Alan made us a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs & toast. We said our goodbyes and headed back onto the Tunnel Hill State Trail. We stayed on the path for 10 miles to Vienna. It's a good thing we didn't plan to stay on the trail past Vienna because it was closed (most probably due to flooded areas). Instead we took IL-146 W and pedaled through a few small towns. Once we reached the town of Anna, it was time for a Wal-Mart/lunch break. Earlier in the day, Emily realized that one lens was missing in her sunglasses. So she was able to buy a replacement pair along with some other goodies at Wally World. For lunch we snacked on spinach artichoke hummus on whole wheat pitas, crackers with smoked gouda cheese, and trail mix. We were taking our time eating, when some passerbys told us that storms were coming. We decided we better bike the last 25 miles as quickly as possible. But that was easier said than done. The strong side-wind turned into a strong head-wind. Emily and her strong legs led the pack so that Michelle and Rebekah could draft behind her. We felt a few sprinkles, but luckily, they amounted to nothing more than that. After about 50 miles, we could finally see the bridge in the distance. This big bridge was what we would have to cross to go over the Mississippi, leaving Illinois and entering Missouri. In the middle of the bridge, there was a Missouri state line marker, so of course, we took a photo. At the bottom of the bridge, there was also a welcome-to-Missouri sort of sign, so we took a few more photos. This means we've now traveled to our 7th state! Whooohooooo!!! 

Once over the bridge, we were in the town of Cape Girardeau. We biked about 1 more mile to get to our WarmShowers.org hostess' house. Her name is Judith and she lives in a huge brick house. We are staying upstairs in one of the bedrooms that she will soon renovate. Judith is a fellow teacher and a fellow biker. She has an adorable dog named Ginger who loves to bark (but is completely harmless). For dinner, Judy prepared some yummy venison burgers (and a veggie burger for Emily), lima beans, and potatoes. For dessert, we went to Andy's which sells amazing custard. Ginger thoroughly enjoyed her free doggie-sized cone!