn’t really matter where we slept for the night. After playing around in the abandoned fields (where Jay somehow managed to lose his left half fairing), we opted to race the sun towards Charleston, Missouri.
Turns out Charleston is really a one restaurant/motel truck stop sort of a town, but it would have to do. I paid for the room and determined that my bike wouldn’t last the night outside, so she would just have to sleep with me.
Since there was only one restaurant, we didn’t exactly have a ton of options. At least they had a fitting table for us!
Tomorrow should be another fun one and hopefully the Ozarks present enough curves to help me forget the number of straight lines I traveled today.
899 Adventures 
