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Saint Louis, MO - Paoli, IN
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We stayed with Anya and her parents for most of the day. After a late lunch, we left Saint Louis, the gateway of the West. We saw the famous Arch-it is impossible to miss it, it is huge! No pictures, sorry. Roberto was driving and I am a terrible photographer. Our goal for today was to cross Illinois and Indiana in five hours, and we almost made it. We learned a couple of things: first, drivers in Illinois are nuts, and they have to be to understand the highway signs; second, secondary roads are good and well kept, but you have to stay within 55 miles/hour.
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We took the state routes 50 and 60, passing through Vincennes, IN. We also passed by the fourth Salem in this trip. The houses seem to be either 19th century buildings or from the fifties, Back-to-the-future style. Lots of corn and grain and some culture that I couldn't identify. These secondary rounds are funny. People's driveway is right in front of the state route. Of course we have to slow down when we get to the cities, but it seems dangerous, anyway. These small villages are at once familiar and strange. They are familiar because of all the movies we have seen about America's heartland ... including the pink flamingos in the garden and yellow ribbons 'support our troops' in the cars. And they are strange because they lack those landmarks that we kind of take for granted in larger cities: supermarkets, Wallgreens, etc.
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I still think that farmers should be encouraged to put signs in their plantations identifying them. It would be highly educative and not too expensive: just write 'Corn', 'Wheat', and 'Pineapple' in huge signs and put them facing the road. Tourist and children would appreciate the consideration.
Route 60 is particularly beautiful, leading to some skiing resort. It was hard to find a motel there, though. We stopped at Paoli, just some miles from the borders between Indiana and Kentucky.
Lise
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