Words by Issa Breibish // Photography by Nita Breibish

After the straight shot of day 6, and sharing much of the road with massive trucks all vying for position we were thoroughly  looking forward to what Highway 50 would bring. Hopefully it would be lacking our monstrous friends (the truckers often wave at us we jet past them). Day 7 would be our only day up until this point that kept us within the limits of a single state – Missouri – quite a feat considering the mileage. Still, we set out from Cape Girardeau (home of Rush Limbaugh, yikes!) and set north toward St. Louis.

About 20 Miles south of the arch we turned off and headed west along the 50 – and it truly didn’t disappoint. The first 80 miles or so were flowing sweepers set in a lush environment. Trees rushed by on the two-laner then popped us into open fields of corn with the occasional small town to break up the views. It was lovely. The towns that lined the road were tiny – mostly farming towns by the looks of them. When we stopped we were always approached by people curious about the trip. An older woman – in her 80’s – stopped by with a huge grin; “I used to ride one of those. My daddy wouldn’t let me so I’d sneak out, walk down the street to where it was hidden and ride off!” With that she gave the most awesome twist-of-the-wrist gesture and walked off smiling.

Mile after mile of twisty road finally opened up into a four-lane which took us past a six-flags and if we weren’t running to make a 5pm with the B&B, and the temperature wasn’t 104 degrees, we’d have stopped for sure. it was huge.

As we turned north off of the 50 and headed into Kansas City the sky turned black and the clouds were whipping into some kind of fury. Then, with about 20 minutes to go the sky opened up and soaked us completely in a driving rain. We negotiated the last few miles and arrived at the Hawthorne B&B drenched. Wendy met us at the door and gave us some bags to carry our sopping gear up to the room. Once unloaded, showered and dry, we finally had a chance to look at the amazing mansion we’d be spending the night in. Built in 1900, the B&B made you feel like you were in a completely different time. It was a great place to end the day. We headed out for dinner at Café Verona in Independence, MO which is a great town – many historic buildings, beautiful design and great shops. Dinner was fab – though we were being served by kids – that’s to say there didn’t seem to be anyone over 20 in the entire restaurant. It was a bit “children of the corn” – and this perception was only heightened when we left and found ourselves to be the *only* people in the area. I heard the distant sound of drums and walked around the corner only to find it equally desolate with the exception of Wang Chung blaring out of speakers attached to the roof of a nearby building. Nita and I were laughing our asses off.

Back to the B&B and it was my turn to pass out at 9pm.

View the Gallery