June 12, 2010 by LadyCC.

We get up early and start downtown to see the Westward Expansion Arch. We hope we don’t run into too much traffic because there is a Susan Koman Run for the Cure going on today downtown at 9 am. They predict 70, 000 people at the event and have closed several exits on the interstate down there.

We make it OK and park in the garage. Our tickets we have bought are for 9:20 am but when we get there and through security we ask about going earlier and are told we can go now on the south tram. So we walk down there and have our pictures taken like on a cruise. Then we wait for the tram to come back. It runs every 10 minutes. The cars are tiny with 5 hard plastic seats in them but they let more than 5 people in them. Our car had 7 people. There was a family of 4 with kids as old as 5 that had to sit on their parents laps while we went up. It was a tight fit since the walls are curved. But it only lasted about 3 minutes to get to the viewing level. We got out and were able to look out the windows over St Louis and the Mississippi River. We took video and lots of pictures. The Old Courthouse was easy to see. After 10 minutes we caught the next car going down the north leg. This time we rode by ourselves. Then we looked around the Westward Expansion museum and PTCC worked on her Jr Ranger badge. They have several movies and a riverboat cruise as well as the tram tour. We finished up in the museum and PTCC received her badge then we walked across the street to the Old Courthouse where Dred Scott started his case about slavery here and went all the way to the Supreme Court with it. We took a ranger led tour here and then walked around the bottom and 2^nd, and 3^rd floors. You could not get to the cupola level though. PTCC worked on another Jr Ranger but received the same badge as across the street.

After finishing here we drive a few miles and go to the home of Ulysses S Grant called White Haven. This was his home after marrying Julia Dent, whose family owned the property, until they lived in the White House. We took another ranger led tour here. They let you wander around the house because nothing here is from the Grants. They had put their furniture in storage while in the White House and where they had it stored had a fire and everything was lost.

The part of the story that is interesting is that Grant was a staunch anti slavery person but he married into a very pro slavery family. He even owned at least one slave which he set free. His own father would not visit him at White Haven because of the slavery issue.

PTCC worked on another Jr Ranger and we watched the movie and toured the house as well as the museum that was set up in the horse barn that Grant built to start a horse breeding business after the Presidency. Unfortunately none of that happened and they ended up moving to New York and living there.

Next door is the Busch Wildlife area that has the house that Grant built called Hardscrabble that they only lived in for 3 months. The park is free to visit but you must pay a steep parking fee ($11 car). It looked interesting with different animals as well as the Clydesdale that Budweiser uses. We didn’t visit since it was getting late.

We drive back to Babler and check out the Visitor Center in the park. They have a great center with several displays of the animals that are native to the area. They also have a snake video but I declined to see that. When we got there a volunteer was teaching some kids about the animals in the area, I think they were working on their naturalist badge. PTCC doesn’t have enough time to work on this since we were gone so long today. We took a drive around the park and saw the area that the Olympic pool is in. The pool has been closed permanently since they could not afford to do the maintenance and upkeep on it.

We went back to the site and all of us took naps. It is very humid here and we were tired from the sun and getting up early. After we get up CC replaces our bath fan that PTCC and I bought the other day at Camping World. I am working on catching up our on blog and photos. Don’t know what PTCC is doing.

We’re trying to cookout tonight but the rain keeps coming. We have a 15 minute break before the next group of storms roll through. CC is grilling under the awning right now hopefully we will have cooked food to eat. I guess we’ll see soon.

We eat then take a walk, the rain has mostly stopped though we are still hitting pockets of it. We see a bunny on our walk near the edge of the woods. We come back and try to have a fire. The whole fire ring is wet though. We get a small flame going enough to have a couple of smores and roasted marshmellows then we quit and go inside. We need to be up early tomorrow to make it to Kentucky.

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June 12, 2010 by LadyCC.

I could not sleep because of my back hurting so I got up to write yesterday’s blog. It started raining about 4:30 am and the wind was blowing hard. We haven’t seen hail yet and I hope we don’t. Bad weather is supposed to go on all day today. Hopefully it will stop soon.

We get everything ready and move out for St Louis and our next stop. On our way out we discovered that CC forgot to get the thermometer and so he probably ran over it since it was sitting on the RV tire. He says he has a plan for the next one. I don’t think we’ll really need it for the rest of the trip since it is now hot and humid mostly everyday.

We got to a toll bridge after going through Plattsmoth,That we had to cross in order to go over the Missouri River. This bridge was very low and not too wide and cost $2.25 for us to cross. We waited until the other vehicles had crossed then went down the center of the road as we thought we might scrape the mirrors if we didn’t. Then once again we end up in Iowa. Then about 30 minutes later we cross into Missouri, our 16^th state on this trip. We continue on down the road into Independence, MO where President Truman lived.

