August 19, Free Meals

This morning was a really gorgeous morning! There was still some fog around, as the humidity is still quite high. But, Jeff got out and gone early, and I was not far behind him. I usually like to sweep out the coach, maybe run a mop over it, stuff like that. If there are any dishes (usually are from Jeff's breakfast!), I get those out of the way so there is room for the coffee pot. I will normally make my own coffee, but sometimes will pick up a cup in a convenience store or somewhere like that. There really are no Starbucks out here! I think there were a couple in Springfield, but they weren't anywhere we were.

Jeff came to the first little town, Chestnut, and somehow got entrenched in the local cafe where many of the town were having their breakfast. They bought his breakfast there. (Free meal #1 for Jeff today!) He had a great time talking to all the folks there. He said that some of the men were volunteer firefighters there in the area. They also informed him that Chestnut is the geographic center of Illinois.

       

        

It's fun to take those pics of the local fire stations.

         

After leaving Chestnut and moving on down the road, he ran into a guy on the road. Apparently there were a LOT of people in the area that saw the interview on the local NBC affiliate, WAND. Anyway, the guy stopped and talked to Jeff for quite a while! And, he offered to buy Jeff lunch (Free meal #2 for Jeff!) in Clinton, at Ted's Grill. He couldn't be there, but apparently he went by and paid for the meal. The owner was waiting for Jeff when he arrived, too! They were very happy to have Jeff come in and eat. So, if you are ever in Clinton, Illinois, stop by Ted's Grill right there on highway 54 and have a bite!

             

The owner, not Ted.... Dom...

They had tons of license plates. You know Jeff
loves license plates!

           

Very presidential state.

               


We went through a couple of small dot on the map towns today, too. Some of the things that you see around these towns is interesting. Oh, and something I never knew about Jeff.... he LOVES this seed logo with the flying corn.

           

              

We are seeing a few different flowers, now. I'm not sure what changed. Someone told us that the ragweed was in bloom, too. And they have different types. It's a good thing neither of us are affected by it!

         

I found these new purple flowers when I went to the
Weldon Springs State Park to dump the tanks.

I guess more than one state can have a Weldon Springs. When I was in high school, I lived in an unincorporated (I think) berg called Weldon Springs, and there was a working spring there by the highway. It is in Missouri. Maybe the same guy came by, discovered them, and named them after himself?

Once we made it to Clinton, I got a few things done. While taking pics in the downtown area to save time, I stumbled across a brand new laundromat! I just had to toss in a load of dirty clothes. There was absolutely no one else there. It was so dead, I left the clothes in the machine and went a couple blocks to the town square to take some more pics. And when I returned, there was still no one else there. I was surprised, though, that there were about 3 bags of laundry that appeared to have been washed but not dried, sitting on the floor the whole time. I figured someone would come back for them, but no one did.

I didn't see a courthouse. Apparently it is gone? Here
is a rendering of it on granite. Not sure why.

           

This state is Lincoln crazy!

               

       

The only mural I saw. 

               

The high school mascot, the eagle.

Tons of prairie homes here!

                     
Jeff didn't really find anything on the side of the road that was noteworthy today. But here are some things he noticed along the way.

I'm not sure I have mentioned how incredibly
friendly the cows are here! They actually run
to the fence to see what you are doing, and watch
you as you go by.

             

I thought these pumpkins were incredibly large
for mid-August!  Made me feel fallish....

                     

The road ahead is taking on a different flavor, now. We are seeing more greenery, lots of tall trees! I saw a number of different types of oak today, and maples, and elm and a lot of others that I don't really know.

                

Clinton Lake had a nuke just to the left of this pic.

                   
To wrap up the day, we cruised into Farmer's City. It is a bit bigger than I expected, too. Not realizing that the interstate goes through here, I just assumed it was the same as the rest. But, it really is a bit larger. There are also newish subdivisions on the outskirts of town. It made me wonder what industry they may have here to merit such new growth.

         

              


Jeff had a number of folks talk to him that saw that news story, including this Farmer City volunteer firefighter and his family! A number of people stopped on the road and asked if he was the guy on TV last night! Many of them gave cash donations, as well. That is what we need! In fact, donations is why we are doing this. If you have not donated yet, please go to our website or Facebook page, and use the PayPal links there.

          

Once again, it is time for bed! So here are our Mailboxes of the Day!