We followed the usual routine – pack the bikes, check out of the motel, and look to Mason to find a good breakfast diner. I think Mason’s batting average is about .875. I’m not sure how he does it but he very rarely leads us to a breakfast disaster. Today he chose a real winner for us. April’s Diner in downtown Newton, Iowa. I actually learned something while at April’s. Newton, Iowa is the world’s leading source of Maytag Blue Cheese. Don’t ask me any more details. I am not a cheese connoisseur. I thought Maytag made washing machines. Breakfast was good – no cheese was consumed.

We finished a really good breakfast and headed for our bikes. We came across this interesting place. I hope you can read what’s printed on the window. “Joy, Guiness World Records Title Holder – Most Tricks in a minute by a PIg.” Made us wonder what tricks a pig can perform other than getting turned into bacon, pork chops, or ham. Answering this question will take more serious research.

The rest of the day was pretty much – buy gas, pound down the interstate highways, repeat. The mileage was only about 300 for the day but with heat and a good dose of road construction, it seemed twice that. It appears that temperatures are going to continue to climb as we make the rest of our journey to Sturgis, South Dakota. As least we’re in the right state now.

One of the docents at an Iowa rest stop asked where we were headed for the night. I told him Yankton South Dakota. He recommended “Charlie’s Pizza”. That instantly became the plan for the evening. Like many other times, we didn’t follow the plan we just created. We pulled into the parking lot of our hotel and attached to it was Boss’s Sports Bar and Pizza. We immediately forgot about poor old Charlie and his pizza. We were within walking distance of air conditioning, cold drinks, and yes – pizza. I really don’t feel sorry for Charlie. He should have put his operation adjacent to a hotel we were staying in.

While we didn’t meet Charlie, we did encounter two interesting people. Bryce, the bartender / server took very good care of us (delivering the pizza while it was still hot). Sue was a bar patron with a million stories to tell about her life as a “Mule Skinner”. She has traveled everywhere and we listened intently to her tales – some of them, believable.

We spent the rest of the evening telling the same war stories that we have talked about several times regarding our work and personal lives. I enjoy spending time with my friends even if we repeat our stories.

Tomorrow will bring another short mileage day – about 250 miles, as we work our way across South Dakota. I’ll try to do a better job of taking pictures. Thanks for reading along as we ramble westward in the hot sun.