Saturday, June 11, 2011
Distance: 29 Miles
Train: 47 Miles
Today started poorly. My bathroom locked itself, with me outside if it, twice. Once in the evening and once in the morning. It was a chore to pick. I was gripped with despair until it did eventually spring open as relief washed over me. I tried to make a reservation in Hermann, MO, but the listed, published phone number was connected to a modem. I made a request on their website successfully, but received no confirmation. My first stop was to replace my broken plastic pedals with sturdy metal pedals. I learned of a gentleman biking the country. A gentleman who had done it as a younger man, was six foot five, on a titanium road bike, and cranking out 160 miles a day. Wow.
When I made to Hermann along State 100, of course there were no vacancies and the clerk was unhelpful and confused and prickly. I wandered back toward the Amtrak station, calling local B&Bs along the way with no options, and lucked out with an incoming Missouri River Runner Amtrak train ready to whisk me along to the next stop, Missouri's state capital Jefferson City. We pulled up to the station, I exited and passed the Governor's Mansion and the Capitol Building on my way to my hotel. I ate dinner in the top floor observation restaurant as the sunset. It was a warm ending to a pockmarked day.
I don't think that was relief washing over you.
ReplyDeleteJust kidding! Hope you're finding the great interior as engaging as you did earlier sections of your journey, and I hope that you're able to still have that long, slow kind of look at what you're passing even when your ground speed is greater.