Not so fast

Remember I said John went to have the oil changed in the rental car? Well he took it to a nearby Firestone and indeed the oil needed to be changed AND the Prius needed two rear tires! It took awhile as you can imagine to get authorization from everybody at Enterprise.

These are the guys at Enterprise, Hoboken, who handed over the Prius all those weeks ago. Good for Enterprise for honoring this arrangement: we don't leave the hotel till 11:30am, but we leave with an oil change and two new tires.
I am glad to pull out. Look at the view from the hotel

Nothing is more depressing than the view of a mall when you have no urge to shop. On the other hand,
my extra time in the hotel has given me time to remark on an excellent innovation in hotel decor, the desk lamp that is also a power strip.

Our new pal Nikki Furrer from Pudd'nHead recommends the Local Harvest Cafe for take-away lunch. It's just near The Royale.

 Locally sourced,socially responsible and very delicious. These are lamps made of Mason jars.

John and I both ordered Cuban sandwiches. All the usual forms of pig, but much less grease.

 The St Louis railway station.

 The Mississippi River, one last time.

The Arch.
And we are off. We'll happily return to St. Louis some day.

 Corn, higher than we have seen it farther North.

 Grain silos. I say this, knowing very little about grain or silos.

 We encounter lousy Friday evening traffic and crawl into Evanston. Luckily, it is a beautiful afternoon and I adore our hotel.

It could be Arlington Virginia or Northampton Mass. Check out this old-fashioned room.

I forgot to photograph the bathroom with its black and white tile and deep old tub. Tubs matter to me and though I appreciate the reasons for converting tubs to showers, I miss having a tub so I am very very happy at The Homestead.

 TripAdvisor recommends Prairie Moon which is not far from the hotel. John is happy with his coconut shrimp and my Copper River salmon and spinach are just what I was wanting.  Plus a martini. I have been enjoying cocktails on this trip.

Our hotel is in a neighborhood of great big houses right near Lake Michigan and we have a nice walk before turning in.

 We have seen so few sunsets on this trip since readings are usually during those hours. Big lake.