Pokemon Trainer: "Do you like Pokemon?"
Marc Taylor: "No, no I don't."

Nothing beats starting the day with a bowl of Lucky Charms in a polystyrene bowl. After an uninspiring breakfast we popped back into Carlinville to browse the local shops and pick up a souvenir or two. Marc started the day as driver and settled in well discovering cruise control and handed 'the beast' control of our speed.

We decided to bypass St Louis and cross the Mississippi River into the state of Missouri; one state down, eight more to go. As we continued along Route 66, we took a detour and visited the Meramec Caverns, a supposed location where the outlaw Jessie James hid back in the day. All of our books recommended the caverns as a 'must see' attraction; oh how wrong they were! We were introduced to a wooden house that had nothing to do with the caves (something that was found down the road apparently), an earth clock that didn't work and one of the main attractions was a mud hill with a lamp attached; supposedly the people working on the cave back in the day became lazy and decided the mud hill was more of an 'attraction' than 'waste'.

The highlight of our day included a visit to the world's largest rocking chair. We were disappointed to find that you couldn't climb up and sit on it, so we had to settle for some roadside photos next to it instead.
This is where we found out that an unappreciated detour was about to come our way. Due to the severe weather conditions occurring in Missouri and Kansas, Route 66 was flooded and we were advised to take an alternative route - apparently the road hasn't been under water like this since 1982.

Chris was our lead driver during this time, and to be honest, thank god we were caught in traffic. It was not only safer for everyone on US63, but I'm not sure that road needed anymore road kill. We've all gained experience driving on American soil now, so proper shared driving starts tomorrow.
Chris would like you all to know, that he considers his international driving to be of a high standard; however, the rest of us are keeping schtuum as it is likely to cause him discomfort, sadness and an early return home to England.

Once again the road had defeated us and we had to pull up into a motel earlier than we anticipated: The Mother Road 2-0 Boys on Tour! After checking into our motel, we realised we had made a massive mistake; a serial killer checked in behind us. If you've ever seen the horror film 'Road Kill' then you'll know what we're talking about... he is 'Rusty Nail' and we're ' Candy Cane'.

We're posting this blog early because quite frankly, we're not sure if we're going to be alive in the morning. Note to the world: never ever visit Mountain Grove. Ever!

Parents, significant others and friends; just in case, we love you! x