Unexpected Surprise Popeye the Sailor Man

Chester IL  -  What I love about riding a motorcycle is that you never know what you're going to run into.  When you journey on roads that you have never traveled, you usually have a pleasant unexpected surprise.

Once leaving Ste. Genevieve, we make our way out of Missouri to the Chester Bridge.  This takes us across the Mississippi River, into Chester, Illinois   It is a route that we have never taken before.  It is the only bridge that is between St Louis and Cape Girardeau. It's a new road so why not.

On the other side of the river, there is a small rest area.  So we stop for a break to look at the bridge and the Mississippi River.  Once stopping we discovered that Chester Illinois is the boyhood home of E.C. Segar the creator of the comic strip Popeye the Sailor Man.  The rest stop commemorates him with a large statue of Popeye in the middle of the small park.

As a kid, he was one of my favorite cartoons even though they were mostly reruns from the 40's and 50's,  Both Terri and I were very happy to find this unexpected surprise.

Missouri Breaks: A run to the Missouri State Line with a Touch of France

We have wanted to ride to this place for a long time. Ste.  Genevieve, Missouri is a French Canadian settlement on the western bank of the Mississippi. Established in 1735 it is the first organized European settlement west of the Mississippi River in present-day Missouri.   I'm not much of a Freeway Rider so, we are taking all back roads, through Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois.  We'll cross the mighty Mississippi into Missouri at Cape Girardeau.

So on a crisp spring morning, we head off from Clarksville Tennessee.  There is something about spring on a motorcycle.  The cool, crisp air is invigorating, it feels as if the world is passing through you.  It is the sensation of feeling alive.

Our first stop is at Hillbilly Kentucky Barbeque in Wickliffe, Kentucky; before crossing the Ohio River into Cairo Illinois.  It was good to get some good old southern BBQ before crossing into Yankee land.  Cairo pronounced Karo, not like the city in Egypt, is at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

As the rivers come together, you can feel they soul of America.  The Mississippi river like veins in your body leads to the heart of the nation.   This spring has brought a lot of rain.  We stop right after crossing the Ohio River and are now at the very southern tip of Illinois, Victory Park is underwater.  This was a stop for Lewis and Clark they camped here for six days on their historic exploration.

We are headed north on the Great River Road  Illinois Highway 3 to the Cape Girardeau bridge that crosses the Mississippi about 30 miles to the north.  Once in Missouri, we find out that Highway 61 going towards Ste Genvieve is closed.  We are rerouted back to the interstate. It is a short 10-mile blast to the exit and 6 miles to town from there.

We arrive in the early afternoon, so we still have time to walk through the small downtown.  Ste Genvieve which is named after the patron Saint of Paris seems to be a place locked in time.  Still a town of only 4500 souls one can feel the French colonialism that permeates the town.  The small 20 block area is full of restaurants and shops.  With some of the oldest European building west of the Missippii this is a place every person interested in History should visit.

We stayed at the Bed and Breakfast The Inn St. Gemme Beauvais and that evening had dinner at the Audubon's Grill & Bar.  Both were wonderful experiences.  The Inn was an especially special experience.  There gourmet 4-course breakfast was unreal in a fabulous dining room. This was a great trip on Motorcycles.  One that I completely recommend.

Spring Training: The Cactus League in Arizona

Spring my favorite time a year. As the boys of summer have their opening day. It is good to be alive and watch the world renew itself for another year.  It's been a few weeks since that great trip out to Arizona to fulfill a dream.  Watching spring training baseball in that Arizona sun, seeing those green fields in the middle of a flowering desert was magical.

Phoenix is an odd place spread out throughout the entire Salt River Valley, nicknamed the Valley of the Sun.  It is a Desert that has water so there is now a city there.  Surrounded by treeless copper-colored mountains it all has a strange beauty to it.

Ever since man has been picking up rocks and hitting them with sticks we have been playing games with objects.   The complexed game of baseball, through centuries eventually developed from this.  Humanity loves games, we love competition. There is no finer field game than the game of American Baseball.  It is played in its purest form on the spring train fields of Arizona and Florida.

I have been wanting to take a trip to watch spring training ball for a long time.  It is a baseball fan's, Mecca.  The ultimate rite of passage for any real fan of the game.  I finally got the chance this spring, to see 3 games in 2 different parks.   Made so much better watching them with my brother in law Mike who is a die-hard Rockies fan.  Me being a Mariners fan it will be fun watching them battle it out in 2 of the games we'll be seeing.

Our first stop is the Peoria Sports Complex set in a sprawling Phoenix suburb.  It's the spring training home to Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres.  The first game was the Padres and the Rockies. The Rockies had a spectacular no-look throw double play.  This play alone was worth the price of admission.

The next day we had an evening game with a 630 PM start time so we decided to take a drive to the mountains during the day.   Our first stop was South Mountain Park, a mountain desert park just south of Phoenix.  This place provided stunning views of the city.  We then went on a long drive out to Apache Junction and through the Mountains to Tortilla Flats.  That desert beauty is awesome to behold.  I'd like to stay longer but's it's back to Peoria for a  Rockies and Mariners showdown.

The night game was cold and this is supposed to be Arizona.  The game was fun and ended in a 1-1 tie which left both of us wanting revenge for our team at tomorrow's game at Talking Sticks the Rockies home park.

So we get up early and head over to Scottsdale which is 40 minutes from Peoria on the east side of Phoenix.   The Salt River Park at Talking Stick is awesome, a much better feel than the suburban sprawl of Peoria.  For any Rockies Fan, this would be a great getaway stay at the Talking Stick Resort and Casino while watching a few baseball games.

This park is in
a pristine desert setting and the game did not disappoint either.  This was the last game before opening day.  Although it ended in a 5-5 tie it provided a lot of action and set the stage for interleague play during the regular season. What a great time and go Mariners.