Once again we were able to leave the hotel this morning in bright sunshine.  It really felt good.  It was time to say goodbye to Metropolis and head back into the Hoosier state.  As usual, Henry’s Rambling Ranch is really calling my name to encourage me to get home.  We just couldn’t quite make it there today.

I did accomplish one thing, we were able to ride down the road for an hour and eat breakfast at a small local diner call The Steam Cafe (no explanation as to the significance of the name).  It wasn’t exactly the mom-and-pop diner that I wanted but it was OK.  It’s located right in the center of downtown Harrisburg, IL and the food was servicable.

I usually am not a big fan of parking our bikes in a downtown area but the big security guard promised he would watch over them for us.  He did a great job.

The temperatures soard to over 90 degrees F (33 degrees C).  The humidity number was just about equal to that 90 mark. We spied a Love’s Truck Stop and pulled in to cool our heels (and other body parts too). Thank you Love’s for letting us soak up as much of your air conditioning as my poor old body would hold.  The cool didn’t last very long once I stepped outside again.

Since the cool didn’t last as long as I wanted, we were forced to stop at Steak “n Shake for a large chocolate shake. Who can resist ice cream? It was the right thing to do. They just happened to have a crane machine (aka – claw machine) to which I have a deep addiction. I spent $3 and hit for 2 really cute animals and something called a “Frozen” (or something like that). I’ve got to admit, I never picked up a girl inside a crane machine before.

The rest of the afternoon we cruised north on US-41 to US-50 and then into our home for the night at Bedford, Indiana. We’re keeping one eye on the radar screen in hopes that we will hit a window of dryness and put the trusty mounts into their own stalls tomorrow sometime.

We’re almost 1,200 miles into Jana’s first motorcycle adventure. I’m really proud of the way she’s handled all of the challenges this kind of travel can throw at you. As usual, I’ll try to put words to what I feel about the trip once it’s complete. Thanks for letting me Ramble On.