Note: This post is from August 31.

We survived the Motel 6 and got a late start out of Toledo, Ohio, then made a bee-line for Chicago, home of the famous deep-dish pizza. We went to Lou Malnati's, which is known as one of the best. It was crowded, even at two in the afternoon, but they have a great system where you can pre-order your pizza while you are waiting for your table, so it is ready just in time. Pizza is so cool. It's such a simple concept, but there are a seemingly limitless number of variations on the theme. In Chicago, it's barely recognizable as a pizza, what with being two inches thick and built on a buttery chewy dough and with the tomatoes on top of the cheese and all that. Christine and I split a small sausage pizza and a salad. It was plenty enough for both of us, with some left over. I can definitely recommend Lou Malnati's, though I think if I were to go back I would get plain cheese instead of sausage, because it was a little heavy. They cover every inch of the pie with sliced sausage. I really liked their sauce, though. Very tomato-ey.

We then took a quick driving tour of Chicago. There were tons of people out on the Sunday before Labor Day and probably the last nice day of the year, especially along Lincoln Park and the shore of Lake Michigan. We would have liked to park again and walk around for a while, but it seems everybody else had the same idea and there was nowhere to park, so we continued on.

We decided to make a diversion south along I-55, for a more scenic route. We were now deviating from our planned itinerary, which was very exciting and a little scary. It seemed like Ronny the truck driver was not going to be in San Francisco in a hurry, though, so we figured we would see some more cities along the way. We decided to head down to St. Louis, Missouri, then follow Rt. 70 West for a while before rejoining Rt. 80 after Salt Lake City, Utah.

Funny how all these roads are connected. If they were made of a stronger material and free of cracks, a giant would be able to pluck Rt. 80 up where it hits Chicago and lift the entire interstate highway system, secondary roads, and neighborhood streets in one go: a big black connectification of pavement. Of course, the giant would have nowhere to stand. There isn't a whole lot of area that's not covered by the web of blacktop. Maybe in the middle of one of the great lakes, or in the Nevada desert.

It doesn't take much time once you're out of Chicago for the Illinois countryside to empty out. The scenery becomes as empty as some really empty thing. This is the beginning of the plains. Miles and miles of fields, mostly corn (I hear a lot of farmland is being converted to grow exclusively corn, for the ethanol it can become, and based on the views I believe it!).

I'm not sure where the term "rolling fields" comes from. They don't actually roll. They just sit there all green and still, the corn silently stalking the soybeans, the peas eyeing the oats. Ah, life as a grain.

Along I-55, we stopped off in Springfield. Springfield is the capital of Illinois and the home of Abraham Lincoln's Tomb, a stretch of the fabled Rt. 66, and a whole bunch of bikers on Harleys (tons and tons) hanging out beside a bar. Lincoln's tomb was very powerful monument to the best president ever. We got there right at dusk, and it was nice to be able to pay respects at his final resting place. I'm not sure what was going on with all the bikers. We kept driving.

We continued to St. Louis, where we saw the famous arch. It is much more impressive than I thought it would be. It's simple but hugiferous and beautiful in its elegance, and it is situated right alongside the mighty (if muddy) Mississippi river, acting as a gateway to Missouri's graceful marble statehouse. The river is lined with casino boats and tour boats and all kinds of other interesting things, making it fun to walk along at night.

We went to spend the night just outside St. Louis, at a pretty nice place called the Stratford Inn. Tomorrow: ribs in Kansas City!