The "people" pictures are in the password-protected section of this site. These are roads and places and scenery.
We left Amsterdam around 8 AM [Picture], and quickly made stops to fill the tank in Fort Johnson and to check on a problem with the car's back door in Tribes Hill. Then it was on to the Thruway in Fultonville. Our first more substantial stop was at the LL Bean in Victor, followed an hour later by an excellent lunch at Duff's in Amherst. After lunch, we drove up to Niagara Falls and walked around on Goat Island [Picture]. By mid-afternoon, we were back on our way. We put gas in the car then crossed the Rainbow Bridge into Canada. Customs was quick - the only delay was when the person behind us pulled right up instead of following the directions. The Canadian customs officer said he had one too many New Jersey drivers, and went out to make him back up. Our ride actoss southern Ontario was good other than a traffic delay near Hamilton on 403. We made one quick stop at the service plaza on 401 but otherwise kept going across to Sarnia. Our attempt to find some sandwiches for dinner in Sarnia didn't work out. It was across the Blue Waters Bridge and another quick trip through customs to Port Huron. We picked up some sandwiches from Tim Horton's, then checked into the Quality Inn and Suites for the night. [47 Roads and Signs Pictures].
After breakfast and some playing at the hotel's indoor play yard, we made a ride to Lighthouse Park in Port Huron to check out the lake and the lighthouse [7 Pictures]. Once we were on the road, it was all I-69 down to Angola, Indiana. We opted for US 20 across eastern Indiana, which was nice but had surprisingly many big trucks making the ride slower than expected. We also encountered an amazing number of Amish out in buggys and on bikes. Their population there is dense enough that the local shops cater specifically (one even had a special sign for "buggy parking"). Beyond South Bend, we switched over to the Indiana Toll Road, then I-80 into Illinois. We got onto I-55 in Joliet. Dinner was at a Moe's in Bloomington then we continued on to Springfield [2 Pictures] for the night. [82 Roads and Signs Pictures].
We left the State House Inn [Picture] after breakfast and took a walk on a hot and sunny morning to the Lincoln Museum and the Lincoln Presidential Library [9 Pictures]. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go in. We headed out of Springfield via Historic US 66 [7 Pictures] to I-72 West. We took that across western Illinois, first across the Illinois River [3 Pictures] and then over the Mississippi into Missouri. Just across the bridge, we stopped for a quick look around (even hotter) Hannibal to see the Mississippi River and some of the Mark Twain sites [30 Pictures]. Given the heat, it was a quick walk. We then got a decent lunch at the Mark Twain Dinette. From there, it was west across northern Missouri on US 36, with the outside temperatures ranging from 101 to 105 [Picture]. Our only stop was for gas in Bucklin, where we visited what seemed to be the only store and gas station in a very small town [2 Pictures]. As we approached Kansas City, we saw temperatures as high as 110 [Picture]. We arrived in Leawood for our evening visit there. [60 Roads and Signs Pictures].
We were on the road fairly early for a trip across Missouri on US 50. Our stops were for gas in Knob Noster and for lunch in Jefferson City [8 Pictures]. The ride across was nice, a little slower but more enjoyable than I-70. After a medical stop and a traffic ticket in the St. Louis are we were in for the weekend. [27 Roads and Signs Pictures].