We're Back!

Wow – what a great four days we had.  As we mentioned previously, Beth and I headed to Springfield, Missouri for Mother’s Day with my Mom. 

 

We hit the road at about 8:00 AM on Friday morning, leaving the laptops at home :o)  Can’t say that I did not have to bring a little bit of “work” with me, but I was able to get it done Sunday morning (our main Mother’s Day was with my Step-Sister and her family on Saturday evening, so no comments about working on Mother’s Day).  We were watching Ratatouille (very cute and enjoyable), and then some old Western’s, which we only watch when we visit my Mom and Step-Dad, which is perfect for a “lazy” day.

 

But I have thing out of order...  So back to the drive on Friday, we had 585 miles to go, ½ a pack of gum, our Shades, and some Tea and Coffee.  We got my I-Zoom out of the glove-box to ensure a near seamless transition through the Toll-Booths (this is a new experience for us here Indiana), and ventured onto the Toll-Road. 

 

Beth had done some research for her “controlled” Obsession regarding Route 66, and we had a stop to make near Rolla, Mo.  But that was approximately 2/3 of the way there, and we experienced many miles of neck-craning looks at the old Route 66 that is adjacent to the Illinois Hwy 55 and Missouri Hwy 44, from Chicago to Springfield (Mo) respectively.  We spent about 30 minutes at John’s Modern Cabins, and then resumed our journey to my Mom’s. 

 

We arrived after 10 ½ hours on the road, including the 30 minutes at the cabins and a Steak & Shake lunch stop.  Needless to say, we received a warm welcome. 

 

Saturday was a lazy morning to start with coffee and the paper, and then I headed out for a 90 minute jog through greater Springfield, got cleaned up, and headed to my Step-Sister’s for some ham (both pork and human :o), turkey, homemade potato salad, and great family fun.  My niece was there with her daughter, who is a splitting image of her mother.  My family has taken Beth in as one of their own, just like her family has done with me – what a wonderful and lasting gift.

 

Sunday morning was spent again lazing around the house, with coffee, the paper, Tim Russert, and some great discussions on the upcoming elections.  Breakfast consisted of some brownies (Yum!) and then a little later, a snack of Ruffles With Ridges and some Southwestern Dip (we bought that on Friday, thinking that was my Mom’s favorite since she had it when we were down in December, only to find out that she had bought it then for us, we had a great laugh over that).  As mentioned above, I sneaked in some work, but they understand and it did not disrupt the flow at all.  We then had a great discussion with them regarding Pay It Forward, but that will be an entry later this week.  Beth and I headed out to get a few groceries and stamps for my Mom, and then I grilled some Pork Chops.  It was a great day, and we know that the purpose of our trip was achieved in spending Mother’s Day with my Mom.

 

Today, we hit the road at about 7:00 AM, with the sun shining and Blacky purring (we got 26 mpg going both ways, we were shocked!).  We put in a couple hours, then crossed our fingers as we tried a couple of wineries we saw on the way down just South of Meramec Caverns.  One was closed, but the St. James Winery was open.  While not as good as California wines, we liked their dry reds, and ended up getting three cases to add to our basement wine collection (not quite a cellar, it consists of seven racks, years 2000 – 2007, that is about 60% filled now :o).  The rest of the drive was not too eventful, but the details I will again leave to Nutwood Junction.  We got back home around 6:30 PM, and the rest of the evening has been “ketchup” <LOL>

 

Hope you had a great weekend and an even better Mother’s Day :o)