September 27, 2008 - Southeast Missouri to Benton, Kentucky

Cotton
I wanted to see the countryside in southeast Missouri. I drove to Malden, MO, which allowed me to see a bit of the area. It was very nice. But what was most interesting was that I saw cotton growing on plants for the first time in my life. I have been to the south before but it's usually in the spring, likely before the cotton has come out. This is the first time I've been around farms in the south in the early fall. See the photos.

As I drove further, I noticed pieces of cotton all over the sides of the road just as we might see dandelion fuzz. They looked like cotton balls that were pulled apart. Of course, I decided this was a nice chance for a free souvenir. I helped clean up the environment a bit as well. :)

Mississippi River
I also wanted to see the Mississippi River. While I have crossed the Mississippi River on a bridge before (going from Wisconsin to Minnesota earlier in this trip) I wanted to have a chance to actually see the river for more than a couple of minutes. Additionally, there is a small piece of land that is part of Kentucky which is not attached to the rest of the state. It is bordered by Tennessee and Missouri. I stopped at a spot by the Mississippi River in MO where I could see that part of Kentucky from across the river. See the photos. See the map below and zoom out...


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Cape Girardeau and Sikeston
From there, I went to Cape Girardeau. I went to Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary.

On the way up to Cape Girardeau along I-55, I saw signs for "throwed rolls" (yes, they wrote it that way). Apparently, Sikeston, MO is one of the few places where you can get these. I thought this was worth trying for dinner. Evidently this must be a popular place on a Saturday. By the time I got there, the parking lot was practically full and there were lots of people waiting outside the restaurant. From a loudspeaker, I found that the wait time would be forty minutes. I didn't have time for that. I found another restaurant (with no wait time) that specialized in southern cooked food.

On to Illinois
After dinner, I headed back to Cape Girardeau for a few minutes. Then I had to get to my destination, which was in Benton, Kentucky. I passed through southern IL (my only stop was at a grocery store). As I was driving through, I noticed a big deer waiting to cross. Thankfully, he stayed off the road while I passed.


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I passed Metropolis, IL as I approached the border with Kentucky. I visited that city last year. They have a giant Superman statue. This is far from the Metropolis in the Superman comic books. Parking is free on the main road and at least last year, gas stations did not even require customers to pay before pumping.

Kentucky
Once I got into Kentucky, I went through Paducah. I visited that city last year. Finally, I arrived in Benton, which is near a tourist area called the Land Between the Lakes. When I checked in, the hotel clerk provided me with two large bottles of water. That was very nice.