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Published: June 10th 2009
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Let the material commence! I’m writing as I go, just about, but I wanted to figure out some way to post a few entries on the Missouri road trip from last month. Or, at least two. As with all of my trips, if I was interested in any of the historical significance of a place or people that have affected the area I’m going as a whole, I was even more so when I got home. Lewis and Clark and their expedition were major factors for St. Louis and where our trip’s destination was taking us, but Mark Twain stayed at the forefront of my thoughts. He’s still there now, so the next entry (or part II, as it were) will focus more on Hannibal and his influence with my seeing his face on a magazine right after I went back to working at the library post-trip.
Yet, let us follow the route taken from my good old home state of Georgia. The departure was May 7th, and the first stop was a trip up into Tennessee. We drove through Chattanooga and headed to Nashville. When I first decided that St. Louis and back would be an ideal road trip
(some time before it actually became a reality), I took into account how there were cities of interest to stop in every so many hours. A lot of our days in between stops were three, four or more hours in the car, but the first leg to Mount Juliet outside of Nashville went well. We began to rely on the GPS device early on in the trip, and with most places in MJ being new, we set it to take us to the center of town. We just rode behind a school bus on a winding and hilly road that set off the green grass and blue skies for a little while…that was being local!
Mount Juliet also holds some former and memorable neighbors who were the kind of folks you would want living next door. We visited with the Shultzes and met our friend Marsha Shultz’s cats. I would enjoy such a visit even if she hadn’t come up with some clever tricks to show as well! I had a good birthday in Mt. Juliet, and after checking out of the new and much appreciated Hampton Inn (the desk and the high speed internet was especially welcome after
having a weak cable signal at my apartment for days), we were on the way to St. Louis. Our states included Kentucky and Illinois before we were on Missouri soil. The welcome centers at the state lines were helpful and full of good brochures and literature (especially Illinois and most places around STL), so we ventured off to check out a place called Patti’s Settlement. My mom and I weren’t quite hungry enough for the sky-high pie and mounds of edibles that we saw on the brochure, but we discovered that the Settlement was a complex and mini-world unto itself.
The complex had its shops and wedding facilities, but an arcade and mini-golf course and café too. We had some quiche and grapes at said café, sitting out on a rain-drenched wooden porch next to a TV; we could learn the art of upkeep for some sort of plant while we ate. Plus, the complex had its share of cats and a wire habitat construction of sorts beside the main restaurant. Inside were kittens and a slightly larger black cat for free. These furry offerings were quite tempting, but I knew that they wouldn’t want to start their lives
with my mom or me on the road! We were St. Louis bound, but one of our stops for gas was in Nashville, Illinois. It was a case where the station that we were headed for was a few miles off of the interstate. We both ended up getting a mocha drink at the BP after that particular flavor was recommended to us by a young woman. She appeared to be the sister of the cashier, so while the station was a little difficult to navigate in and out of, I found more reasons to appreciate the residents of the Midwest.
My GPS unit was our constant companion, and we grew to laugh at and anticipate its idiosyncrasies as well as its useful maps, list of stations and food sources and approaching streets and locations that we had logged in. We had the traditional navigational tools, but my mom has been the navigator for too many family trips to not pour over a crisp map free of any holes or too many creases from being folded the wrong way. She drove us into St. Louis, so I got to be the one snapping pictures of the Illinois countryside and
looking ahead eagerly for our first view of the Arch and city skyline. The moment did arrive, and I remember seeing a set of trees to our left stop and allow the unified dark shapes of the Gateway to the West to be presented. At last, a city that excited me and was yet unexplored by my eyes, feet and camera! We crossed the bridge that I-64 utilized, and although the lane issues were just that as we rode to Market Street on a one way street, the GPS unit did its part to recalculate. One perk was seeing the Old Courthouse and a much closer view of the Arch than we did over and under bridges and other hindrances as we had come closer to our destination. It was a relief to hit the hotel, which was another Hampton Inn. I won’t go into the story of how I looked into bed and breakfasts and didn’t find the dates open for our trip as well as a great rate, for I want to stay in a B&B when I return. For now, I found a solid location and a decent rate for our lodgings.
I think I’ll launch
One of the free kittens!
Quite tempting in its cuteness. into St. Louis and Hannibal in the next entry then, and we shall indeed visit Mr. Twain and let his role as literary muse take over. He is basically the epitome of the Missouri resident, and that’s with his presence in California (I’ve seen the newspaper office where he worked out there) and all over the country. As I wrap up this particular entry, I can already state that I understand why he came back to his homeland and thought to take his most well-known settings from such a place.
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