Day 2: Paducah to Topeka

We got an early start on Saturday morning.  We had been warned by a friend that there were constructions projects with long delays in Mt. Vernon, IL, and where I-64 and I-55 meet in St. Louis.  We decided to try to try to bypass this mess by heading over to I-55 near Cape Girardeau.  This route was a little longer, according to my phone, but it worked like a charm to avoid any construction delays.

We spent a few hours in St. Louis at the Gateway Arch.  We had a picnic lunch while we waited our turn to ride to the top.  The kids really enjoyed riding to the top and looking out.  They were particularly impressed to learn that there were swimming pools on the tops of some buildings.

Our trip was pretty uneventful for the remainder of the day.  We planned to camp at Clinton Lake State Park in Lawrence, KS.  Michael and I camped here years ago, and it was a nice park.  However, the heat made us decide it was in our best interest to find a hotel.  It was still about 90 degrees at 9:30 PM.

I read on a forum that several people had been able to get a hotel in Topeka for less than $30 through Priceline, so I used the Negotiator app on my phone to bid on a 3-star hotel.  I got the Holiday Inn for $29.  As luck would have it, it also had a three-story waterslide.  The kids thought it would have been a bargain at twice the price.

We hit the beds, happy to be in air-conditioning, and had a good night's sleep.