This morning we went to Mark Twain’s cave – where he played as a boy and wrote about in his novels. We were in the first tour at 9:30am along with about ten Americans. The tour guide and tour were superb with everybody in good spirit. We then set out for Le Claire – we were going to Davenport but the tour guide at the cave said Le Claire, which is next to it, might be better. It’s also the home to the TV programme ‘American Pickers’. We started out on Route 61 which runs alongside the Mississippi all the way. Sadly my satnav took us over the river into Illinois and we travelled in a more or less straight line through flat, featureless farmland for about one hundred and fifty miles! You just set the cruise control, try not to fall asleep and let your mind wander. We did find a family run diner though and had a very nice and homely brunch. Eventually we got to Le Claire, a pretty touristy small town on the Mississippi, and settled into a good but quite inexpensive hotel. We had a ‘light’ meal for supper. To lake Michigan tomorrow.
