Day 13: Converging Rivers

Linn MO to Nashville TN

We got up fairly early for our 400 mile drive, and after breakfast at 7:15, we continued our travels east and south: US 50, I-44, I-55, and US 60. The US 60 bridge across the Mississippi River was closed due to repair work, so we passed through the now dismal town of Cairo, Illinois, via I-57 and got back on US 60 to cross the Ohio River. Before we did, we stopped at Fort Defiance State Park at the very southern tip of Illinois to see the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and the point where the states of Missouri (the tip of land in the mid-distance to the right), Illinois (where I'm standing), and Kentucky (in the background) come together.

We joined I-24 east at Paducah and continued to a Hampton Inn outside of Nashville, TN, arriving about 2:30. We decided not to pay the expense of a downtown hotel but to drive into town tomorrow. For dinner, we made the mistake of not heeding the bad reviews at the local Shoney's (we had very little to choose from in the area) and added another bad review of our own here. Although not having much experience, I would say it was possibly the worst Shoney's in America.