Journal: Effingham, IL to Fort Scott, KS

Regrets, I have a few...

6.16.2024
Day 3 of the drive home, day 20 of the trip.

Behold the round breakfast!

From the Quality Inn free Contintal Breakfast buffet: round sausage, round fried egg, bagel. Route 66 mug obtained on a previous trip.

After that well rounded meal (haha, couldn’t resist), I left Effingham at 8:30.

This day became a day of driving past things, not stopping, and regretting it.

Regret #1:
Seeing and not capturing the Giant Cross.
(Maybe I shot it on a previous road trip from I-70, which has a far superior view to the one from US40. Too lazy to look right now. Using the internet for an image).

Swiped from Roadside America be sure to click and read their description!

DID capture a hay rake!

A definite WTH moment. Had no idea what I was looking at. My sister knew right away once I posted it on Facebook.

I had a brief encounter with the fabled Rout 66 in Edwardsville, IL.

Regret #2:
The Filipino bakery in Saint Louis
There were So. Many. Things. I could have eaten. If Severo had been with me, we would have made a U-turn.

Snagged this image from Yelp later when I was relaxing in Fort Scott. I Googled “Saint Louis Filipino Bakery”. Yes, that’s exactly the place I drove past. link

Twenty miles later, getting more and more hungry, I spied a Trader Joe’s as I was sitting at a light. Yes! Time to replenish my food stash! I bought a selection of delicious items including Lemon Scones. I picniced in the parking lot, immediately scarfing down two.

About two hours later, I came upon the green rolling hills of the Ozarks.

Regret #3:
The Giant Cowbell in Belle, MO.

Another internet grab, from Visit Missouri, read more. I will have to return to this. It’s functional, you can ring it!

near Vienna, MO.

Through the Ozarks, I was routed onto a lot of empty county roads. I felt “in the back of the beyond” and had the eerie feeling of entering the land of the Ozarks TV series.
And no phone reception.

I crossed over Lake of the Ozarks to a slightly horrifying view of a maybe 5-story wall of lakeside condos. (Did not look as scary on Google Street View. Was it my imagination? Maybe I was in a trance).

The land flattened out again as I approached the Kansas state line.

near Walker, MO.

I reached my destination, Fort Scott, KS, at around 5:30

My lodging was the charming, historic Courtland Hotel, built in 1906 for the burgeoning railroad trade. I relished staying in the old fashioned atmosphere, complete with old fashioned hospitality.

Room 5

the main salon

Dinner was a combination of Trader Joe’s food.

I ate the entire container of salsa!

Day 20 complete, 406 miles, 9 hours.