Made an early-ish start from Miami and made a brief jaunt through Kansas and entered into Missouri.
The first town we reached was Joplin, the town that had the awful tornado this year. It was a stunning place with a quaint downtown and lovely houses. There was some evidence of places being rebuilt. Rolled on through Carthage and hit the interstate. Originally planned to stay in Lebanon, however during one of our juice/gas stops Mark suggested powering on an extra hundred miles or so and heading for St Louis.
So we did. Despite being tempted by signs for such delights as the world's biggest candy shop and the world's biggest rocking chair we pushed on through the heat and reached St L about 5. Picked a motel near the airport, checked in and planned out our extra day in St Louis over a subway and a glass of wine.