Having my things already packed from my last attempt at Colorado made getting out the door much easier that Sunday morning. I was awake at 3:10 and on Rt. 64 by 3:45am. The trip, at least for the next few hours, would be just like Wednesday's attempt. I wasn't bothered too much that I had to double-back from Nashville. I'd been trying to break my way into Martin Agency for years, so getting a chance for an interview was far more important to me than another day on the road.

The goal for the day was to drive as far as I could before finding a hotel somewhere (hopefully at least in St. Louis, MO)

The sun started thinking about coming out after I crossed into West Virginia, but it was still almost black. The fog wasn't as bad as last time, which I was grateful for. The trip through the hills of West Virginia reminded me of my roadtrip to Chicago, and brought back lots of great memories. I was eager to run into a Cracker Barrel to start listening to a new audio book, since my "Getting to Yes" book ended somewhere on Rt. 81. The sun started coming out, and I finally picked up a few new books at a Cracker Barrel somewhere in Kentucky.

The first book was about the Scott (Spike) Spicher story, a really fascinating account of a US pilot shot down over Iraq in the first Gulf war who has yet to be rescued. Most claim that he is now Sadaam's prized posession (those who know Sadaam wouldn't be surprised at all to find that he is holding a US soldier hostage just to get his rocks off). It will be interesting to see if we can glean more info from Sadaam, now that he's rotting in a cell himself.

<Rant>Good thing we don't treat our prisoners like his regime did, scourging them with whips then dragging them through raw sewage. While I'm on this topic, I should mention for my records that some US soldiers were caught mistreating Iraqi prisoners of war, held in Abu Graib. That was the same prison that the Iraqi government threw people of all kinds into hell, back when they were in charge. Sadaam and Sons have been reported by witnesses to have sicked dogs on people, thrown men into wood chippers – and let’s not forget the mass genocide! So yes, the offending officers should be punished for their misconduct, but things are blown way out of proportion- that prison has seen more abuse than just naked photos and forced homosexuality. </Rant>

The second CD I grabbed was a waste of money. It was titled something like "Conflict for whimps," trying to train people to face conflict. While I thought it might be an interesting subject, I have really moved past the whole hesitation thing. This book was beneath me apparently, because I found myself calling the author a real wuss several times. I stopped about half-way through. I just couldn't take it. I am not the audience for this book. I'm not a coward anymore. I'm no longer afraid to speak my mind or face conflict. It's part of life. I try not to make it part of mine, and life is fine.

I drove through Louisville, Kentucky and had lunch somewhere in Indiana. Did you know there's a Santa Claus, Indiana? I didn't. Lunch was good, because it gave me a chance to return some books, gas up, eat, check the maps, and walk around a bit. On my Chicago trip, I couldn't go further than Lexington in one day. Today, I had already passed that by several hours and several hundred miles.

Some time went by and I found myself in St. Louis, Missouri. I really wanted to stop and see the famous Jefferson Park arch/gateway, so that's exactly what I did. My original plan that morning was to hopefully get this far on the road and find a place to stay, but I had a lot of energy... so I got out of the car to explore.

The park area is beautiful there, with the cityscape of St. Louis to one side, the Mississippi River to the other, and a big-ol' honkin' arch in the middle. Topping out at 630 feet, the St. Louis arch is a thing to behold. I walked around, taking photos and just trying to soak it all in. I made a few phone calls to tell everyone that I was half-way across the country, then took a nap under the arch. The line was too long to go up into the arch, and since I had done enough towers in New York and Chicago, I was all towered-out anyhow. So, I took some more artsy photos and hit the dusty trail.

I picked up an audio book at another Cracker Barrel- this one was about the new economy created by eCommerce, and how to adapt as a manager to embrace and prosper within the new style of the economy. He didn't mention anything I didn't already know, but it was nice to get some confirmation that I would be ready to face a challenge like management. :) It was a quick book (two cassettes) and I was done with the book within a few hours. Insightful, but kind of dry.

The next major area on the road was Kansas City, and since it was 3 hours away, I figured that was a good goal to reach so I could sleep finally. I really wanted some barbecue for dinner, and where better to go than KC, right?? Well, when I got there a few hours later, there was nothing to be seen. I drove through the Missouri side and then the Kansas side of the city and nothing was open. It was 10:30 on Sunday, and it was a ghost town. I knew kind of where I was, since I had spent a few days there at a student media conference years back @ RU. Nothing was open, and there were less than a handful of cars on the road.

I started another audio book as I left the empty city hungry and disappointed. This book, "The Last Juror" by John Grisham, was very compelling from the very beginning. I dig Grisham. Having already passed Kansas City, I really didn't know where I would stop for the night. It was pitch-black outside, and while I was tired, I wasn't slap-happy at that point. So, I kept on going. The next major city on signs was Topeka, Kansas. It was several hundred miles away.

Once in the flat areas of Kansas, the pitch black night sky opened up into a huge lightning storm. To this day, I'll never forget how spectacular those bolts of lightning were as they covered the completely open sky. With hardly any rain from the storm, I was able to drive safely and enjoy the light show. Off in the distance, I passed the Royals stadium and managed to get a shot of it as I sped along. I found an exit near Lawrence, Kansas and proceeded to look for a place to have dinner/sleep. It was 11:15pm.

I drove around for 20 minutes, but just like Kansas City, nothing was open. I was going to treat myself to a hot meal instead of the chips/grapes/crackers that I had munched on throughout the day. At 11:45 I finally found a restaurant open next to a hotel. I ate and quickly called it a night. I drove more than 1,450 miles that day.