Day 1 - Chicago, IL to St. Louis, MO

And the Rains Came Down

We left Chicago via Route 66 and drove through a light mist for several hours. Our first meal was at the Cozy Dog in Springfield, Illinois, where the corn dog was invented and, more importantly, perfected.

It was after we left Springfield that the mist turned into real rain. Desperate for some type of roadside diversion, we stopped at the Mother Jones memorial in Olive, Illinois.

After driving all day in rain that never let up, I knew things weren't going well on the first day of our trip. But I didn't know they were this bad.

When we finally arrived in St. Louis (America's fastest-shrinking city, I read somewhere) we spent far too much time driving in circles through the suburbs looking for restaurants, grocery stores, our hotel, you name it.

There's something purposefully confusing about those St. Lou 'burbs -- if you don't know your way around, it's better that you stay the hell out. That's the way their residents like it, I think.