Chapter 7: Iowa and the Next Journey South
Before the couple left Chicago, Sid got to ask what excited Cassie about the thrill rides they had experienced over the last few weeks.
"Cassie," commenced Sid, "I think I've seen another side to you. I certainly didn't expect you to enjoy those theme park rides as much as you did."
"There's a lot you don't know about me." said Cassie, "For instance, I don't think you know my favourite colour."
"I would guess at yellow." said Sid.
"Well done!" said Cassie, "I do love yellow, because it's bright and cheerful, and suggests sunshine."
"So does your smile." said Sid, "When we were on the wilder roller coasters, like Shivering Timbers we rode yesterday, your sweet face was a picture of total joyous ecstasy. It was beautiful to see. Anyway, I think that by the time we reach the West Coast, I'll know enough about you to know where our relationship is going to go."
"If we stay together that long." said Cassie, "Anything could happen in the next year or so. I might even want to go back to Bristol."
"That would be wonderful." said Sid, "The main reason I came out here was to find you, and hopefully, bring you back home."
"One thing," said Cassie, "We've both enjoyed a lot of different rides in the last few weeks. I'd like to have a rest for a while."
"I think your wish will be granted." said Sid, "From what I've found out about the state, our visits in Iowa will be to a couple of cities and their buildings and museums. I think, provided we can get some work, it'll be a nice, quiet, relaxing Summer."
"That would be good." said Cassie, "Although it's fun riding those coasters, and it does take me out of myself, I'd like a change from constantly rushing around and queueing on our 'rest' days."
The couple managed to find a driver who was going to Iowa City, so that would their first port of call in that state. They left Chicago in the morning, and reached Iowa City at lunchtime. Their accommodation and employment luck still held. Cassie was taken on as a waitress at a diner associated with a hotel in the city, and Sid also found a job at the same hotel.
The next four weeks passed quietly. On most of the days when neither of them were on duty, they visited several of the interesting locations in and around the city.
One evening, they were relaxing in a bar near the city centre, when they had an unexpected encounter.
"Hello, you two," said a vaguely familiar voice, "What on earth are you doing right out here?"
Adam had entered the bar and recognised Cassie.
"I could ask you the same question." said Cassie, "I thought you worked in New York."
"I'm visiting my folks again." said Adam, "A few more problems arose, and they wanted me to help sort them out. Something similar happened last Autumn. That's why I suddenly disappeared. Anyway, what are you two doing in my home city."
"Cass wasn't ready to face Bristol with all its sad memories yet," said Sid, "So we're traveling round your country for a while until she's up to returning home."
"We've just spent a month or so in Chicago," said Cassie, "And, after meeting you in New York, I got to wondering what Iowa was like."
"Where are you going next?" asked Adam.
"Well," said Sid, "After Iowa City, we might go to Des Moines, then head South for the Winter, calling at St Louis on the way. Cassie has discovered a love of really wild roller coasters, so we're visiting a few amusement parks on the way. We've got annual tickets for both the Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks."
"Do those things pay?" asked Adam.
We broke even on the Cedar Fair tickets on our second day at Cedar Point." said Sid, "Since then, we've spent a day at Michigan's Adventure near Muskegon."
"Then, while we were in Chicago, we had two days at Six Flags Great America." said Cassie.
"I guess you're working while you're travelling." said Adam, "Otherwise you must be made of money."
"Yes, we are finding work." said Cassie, "The Alias gave me such a good reference that I found similar work in Miami almost as soon as we got there. We spent four months down there before coming North again. We'll be working here for the next month or so, then we'll try for work in Des Moines before we go South in the Autumn. I believe it gets very cold up here in Winter."
"You can say that again!" said Adam, "Zero degrees isn't uncommon in January."
"That doesn't sound all that cold." said Sid.
"We use Fahrenheit out here." said Adam, "Zero in Fahrenheit is minus eighteen in Celsius."
"I had briefly forgotten about that." said Sid, "Minus eighteen is cold. That's why we'll try to escape Southwards."
"When you're in St Louis," said Adam, "Don't forget to visit the 'Gateway Arch'."
"What's that?" asked Sid.
"It's a huge arch. Imagine half of a McDonald's logo, painted grey, and about five hundred feet high with a viewing gallery at the top." said Adam, "That's the 'Gateway Arch'. It's right on the bank of the Mississippi River. It's the most prominent landmark in St Louis. The view from the top is amazing."
Sid and Cassie spent the rest of the evening describing their adventures in the States, including Cassie's new found enthusiasm for extreme roller coasters. They continued with Adam telling them what was worth seeing in Iowa City and Des Moines and then giving them some hints about what to see in the three cities they intended to visit in Texas: Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. In the course of their discussion, he ascertained that they had already visited the NASA facilities at both Cape Canaveral and Huntsville.
