My streak is unbroken.  While packing the bike up this morning it started raining.  14 years of road trips and I’ll get rained on at some point on every single one of them.  I’m not talking about a little drizzle, I’m talking serious downpours.  Reese was really helpful, and between the two of us we got the bike loaded and got me heading down the road.  It was sad to leave, I hate that part of visiting with him, but it is what it is.

Due to the construction backups on I-55, I decided to head out west into Missouri and then head south.  That worked really well, only adding a little time on to the trip, but with much better scenery.  Lunch was in Hannibal, MO where it drizzled a little more and I had to make a roadside repair of my Powerlet plug for the tank bag electrics.  The screw holding one of the wires down had come loose.  My Fathers Day present from Reese, a Swiss Army Knife, came in handy getting everything snugged back down.

After that I continued south, making for Eureka Springs, AR.  There were no other problems encountered during this leg, other than the heat building as I moved south.  I pulled in to Eureka Springs a little after 7 PM, got a hotel room, and unloaded the bike.  On the way in I passed a promising barbecue joint, so I hoofed it back over for some dinner.  It was fantastic.  If you’re in the neighborhood, check out Bubba’s Barbecue.  The ribs are delicious, as is the chocolate cake.

I finally got Reese on the back of the bike this evening.  We got him suited up in his armor, boots, and helmet, and did a quick putt up and down the street.  He was pretty apprehensive at first, but by the end of the first pass he was loving it.  I’m looking forward to taking him on some longer rides once he gets a little older.  I’d love to take him through South Dakota some time.  But we had a good start to it and hopefully there will be many more opportunities.

Back on the road, heading for Peoria, with no stops other than lunch planned.  I stopped for lunch at Pappy’s Barbecue in St. Louis.  That place is popular.  The line was out the door, and it took me about 30 minutes to get to the point where I could place my order.  It was well worth the wait!  On the way out of the parking lot my GPS fell out of its cradle and slid down the road.  It’s fine, a little scuffed, but in working condition.  I’m going to have to make some sort of safety wire setup for it while I’m up in Peoria.  After that I had to get some fuel and disarm before crossing into Illinois.  The trip from St. Louis to Peoria took longer than from Springfield to St. Louis thanks to the Illinois D.O.T.’s bright idea to do bridge work on I-55 on the Friday before the Independence Day weekend.  That was a moment of genius on their part.  Looks like I’ll be going a different route on the way home.  I finally rolled in to Peoria at around 17:30 and got to spend some time with Reese.  That made the construction traffic totally worth it.

I hit the road a little after 9:00 this morning, heading north towards Peoria for Reese’s birthday.  On the way up I was determined to get some more ICR points, all in Oklahoma on this leg.  I stopped at the Lake Murray Lodge first, then up to Oklahoma City to see the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.  After that I rode a little of the old Route 66 and got a picture at Doc’s.  From there it was a blast north and east, with a detour down to Muskogee to see USS Batfish (yes, there is a WW2 submarine in Muskogee).  Finally, I stopped at the Route 66 Vintage Iron Motorcycle Museum and spent some time looking at the vintage bikes and memorabilia.  After that I made my way to Springfield, MO where I stopped for the night.