Day 5 leaving Illinois

All 5 days there's been one constant, however I stArt the day, I finish the opposite. Today was rough getting out the door, and once out my knee was aching on each pedal push. I popped some advil early, and it helped, but not for the heat and sun. I took a break at at dairy queen for 2 hours just to stay in the AC. After that break, I flew thru the next 50 miles in about 3 hours and I was cruising right beside I-55. Finally about 10 miles away from st louis I could finally see the archway! Heading into chicago through the suburbs, I was never high enough to get a view of the skyline, so it was exciting seeing st Louis over the farm fields of southern illinois. I crossed over the missiissippi over the chain of rocks bridge, it's a pedestrian only bridge so I'm one of the few travelers that gets to really cross over to Missouri on the bridge. I had to wind another 15 miles around st Louis to get downtown, a free concert was in the park and the sidewalks were filled with people. I finally settled into the Hilton hotel downtown, just as it got dark. The Hilton gave me a special rate when I mentioned I was riding. I feel great tonight and had no pains walking to pickup my Pasta dinner. I'm gonna let myself sleep in til 7 and get some more morning riding before the sun is high. Planning to take an off day on Sunday once I'm in Rolla