A week later, they arranged to spend another pleasant evening with Adam. This time, he offered to buy them a meal in one of Iowa City's diners, an offer they accepted with thanks. The title of the diner he selected sounded as if it was an electricity supply company, but it offered a wide variety of American fare and was not super expensive. Cassie chose Potato Skins as a starter as she had been introduced to them by Sid. Adam chose Buffalo wings, while Sid selected Onion Rings. For mains, Cassie chose the New York Strip Steak, while Sid had the Fillet of beef. Adam chose a medium Prime Rib of Pork. All three chose seasonal vegetables and Fries. Since they were in the USA with an American friend, all three had apple pie for a dessert. After coffee, they all went to the diner's bar for the evening's drinks. He told them that his family problems were now sorted, and that he was returning to his New York apartment, the next day, so this evening was his way of saying 'goodbye'. They were able to enjoy their farewell drinks, as Sid and Cassie were on late shift and Adam's Greyhound bud didn't leave until midday.
As they parted that evening, Adam said something, which at the time, seemed rather strange.
"Goodbye, and the best of luck in your travels." said Adam, "I have a very strange feeling deep down that I might be seeing you again. I don't know for certain, but I just have this trace of a strange feeling."
"Thank you for all the advice and the good wishes." said Cassie, "If we happen to return to England via New York, we'll look in on you, that way you will see us again."
"But that won't be until at least next Summer." added Sid, "We've got a few coasters to ride down South. Anyway, bye-bye and thanks for the meal. It was excellent."
During their remaining couple of weeks in Ohio City, the continued working at the hotel and following Adam's advice about places to visit. They also took his recommendations regarding a couple of other good places for an evening meal.
The hotel proprietors, knowing that their next intended destination was the state Capital, Des Moines, gave them the address of a hotel they owned in that city, and promised to give them a reference. They succeeded in hitching a lift to Des Moines the following morning, reaching the city around lunchtime. Following the instructions they had been given, it did not take them long to locate the hotel. After a couple of interviews during which their experience of hotel and restaurant work was probed, including their recent month or two in Iowa City, they were taken on for six weeks.
While Sid and Cassie were in Des Moines, they visited the attractions suggested by Adam, and also started to look into their next move. This would be to the City of St Louis on the Mississippi River.
As far as dining out was concerned, they did follow one or two of Adam's suggestions, but also carried out their own research via the Internet.
Adam's parting comment as he left Iowa City began to worry Sid. He felt that the remark was directed at Cassie, rather than both of them. He brought the subject up over a couple of drinks in one of the city's many bars.
"What do you think Adam meant by his parting remarks when he left us?" queried Sid, "It did seem that he was talking to you, rather than both of us as a couple."
"Don't let it worry you." said Cassie, "I'm sure he didn't mean anything significant."
"I suppose not," said Sid, "But it did plant the seeds of a few worries in my mind, and you know my mind is a fertile place for those seeds."
"I know only too well that it is." said Cassie, "You're a born worrier. I suppose that's one of the things that makes you better than Tony. You think about things before acting, but you're also a bit of a pessimist. And that could have bad consequences."
"What do you think I should do about it?" asked Sid.
"You should still think about things before acting," said Cassie, "But try to reject your 'Worst Case Scenarios'. They just meke us both miserable."
"The trouble is that I can't help thinking about all possible outcomes." said Sid, "That's just my nature, I'm afraid."
"Anyway," said Cassie, "Have you thought about how we're going to go South?" asked Cassie.
"I've looked at the map." said Sid, "If our next destination is to be St Louis, we'll probably have to do it in two stages, with a change of direction at Kansas City."
"After St Louis," said Cassie, "I'd like to go to New Orleans before we hit Houston."
"That would mean going to Memphis again." said Sid, "Would you mind that?"
"I'd love that." said Cassie, "There are a few places there I'd like to visit again."
"That's what we'll do then." said Sid.
When their time in Des Moines came to an end, Sid managed, by coincidence, to engage a truck driver in conversation. Their luck was still holding as, the next day, he was going to St Louis himself and was prepared to give them both a lift the whole way. He said the journey would take some time, as he intended to use normal state highways rather than interstates. The distance would be shorter and he would save on diesel. Cassie commented that she might prefer this as she would be able to see more of the 'real' America. She added that most of their travel between cities so far had been on big highways where a traveller could only see the towns and cities he or she actually visited. Another stroke of luck was that the hotel chain also had a property in St Louis, so that provided thre were a couple of vacancies, they would be assured of paid work for another few weeks.
