It's Monday. Really? Now into our final week of trekking across America, it is true what I'd been told: that by this time the days would completely melt together; referencing time by a day or date would be futile.
Good morning FedEx Forum! Here in the lobby, breakfast biscuits the size of small cakes stuffed with eggs, eggs and cheese, eggs, cheese and bacon were served up buffet style along with coffee!!!
Outside, motorers convened for the daily words of wisdom from Des and the White Roof Radio personalities, Todd and DB.
I stole an opportunity to take another photo for the Mosaic - with a special message for my new friend John Paulsen.
When you get to know people on the road, stories abound, as do private jokes - and John's story is a bit of both and a great one! Buy me a drink and I'll share...
And what is this mosaic pictured above? Sort of a photographic quilt of everyone who participated in this rally across the United States. At ever Rise and Shine, participants were encouraged to have their photo taken and then that day you could view the map of the US and find yourself.
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Now back to the day's adventures. Which included a bridge, an 8 car pile-up, losing my travel companions, finding my companions, nearly being run off the road by a semi-trailer, a great big St. Louis sized lunch, a kidnapping to Target, go-carts and pinball machines.
From the rooftop of the parking structure adjacent to the FedEx Forum we motored out of Memphis with the usual police assistance (traffic stopped, flashing lights, waving). Our instructions this morning were to stay tight and keep moving due to the number of participants leaving the Forum.
And a not so funny thing happened...apparently several MINIs got a little too close, slamming into each other. Luckily no one was injured, although sadly, a couple of the cars were damaged extensively. In the spirit that was prevalent throughout the rally, MINI USA helped these folks and we all learned a valuable lesson that day about riding someone's boot.
I don't remember exactly how it happened. But I became separated from the gang I was supposed to be following. Then I decided that although the route sheet called for a stop at a lemonade stand - my GPS had other plans for me - I would press on towards St. Louis. Eventually I found my guys and we pushed our way past big rigs along the road to the city. Some a-hole in a semi even tried to run Felix into a ditch, but thanks to his nimble handling and my leaden foot I escaped unscathed. Unfortunately, a pickup truck following behind me wasn't as lucky. Todd and DB who were just ahead of me saw the guy go off the road in a cloud of dust. I didn't see it - I was too busy trying to get the hell out of the way. Whew!
As we made our approach into St. Louis, I made a wrong turn and rerouted myself through an old industrial area of the city, cool place for a photo shoot someday. Made it to the Hyatt Regency at the Arch just around lunchtime. And this is what I saw from my room:
Such a treat! A corner suite with a fantastic view. And the day only got better from here.
Next there was lunch with the White Roof Radio crew: DB, Todd and Alex at Seamus McDaniels with a side trip to Target.
A quick nap, shower/wardrobe change and it was time for the Owner's Evening Event at Gateway Motorsports Park. I watched fellow motorers race go-carts, checked out the video arcade and admired more of the customization that other owners have done to their MINIs. Then it was lights out on this day...
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