Road Warrior - Revisitng Lover's Leap

I left abruptly Monday morning for Saint Louis, Missouri. It was 3:00am when I couldn't handle the situation at home any longer having slept about two hours when I departed. I watched the sun rise somewhere south of Peoria, Illinois. Adrenalin coursing through my veins finally wore out about fifty miles from my destination and I had to pull over for a coffee refill and pull myself together.

I spent two days in Saint Louis, terrified to drive anywhere other than work. I have a fear of driving in big cities. I knew there were several sights I would have liked to have visited but didn't. Our job was nothing short of a bad dream. But you'll have those days. I pretty much stayed in my motel room for the duration and ate nearby. Of course, I never thought I'd be driving all over the country side for work at any point in my life or solo for that matter. I'm glad fear didn't prevent me from taking this job, though I may complain on occasion, I do love it.

I left on Wednesday morning and decided to take the scenic route 79, even though it was an hour longer. I had plenty of time to enjoy the day and a lot on my mind. Normally I avoid driving the winding, curving hilly roads as much as possible ( like the busy cities) but this time I chose to drive them deliberately. If I hadn't I would have missed some beautiful scenery and some good pictures.

I stopped in a place called "Blue Rose" North of Clarksville and saw a sign for the "Village Lodge Bed & Breakfast", touting a restaurant with a beautiful view, I had to take a peek. Unfortunately I was 1/2 hour too early for lunch and they weren't open but it was a beautiful view indeed and I walked about the property thinking that maybe some day I might like to stay there. I think I also stopped at every scenic overlook that I came across.

When I came upon Hannibal I saw the Mark Twain Cave off to the left and a flood of memories came rushing back. I'd been in Hannibal before with my now ex-husband and I had a feeling I knew what was coming up on the right hand side of the highway. Sure enough there it was, "Lovers Leap". I had to stop, I was drawn to it. After taking pictures and appreciating the view much more than I had years ago I thought about revisiting the Mark Twain Diner for lunch and headed back down the cliff to town.

Town was a buzz with activity and I couldn't find a parking place, so I decided to continue on with my journey, I could see the bridge that would take me into Illinois and away from "The Great River Road" and decided that I'd had enough. On my way to the interstate I glanced to my right and there was the horrid hotel we had stayed in, it was a dump then and was worse today but regardless, I smiled, remembering us both waking with aching backs from the bed.

Even though things didn't work out with my ex-husband, it didn't stop me from enjoying the memory that we shared in Hannibal which brings me to the moral of this particular story. When I left for Missouri It was an unpleasant evening, I won't go into details except to say that no one was hurt, physically anyway. No one ever really wins in a break up, but if it doesn't work out you can at least say you tried (sometimes several times) and took a risk and jumped off the cliff into the unknown, just as I did this trip. Even though it began badly and work didn't go well, I chose to take the winding, curving, hilly roads home despite my fears and ended up making some new memories as well as recalling some good old ones. We choose how we are going to remember our experiences. I choose to look back and remember the good things about this trip and life.