Popeye, Superman, and Me

I left Saint Louis this morning, but not before taking a pretty good shot of old faithful Yamacraw in front of the Gateway Arch. 

Saint Louis is a neat town and I enjoyed my very brief stay. I got a couple of pictures. 

Here's their beautiful Union Station and Hotel. Just gorgeous. 

Here is their war memorial. Very nice. 

From Saint Louis, I was back on the Great River Road headed south along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. Before lunchtime I crossed over into Illinois.

The sign evidently says that one cannot walk across the Mississippi River. I found this to be good information.

The Chester Bridge.

And into the Land of Lincoln.

But much more importantly, the home town of Popeye! 

He's a big deal here. No kidding. 

The creator of the famous sailor man lived here and the comic got its start here.

Here's the man himself. "Aye am whut aye am."

All of the Popeye characters were based on people who lived in Chester. Now there are statues all over town...not of the people who inspired the characters, but of the characters themselves! 

Olive Oil, Sweet Pea, and Jeep.

Wimpey.

Bluto.

I even went to the building where the comic got its start...well before animated cartoons. 

I visited the Mecca for all Popeye fans. They've got everything Popeye. Everything!

Even spinach in the can! 

So, then I continued down the bank of the Mississippi until I reached the little town of Metropolis. 

Home of Superman! 

Hey, I'm not kidding. He stands in the middle of the town square!

Super biker...or...whatever.

They've got a little museum dedicated to Superman. I thought it was going to be a rip-off, but I was happily mistaken. 

This is outside the museum. All the Supermen... including Superbiker.

A giant comic strip.

Superman himself flying out of the upper window.

Inside, they had a treasure trove of Superman stuff. No kidding. Unbelievable. 

Here's George Reeve's suit when he was Clark Kent.

Here's the plaque off the Daily Planet building. It's autographed.

A very early Superman costume from the 1930's

Christopher Reeve's suit.

And his Clark Kent suit, complete with camera.

Movie posters from around the world. 

The ultra gorgeous Terri Hatcher, who played Lois Lane in the series "Lois and Clark." If this picture means what I think it does, her co-star really was Superman.

Outfits worn by Hatcher on the show.

More memorabilia...

And more. 

Notwithstanding being able to be a kid most of the day, it was a great ride along the banks of the Mississippi, through lush, green fields of corn and grain sorghum, across the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers, into Kentucky, by some of the prettiest farms I've seen, and on through the rocky, green hills of Tennessee, into Nashville. 

We live in a beautiful country. We really do. 

Tomorrow, Atlanta. 

God bless.