Day 3, September 20 2014, Decatur, IL

Rosie and Jim Murphy, Ken's sister in law and brother,
were our hosts in downtown Manhattan KS.

Today:  long distance but short blog. 

We did manage to make 498 miles,  our biggest stretch on this tour.  Unfortunately, to do it, we had to leave Manhattan by 8AM and keep all breaks and car guy visits to a minimum.  Still, the last hour of our drive was in the dark with a touch of drizzle.  These conditions were tolerable on I-72 approaching Decatur.  But eventually the spray from trucks and our feeble lights and wipers made it just too dangerous to continue.   We are actually in the town of Forsyth, a northern suburb of Decatur.  Something was going on here because most of the many big box hotels here were full.  Very helpful folks at the Quality Inn called around and managed to find us rooms at the Baymont Inn a few blocks away.

From Manhattan we proceeded on Kansas route 9 meandering north and east heading for US 36.  9 was a beautiful rural road with rolling hills through lush farmland.  No big towns, but lots of small ones with plenty of antiques and old storefronts to enjoy.  Unfortunately, we made a bonehead

When you see a "Road Closed" sign, better not ignore it!

mistake by not noticing a fairly large "road closed ahead" sign.  Yes, the road was indeed closed (bridge out) and we had to backtrack for four or five miles to an alternative route.  But eventually we made it to US 36. This old style four-lane federal highway took us rapidly  to Hannibal MO, home of Mark Twain.  We drove through Hannibal, but there was no time for serious sightseeing,  We did get a great sit down late afternoon lunch at the Mark Twain Café.  Great food, reasonable prices. Try it!

US 36 crosses the enormous Mississippi just past Hannibal and soon morphs into I-72.  Traffic was light on the interstate, so we stuck with it. The good condition of US 36 and I-72 enabled us to keep rolling at around 60 mph.

The old LaSalle is doing really well.  I had to add a quart of oil in Manhattan, but oil consumption is

Ken takes a break from driving in
Hannibal, MO, home of Mark Twain

moderate for an old car, about a quart every 700 miles.  The engine heats up a bit at slow idle but quickly cools off once it gets rolling.  The extreme tire wear we saw on our Fort Collins trip was completely corrected by wheel alignment:  the new tires on the car now show very little wear since we left Albuquerque. 

This car is a pleasure to drive.  It is smooth, quiet and powerful.  Eats up hills, no problem at all.  It starts readily as long as you remember to not give it ANY gas during cranking.  It has a clicking valve lifter when the engine gets warm.  This really can't be corrected without replacing the lifter, a fairly difficult job.  But the clicking should do no harm and we are just ignoring it. 

The LaSalle generates enormous attention.  Even very young people who have never seen such a conveyance are astonished and gawk at its incredible lines.  Older folks head right for it with questions and curiosity.  Car guys stop and want us to visit their nearby projects.  I have driven so many old cars, but none of them generate the buzz this one does.  It is really a delight to put it on the road, a rolling piece of history.  It's hard to imagine it has been quietly resting and hidden from view for more than 50 years.

Gas consumption?  Well, that sure could be better.  Seems to bounce around 10 to 12 MPG.

Good night and good day,
Bill.