DAY 4 JUNE 5

I'm a long way from home

And i miss my loved ones so

In the early morning rain

With a dollar in my hand

With an achin' in my heart

And my pockets full of sand

With no place to go
Gordon Lightfoot

Woke to a pouring rain and strong winds and very wet bikes. We were leaving late today knowing that we only had a 75 mile drive to brunch in Springfield Missouri with a group of Phoenix PD retirees. After a couple of hours drinking coffee and waiting for the rain to subside suited up in rain gear and hit the interstate. Fifty miles down the road the rain let up and by the time we reached brunch everyone was dry and ready to put the rain gear away. After a two hour lunch and lots of conversation we mounted up and headed east on US 60.

A few years ago we rode most of 60 from Arizona to Virginia Beach but this short stretch we missed by detouring to Branson. We have now finished all of 60 stopping for the night in Sikeston Missouri and dinner at Lamberts Restaurant home of throwed rolls, throwed-rolls.com.

After a late wet start we are close to four hundred miles down the road on great blacktop thru the Mark Twain National Forest. At one break today we found ourselves in a small store/gas station in the middle of nowhere, all activity came to a stop when eight motorcycles pulled in and parked. After a few minutes visiting with Wanda the clerk and a few customers we were deemed harmless and the place returned to normal. A typical stop for us traveling the country experiencing Americana.

I remember Wanda when she was employed

Behind the counter of the Route 60 Bob’s Big Boy

Fried chicken on the front seat

Wanda sittin on my lap

Wiping up our fingers on

A Texaco road map.

Bruce Springsteen