Like yesterday, we woke to a heavy thunder storm forcing us to delay our start for over and hour. We hoped to find breakfast before leaving town but nothing was open. So we hit the road with 2 bananas each and a bag of Twizzlers (Joe’s favorite food). Once we were underway we faced strong headwinds for our 3 hour ride into Burlington. Besides our breakfast stop for the bananas and Twizzlers we only made one stop at the Toolesboro Indian Mounds. We were there before the interpretive center was open so we did not get much out of the stop other than seeing mounds of dirt.
Arriving in Burlington (a large city) we expected to have our choice of at least a dozen breakfast places. In the “downtown” area we asked about 10 people where to eat and the best that was offered was either the gas station or a 2 mile ride out to the highway where there were many places to eat. With a heavy heart we parked our bikes at the gas station. There we were approached by the first person we asked about food. He told us that he felt bad that he could not give us a better answer the first time he talked to us so he kept asking until he found us a spot. That spot was only 2 blocks (meaning 8 blocks) further on our route. So we headed off to Jerry’s Diner, a very small place with about 10 stools at the counter and no tables. We squeezed in on the 2 available stools and were welcomed by Michele, the chief, and several of the customers. Michele has the warmest smile and a twinkle in her eyes that made her customers feel extra special. Even though we were hungry and our objectivity may be questioned, the food was fantastic. Thanks Michele! And the price was also amazing: 2 eggs over, coffee, and 1 very large pancake was only $3.50.
Next we headed toward Fort Madison, our destination for the day. About 8 miles out of town our route indicated that we should get off the fast highway that we were on for only a short time and take country roads the rest of the way. The highway had a 2 foot shoulder and the speed limit was 65 mph; not a good option but only 8 miles to town. Our country road route was 13 miles and had hills; also not a good option. We flipped a coin and took the country road which had less traffic and allowed us to stop at a rodeo, a bison ranch, and gave Joe time to take some pictures.
We are safely tucked in at a nice hotel and glad that we did not get caught in any storms today.
Maps: Today Trip to Date
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