I pulled off on the shoulder, with Darren behind me, and started to call Boone. The phone rang twice, then I saw the Barnyard Viper coming around a corner about a half mile behind us. He pulled over, grabbed one of the 5 gallon fuel jugs from the bed, and walked it up to me.
"Didn't find a station up this way?" He smirked.
"Forgot all about it once we got rolling", I laughed, "where's Robert and Dad?"
"They went ahead to scout for a place to stop and eat, I think they found something behind a Ford dealership about six more miles up the road."
"That's good, I'm ready for a break from this heat!"
"Yeah, I think we all are, it's been a miserable day for sure."

We followed Boone behind the Ford dealer, and pulled into a large parking lot in front of a huge pre-fab metal building that looked like an auto shop, the big sign out front read "Bobeck's Sports Bar and Grille". Suddenly I had a Charley Daniel's Band song running through my head, something about a flat tire, kicking old green teeth in the knee, and such, this was definitely not what I expected. Last year we took Rachael to a nice Shreveport Seafood Restaurant for her 23rd birthday, as she was having a great Drag Week in the Belvedere. Now she's riding with me in the Satellite, and we're about to celebrate her 24th in a Waterloo Il. sports bar. I may have to re-evaluate my initial assessment of Robert, I mean, his Challenger is awesome, and he comes off as smart and articulate, a great guy to hang out with so far... but what the heck did he just get us into?
Robert opened the door as I walked up, and apparently I have a lousy poker face.
"It's nice and cool inside, and they have a full menu, American standards, lot's of variety, I think you'll like it... not many choices on this road", he assured me.
I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and actually he was right. We practically had the run of the place to ourselves, the music and televisions were muted to a comfortable level, and the food was excellent. Rachael was the only one who took advantage of the available alcohol, which helped her mood considerably!

It was still plenty warm when we hit the road an hour and twenty minutes later, but everyone seemed to have a little more tolerance for it after the needed break, and good meal. We once again headed down Il-3, a beautiful, picturesque little two lane that runs practically parallel with I-55, but on the opposite side of the Mississippi River. We found ourselves enjoying this road immensely as it meandered along, cradled between the big river, and the Trail of Tears State Forest, simply an amazing drive that had us lamenting the fading sun as it dipped behind the trees. Then Darren ran out of gas, and put us on the shoulder again, we are certainly consistent!