Day 4
This day started terribly. Our RV has two motor-controlled slides in it, a shorter one in the "living room" area, a much longer one on the rear of the RV with two bunk beds that also increases the width of the rear bedroom. This larger, heavier slide had issues as we were getting ready to leave. It moved, then stopped, then moved slightly, then stopped, and then only one end would move. We were stranded. We couldn't drive around with a 2' slide sticking out, so I decided to take a look. I could see that there was a motor, two gears and two tracks, but it was mostly hidden by a large metal frame screwed to the exterior wall. I decided to try and help the slide move in by pushing on it as Kelly operated the switch. The motor was obviously not working. I decided to push a little harder, and then BANG! It slid quite nicely! So I enter the RV to look at it, and notice that the metal casing that was once screwed to the wall, is no longer screwed to the wall. The motor had come out of its pins, spun around, and unplugged itself, and the gears were off track. So, we were able to slide it back in manually, BUT, there was nothing to hold it there on a left turn (the slide out was on the right). This was a little concerning to the non-driving members of our trip, so I called the RV place. Remember when I said they were good to us in the beginning? They were! He gave me options, one of which was to go to a lumber store and get some 2x4's and wedge them in place to keep the slide out closed. Fortunately, the Walmart we chose that evening was next to a Lowe's!! We drove (slowly) to the Lowe's (about 500 yards) and parked, walked in, and inquired about 2x4's. The gentleman informed us that he had plenty, but when I asked about getting them cut, he mentioned something about seeing someone "tagging out" the saw because it wasn't working correctly. Ugh. So, we grabbed a 2x4, and walked back to the saw, ready for disappointment and the purchase of a hand saw, and it worked!! Our thumbs down is at the RV and the 2x4's, not the gentleman helping us. I hope he didn't see this. We really appreciated his help!
The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was a part of the original Route 66, and crosses the Mississippi River. It is about a mile long, and at about 3/4 of a mile from the beginning, it has a 22 degree bend to meet the shore of the other side. Kelly did not feel to confident in the bridge's ability to hold all three of us, but we assured her it was safe. Mostly.
In the background, just to the left of my face, is the St. Louis skyline. You may be able to see the arch. It's still closed.
I am looking good today!!
We had to stop for
Made it across! Kelly avoided several "sketchy" metal plates.
The Luna Cafe is said to be a former hangout of Al Capone. We met the owner, nick-named after an animal (Goat? Zebra? I don't remember) who told us that in Capone's days the girls were upstairs, and the high-stakes poker games were in the basement. If you look at the sign, you'll notice a cherry in the glass. He told us that if the cherry was on, that meant the girls were working.
Henry's Ra66it Ranch was closed for the season. I think we picked the wrong season.
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We stopped by an auto sales place on the frontage road that had about 6 giant pole barns. The barns, which were at least 100 yards long each, had hundreds of cars, all for sale. The two above are interesting. The green one is a 1978 Buick Skylark, which is similar to a car that Kelly had first, and was then passed down to me. Ours was Easter Egg blue, had no tailpipe due to an frosted rear windshield and an incident with a mailbox, and a nice dent in the driver's side rear corner where some idiot didn't know where to stick the bumper jack, which has a hook on it, and put it under the edge of the rear corner, lifting the car and making a nice crease where the tower portion of the jack pushed against the upper part of the quarter panel. You probably don't care, but others reading this will say, "oh yeah, I remember that." The white car is a 1969 Pontiac Catalina Convertible, just like a car I had after high school. I'm betting that the throttle linkage on this one won't get stuck during a burnout, and it doesn't leave motor mounts behind as it backs out of driveways. I had a lot of good times in that car.
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The T-Bird on the left is on a Bronco frame, so it's 4 wheel drive. I thought that was interesting. The UT truck looked like it belonged in Tennessee, in my driveway, next to my Jeep.