The Loneliest Highway: Route 50: Crossing The Mississippi

Today has been an iconic day. Like a cross between Lewis and Clarke, and Thelma and Louise, we have crossed the Mississippi and made it to our 7th state in 3 days, with 901 miles completed and 1 time zone crossed.

Our day began in Indiana. The rain poured down as we set off, but soon settled into an overcast, not-so-warm day.

Despite having a long journey today, we decided to head for an Amish community in search of peace. And coffee.

We visited the Gasthof Amish community in Indiana. Their village includes a really good restaurant, with excellent coffee that refills quicker than you can drink it, courtesy of Michelle, our friendly waitress.

There were also a few interesting gift shops and a flea market which were well worth a look. There was a tangible sense of tranquility in the village which was a great contrast to the hustle and bustle of the rest of the trip.

We were shocked to find that the Amish sell One Direction lollipops though. We can't escape them anywhere.

Soon after we left Gasthof, we crossed the state line into Illinois. Our visit to Illinois was a brief one, although we crossed the whole state. We only had time to stop for the most enormous ice cream blizzards. No, we hadn't heard of them either.

Our lasting memory of Illinois was the road surface. Poor old Route 50 was in a bad way. Potholed and broken up for most of its length. It was notable worse than any of the other states we'd crossed.

By now, the land scape was completely flat and the traffic was extremely light. In fact, the last traffic jam we have encountered was back in Cincinatti.

Under dark skies, we finally came to the Mississipi, which represents the state line with Missouri. We crossed the Martin Luther King memorial bridge across the fast flowing river, with its piles of driftwood racing along in the current, and we landed straight into bustling St Louis.

We headed straight for The Loop, which is a great area for bars and restaurants, including The Blueberry Hill, where Chuck Berry still performs once a month- now aged 89! We missed him by 24 hours. Still, we had a look round the bar with its amazing collection of selfies with visitng celebrities. Everybody from Paul McCartney to Barack Obama, from James Brown to, er, Snap, Crackle and Pop (I kid you not) and memorabilia that must be worth a fortune.

St Louis is an impressive city. There's clearly some re-generation being undertaken on the banks of the river, around what used to be Main Street under Spanish rule. It makes a very pleasant location for a coffee stop. The cathedral and basilica are worth a look too. Plus Forest Park.