We make a wrong turn into his Presidential Library (where I wish we could have visited) and finally found his historic site in Fire Station #1. CC was starting to get testy because of the small streets and having to maneuver the RV through them so it was good when we finally came across it. We parked across the street and went inside. PTCC of course did the Jr Ranger and we watched the film. You can get tickets to see the house but we had no time to do this on this trip. The site is very small and has a few displays so it did not take too long. We went back to the RV and had lunch, reset the car and moved on down the road. The rest of Missouri went by slowly, maybe because my back was in such pain. I tried sleeping for awhile but ended back up front talking to CC. I guess that was good because he was getting sleepy and was bored as well.

We finally pull into Babler SP in Wildwood, MO at 5:30 pm. Here you don’t check in, you go right to your site and the host will be around later to check you in. They only sell firewood from 6-6:30 pm every night. Our site is very nice though. It is shady and very wide with concrete and is level. Even the picnic table is on concrete. We have a water hook up next to us but only electric at the site. We’re tired so we watch the movie The Blind Side and hit the beds since tomorrow we have to be up early to go to visit the Arch.

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June 12, 2010 by LadyCC.

I got up early after the Weather Radio went off at 6:45 am. Thunderstorms are coming. So I got up and had breakfast and my coffee, then got dressed and started putting everything away that was outside. I grabbed our name sign and put it into the bin and stored my chair. Then I had to clean off the outside lights from the mud and store them. The only thing left is the bikes, but I will let CC handle them.

PTCC gets up early since the weather radio was on her side of the bed she was sharing with me and I made her turn it off. I must have sat wrong in my reading chair the other day because my upper back is really sore right now, it feels like I pulled something but I know I didn’t.

Right around 10 am it starts to pour so it looks like an inside day for us for awhile. PTCC wants to watch a movie so I said sure. Only she wants to watch one we’ve seen before but I veto that and suggest a new one. SO we end up watching Because of Winn Dixie. It was the perfect length because when it was finished the rain had stopped and we had lunch. PTCC then took off for the lodge and computer time and I finished cleaning up and getting stuff ready for us to leave tomorrow.

When I was done I took a walk around the 2 campgrounds and noticed that a lot of the sites have standing water (mud) in them. There were only 5 rigs in the reserved section of Little Creek. I tried to talk to the host over there but he brushed me off. So much for Mid western hospitality. The host in our campground has never said boo to us either.

When I got back PTCC was sitting on the picnic table waiting for me. I told her I was going to the lodge to check my email but she wanted to stay and watch TV, so I left without her.

About 4 pm we leave to go to Cabelas to check it out. We have Bass Pro but not a Cabelas at home so I wanted to see the difference. They had a nice animal display in the center but it was much smaller than Bass Pro. Very nice aquariums though. Prices pretty similar too. While there CC texted me that he was sitting on the plane and ready to go.

Then we left to go to Camping World. CC wanted to try a new fan in the RV bath and had found one in Council Bluffs. I had also looked up an awning screen that I wanted and it looked like they had it there.

I was able to find the fan. There was only 1 and the box looked like it was open so I wanted to make sure I could return it in Orlando if everything wasn’t there. I asked about the awning screen but they don’t carry the size Ii want, I will have to order it online. When checking out I asked the cashier where we could eat and she told me near Lake Manawa which is where we need to go next anyway.

So we end up at Cracker Barrel and have the sugar cured ham which is mine and PTCC’s favorite meal. After eating and browsing we drive over to Walmart to do our shopping before we need to pick up CC at the airport.

We finish up our shopping and while checking out CC has texted he made it to STL but they don’t have a gate for them so they are sitting on the tarmac waiting for another plane to push back. We finish paying and load our stuff into the car and head to the airport. We get there about 7:56 pm and CC has texted that he has just left the gate in STL so he will be late. That’s ok the airport is supposed to have wifi so PTCC will be happy.

We get inside the terminal and find out that they roll the sidewalks up at 7:30 pm. Nothing but a bakery shop is still open. Everyone except security and a couple of gate agents have gone home. SO we grab some seats where we can see the arriving passengers and wait. It takes the board about 30 minutes to update with the right time. CC’s plane was supposed to be in at 8:40 pm but now will arrive at 9:10 pm. PTCC entertains herself by playing with her Ipod and listening to music.

Finally about 9:20 pm CC is walking up the hallway. He was first off the flight. We get into the car and head out but he takes a wrong turn somehow and we can’t get on the road we need, so we are driving around downtown Omaha in the dark. Nothing is going on down here at all. No nightlife. After driving around for 15-20 min we finally get on the Interstate going back to Mahoney SP.

It takes us about 30 minutes to get there. We unload CC’s stuff and the groceries and get ready for bed. CC goes out to load the bikes since it is supposed to rain tonight like all the others. So we should be ready to go as soon as we get up in the morning.

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