Early the next morning, the driver, true to his word, picked them up outside the hotel, then took them to a local truck stop for breakfast. He was surprised at their agility climbing in and out of his cab. Sid commented that they were now quite used to boarding American eighteen wheelers. The couple soon found out what the driver meant by ordinary state highways. After a few miles of divided highway, they found that US 163 was mainly a single carriageway road. Cassie was fascinated by some of the names of the places they passed through, such as Oskaloosa and Ottumwa. At this last named city, they diverted onto another short stretch of divided highway before joining the US 61 at a place called Mount Pleasant. This road would take them the rest of the way to St. Louis. Another truck stop at Keokuk was the venue for what turned out to be a leisurely lunch. They had made good time, and, providing there were no delays, would reach St. Louis by dinner time.
On the journey, they told the driver about their adventures in the States so far. Cassie also admitted that sha had come to America to help her recover from an emotional trauma back home, and that Sid had crossed the Atlantic to find her. He felt that this was a truly romantic story. They explained that they were now on their way South to escape the intense Winter cold of the Northern Mid-West, and to see the Space Center at Houston as well as riding a few more roller coasters at San Antonio and Arlington in the Spring on their way back North. After that, Cassie said, their plans were fluid, but might involve a visit to Yellowstone National Park to see the geysers. Shortly before dinner time, as expected, they arrived in St. Louis. Their driver very kindly dropped them off right by the hotel where they were going to try to find work. They didn't have to try very hard, as the proprietor of the establishment in Des Moines had advised the St. Louis hotel of their expected time of arrival.
Once they had been interviewed and shown their basement rooms, they were given their rotas. Fortunately, as in previous areas, the couple had a reasonable amount of coincident time off. That meant that they would be able to visit the main attractions in the St. Louis area. The first one of these they visited was the Six Flags theme park. Cassie was delighted to find that there were three large wood roller coasters in addition to the more modern steel tracked ones. These included an interesting linear motor launched coaster and an utterly crazy coaster with cars that spun around.
The Gateway Arch didn't disappoint. Sid and Cassie were lucky in that the day the visited it was crystal clear with maximum visibility in all directions. During the six weeks they stayed in St. Louis, They included a tour of the city's other attractions. While they were in St. Louis, the couple felt they had to keep a low profile, as they had been warned that St. Louis was one of the most dangerous cities in the USA for murder. However, their stay in the city passed without any untoward incidents.
After some discussion, Sid felt that their next working stop would be New Orleans, as they could afford to travel there by Greyhound bus. They planned a two-night stop in Memphis so that they could spend another complete day exploring the whole of Mud Island. All they had managed to do there on their previous visit was to pay homage to the Memphis Belle bomber on display there, although it took them a large portion of the day.
On arrival in the Big Easy, their first priority was to find a bed for the night. They booked into a cheap motel and, after a peaceful night, spent most of the next dal looking for work. They found that their English accents counted for a lot, as did the references they were given from the premises in Des Moines and St. Louis. Their employment in New Orleans lasted for two whole months, before they felt it was time to move on to Houston. They were again fortunate in that, since they were both working irregular shifts, accommodation was provided for them. Cassie was glad to be back in a place where it was warm, as the Autumn was beginning to take hold in St. Louis. One thing they did notice was that eating out was more expensive as the city was a major tourist destination for both Americans and foreigners. Accordingly, they didn't go out to eat as much as they did in Des Moines or Iowa City.
Once their two months were up, Sid, as was becoming usual at regular intervals, made use of Western Union to send some money home, to cover his use of his credit card. Liz found Sid's credit card bills interesting and reassuring, as they gave an account of his travels in the States with Cassie.
Sid and Cassie succeeded in befriending a trucker who was willing to take them to their next major destination, Houston, in Texas. During the journey, they talked and the couple learnt even more about the life of a long-distance trucker in the USA. Their new friend was also interested in their stories about their sojourn in the States. He also found Cassie's story about her escape from the trauma of Chris's death and Sid's quest to find her one of the most romantic tales he'd heard.
Finally, in the evening they arrived in Houston and found a bed for the first night. Once again, they intended to try to find a couple of months work the next day. However, Sid received a surprising phone call. The establishment in New Orleans had another premise in Houston. The New Orleans hotel had phoned ahead and recommended them, provided they arrived at the hotel by lunchtime the next day. Once again, any potential pitfalls had been removed. However, an aspect of Sid's natural pessimism was gradually surfacing. He was beginning to feel that things were going too well, and that something was about to go very wrong.