10/10/07: Day 1: St. Louis to Oklahoma City
We finally got on the road at noon. Basically, the driving was easy. But we spent 9 hours doing it after starting in cranky moods. So it wasn't an easy day.
We didn't stop for any interesting roadside things, but just tried to make miles. We did buy gas a few miles off of the Interstate, where old Route 66 (now Missouri 96) crosses Missouri 39. We headed off that way because Karen saw a billboard promising Art Glass at the exit. We never did find the glass.
We stopped for supper at the World's Largest McDonald's, that straddles the interstate in Oklahoma (see the pictures).
Truck driving Through the World's Largest McDonalds
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McDonald's astride the Will Rogers Expressway (toll interstate I-44 east of Tulsa), with statue of its namesake
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Plaque on the base of Will Rogers statue
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View down past the soda fountain in the World's Largest McDonald's, where we stopped for a bite
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What's wrong with this "Think Safety" sign? Think about what direction you'd have to be driving to read it!
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Karen picks me (shadow) up after supper. I think this was the first McDonald's meal I've had in years.
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We drove into a painfully bright sunset with a nicely patterned sky, paying tolls as we went.
As Karen was driving into a brutal sunset, I took a pretty snapshot through the bug-spattered windshield.
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Toll lanes in mid-America.
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Stop and Go with friendly words.
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At a gas station on the turnpike an hour east of Oklahoma City. Karen didn't notice the signs on the doors (enlarged oval) until I showed her this picture.
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Then, as I drove into the night, Karen spent an hour with 2 maps and 3 coupon books to find us a nice, cheap room. As it turned out, we are staying right in Oklahoma City, just off of I-40 (West of Forest Park, well inside I-270). For $40 we have 2 beds, Fridge, Microwave, WiFi, and a "Deluxe Continental breakfast". They have a bagel toaster in the lobby, which is a good sign.
Our opinion is that our vacation starts tomorrow, Thursday.