We didn't waste time after playing and decided to head towards Carbondale straightaway knowing we had some "city errands" to do this afternoon. On the way there we were needing to stock up on groceries and August was getting a little squirrelly in the car seat, so I was all too happy to come across an Aldi in Harrisburg. It was the first one I'd seen on the trip, and is one of my favorites to shop back home. Indiana shoppers don't seem to engage in the Illinois trend of catching someone who hasn't put their cart up yet, and just handing them your quarter in exchange for their cart. Let's make it catch on, Hoosier friends. Our tiny fridge is filled to the brim again, and August was much happier after a snack in the parking lot.
It was an easy drive to Carbondale after that. I had a couple things I wanted to do while we were in one of the largest cities on the route, so August and Chris went to a bike shop and got some ice cream. The go-to guidebook written about this route mentioned that Illinois is prone to thunderstorms in the summer, which seemed a little silly to me because Indiana and Illinois have largely the same climate and topography, and I wouldn't consider either of them to be any more prone than any other state in the Midwest. But sure enough, the first full day here there was a pop-up thunderstorm while we were in Carbondale. That Donna Ikenberry knew what she was writing about! Thankfully Chris didn't get stuck in it during his ride.
Our campground tonight at Lake Murphysboro State Park is about 7 miles outside of Carbondale. Chris' buddy Matt, who lives less than a mile from us in Plainfield, made the trip down this afternoon with his wife Janet and son Sam to ride tomorrow's miles with him. Very cool, I know. They met us for dinner in Murphysboro at a great little Italian place called Cummare's. I got the bruschetta, which was just what I was in the mood for, nothing too heavy and loaded with fresh ingredients. Chris, healthy little eater he is, got a summer salad, which was spring greens loaded with blueberries, candied pecans, feta, bacon, and blueberry vinaigrette with bread on the side. Probably not what I would be eating if I knew I was burning 8,000 calories a day! He does eat throughout the day but I think the heat makes him not want a heavy dinner.
Silly August, already photobombing. I wonder who he learned that from?
Illinois is the shortest state of the journey, and tomorrow we will be in Missouri already. I know very little about it, but am looking forward to seeing the Ozarks. If you have experience with this area, please comment with travel tips!
No comments:
Post a Comment