By William Hall. Photos by the author and Derek Klein.
We are leaving St. Louis, and the end is nearly in sight. We are officially in the East now and have a tight schedule as we enter the last couple legs of our transcontinental road trip from America’s Car Museum in Tacoma to our triumphant homecoming at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. ACM chief David Madeira has an important luncheon meeting in Bloomington-Normal with the expedition’s major sponsor, State Farm Insurance, and we are running late due to a backup on the interstate. Our riding mechanic Dale throws out a trivia question over the car-to-car radio: Name a famous early rock and roll star living just off I-70. Answer: Chuck Berry in Wentzville, Missouri.
Well, shoot, that’s not that far at all.
Silence over the radio, except for the click of lightbulbs turning on.