Where's Waldo....John

Well, it has been 7 or 8 days since we last logged in. Then we were in Seward, Nebraska; now we are in Bloomington, Ill. Have had several long days of riding, including a 96 miler yesterday and the day before, we rode 77 miles in the rain, thunder, and lightning. Mostly, the days are very hot and humid. After we left Seward, Nebr. we stayed in the Hotel Fitzgerald in Plattesmouth, Nebr and crossed the flooded Missouri the next morning. Not many options for cross the Missouri as the flooding is quite dramatic and extensive. In Iowa we tried to take US 34 across, but due to flooding, road closures, and being scared worse than I can remember on that highway (no shoulder, high speed trucks, etc.) we traveled south to Iowa Highway 2 and crossed the state that way. Iowa does not believe in shoulders on roadways, roads are very rough on us physically and on the bikes. Hell, they make Nebraska look good. We crossed the Mississippi at Ft. Madison, Iowa. Great cafe and bakery at Ivy's. Interesting little town, very much the Mississippi river town of Huck Finn era. In Iowa we also traveled through Amish country, the carraiges, etc. The farms are all immaculate, maybe we can all learn something about their simplicity and way of life. After crossing into Ill., we traveled on Ill Hiway 9 across the state and thus am now in Bloomington, Ill. Will be taking a day off tomorrow and then hitting the Indiana border the next day. So far we are over 2100 miles, a little over 700 left to go. Has been an adventure but miss Kathy and the family. Will try to keep you abreast of where we are at. John