We're Back...but Just Barely

Just a quick post to say hi and let you know we (meaning Crabby Pants and myself...hubby is still in Germany)  made it back despite the arctic blasts that seem to be intent on making travel  a bit more difficult than normal.

You know that I always like to participate in Two Thoughts for Tuesday with the Blogdumps  crew and had every intention of having time yesterday to at least get started BUT as I managed to have both my flight out of Frankfurt, Germany delayed and the flight out of Houston to Kansas City delayed as well....consider this post  a little blurb to let you know that I am alive and well.    One (meaning YOU) really can't expect a lot of quality and superior content when it is coming from a jet-lagged, caffeine deprived, ME after getting home around 3 AM this morning.

Over the next few weeks, I will try to find time to tell you about some of the more interesting parts of my trip. Obviously, the very best part was seeing my husband.  He is coming home for Christmas so, I get to see him again in just a couple of weeks.

Anywho....back to the issue at hand.  Two Thoughts????

Thought Number One:  Some Airports are Easier than Others

In the past, when we went overseas we went through Amsterdam or Munich.  This time I went through Frankfurt both coming and going and I thought it was a thoroughly confusing airport as far as getting to the terminal.  Once inside the building not bad at all but, frankly the odds of you finding your way to a parking garage are so remote that you might, in fact, never get to see the inside of the terminal.  Well...unless you are willing to jump out of a moving car and run for the entrance.  I wasn't willing or able to try that method as my big ole suitcase wouldn't of made the jump. Next best method is to pull into the rental return lot of the same company as your rental car is from and beg for mercy.  The Enterprise people didn't seem to find it surprising that we couldn't find the parking garage and were very nice to help us figure out the "how to get to "point A from Point B." 

Of course, it could be said that IF a person could read German signs, this problem of not locating the entrance of the parking garage might of been somewhat easier.   As I don't read German signs, it is a miracle that I managed to get back to Kansas City at all. Still...as of 3:00 AM, I am back home.  YAY!!!!

Thought Number Two:  Are  Vacations Worth the Price You Pay When You Return? 

So here I am trying to think of "two" thoughts while actually I am thinking hundreds of thoughts of all that needs to get accomplished now that I am back. I am very behind in all things...mail, news (did anything of interest happen in the U.S in the last couple of weeks???) , blogging, reading, correspondence, returning emails and returning  phone calls...and the list goes on.

So my friends, I will try to get caught up and get back posting on a more consistent schedule.  AND to my blogging friends, I will see you over at your blogs soon.




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Traveling the Back Roads

In yesterday's post, you had to listen to me whine about the lack of Internet access and the inability to have a working cell phone but still...I did enjoy my trip to Nebraska.

My husband's company requires that he travel throughout the country so I have had a lot of opportunities to  "go  along for the ride". The big cities are always fun to visit as they offer a lot of things to do but there is a certain charm to the rural areas as well.

There might of been a time that just riding around looking at the countryside would not have been interesting to me.  That would of definitely been true if I had small children in the car (the very thought of it makes me jittery) but as an empty-nester, I love looking around at things, stopping to check out the sites and "flavor" of the little towns that make up America. There is always some cute little business, or a great little diner just down the road.




Thought Number One....Cedar Creek Pottery

This used to be a church but now is a potter's studio

Just 7 miles outside of Beatrice, Nebraska sits a old Lutheran church that was built in 1895. 
This would seem to be an unlikely place for a pottery studio...yet it is.  An unusual studio to be sure.

Hubby and I were driving along a country highway, when we spotted the sign and turned onto a gravel road.  After a few miles we saw the church and thought we needed to investigate. Upon walking up to the door you are greeted by a sign:

We let ourselves in, turned on the lights as instructed and looked around.  

After a few minutes the potter, Ervin Dixon came in.  Ervin is a very quiet man, or at least he was while we were there.  He is known around the area as the "country potter".

Dixon was an art student in the 60's and 70's who initially wanted to create welded sculptures. After earning a MFA from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, he started a teaching career at the University of Miami. A few years later he moved back to the area where he grew up near Beatrice, Nebraska. For more than 30 years, Dixon has created his art and embraced his small town roots.

At the beginning of each year he starts with around 9000 pounds of clay and by October he has formed and fired all of it. He holds an annual sale to show and sell his pottery although anyone can drive up to the church and let themselves in.  Be sure to turn on the lights.  Ervin will come over in a few minutes.

Thought Number Two--Did I See What I Thought I Saw?

As we were driving to Cedar Creek Pottery, we saw a boat sitting in a pasture.  This probably wouldn't be worth noting if there had been any water around...any at all...but no...no lakes, rivers, not even a pond.  Yet, here it was a small boat in the middle of a pasture.



Nothing around it for miles...nothing



Then there was this.... Someone felt the need to point out the fact that the road was a "dirt" road.

Perhaps, the sign maker should have elaborated and said "Dirt or Mud Road" depending on the weather. Clearly someone didn't figure that out.




I have seen the signs on roads to point out possible deer in the area but I hadn't seen signs that pointed out duel inhabitants before.





It's like a game of chance...which one
will I hit today?

To be continued....what is waiting for me back in Kansas






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Return Trip

A couple of times a year when we go visit our family in Illinois, we take a route from Kansas City, MO to Hannibal, MO where we usually stop and eat lunch.

 It's always fun to stop there and look around town to see what has changed since we lived there in the mid-1970's.  In some ways Hannibal has changed a lot but I am not sure that most people would spot the differences.  Some of the town looks just as it did when Samuel Clemens grew up there so the subtle differences that have taken place since 1976 don't immediately stand out.

I will tell you that while I find much of the  Samuel Clemens  and Mark Twain story pretty interesting,  if you happen to live in Hannibal any length of time it gets a little old. Every business, every service, every "everything" finds a way to incorporate some Twain reference.




Guess who greets you when you drive into town





See what I mean.  Some of Hannibal hasn't changed.
This is Samuel Clemens boyhood home.  This is the location that he
chose to base in Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn stories on.



Samuel's dad's law office on the left.



Becky Thatcher's house-  Becky Thatcher, was actually based on a Samuel's
childhood sweetheart, Laura Hawkins



Monument on Cardiff Hill



Cardiff Hill



Mark Twain Riverboat- Just leaving for an excursion on the Mississippi






 



In 1973 people needed boats to travel downtown
My husband worked in one of these buildings
 on Main St.



Prior to our moving there Hannibal had a severe flood in 1973.  As Main Street in Hannibal is practically  on the river bank,  flooding has been a huge problem for the city.  However, in early 1993 a levee system was built along the riverfront.  The timing was fortuitous.  The water rose to within  inches of the top of the new levee during the 1993 flood that did severe damage all along the Mississippi.

This is one of the differences, I mentioned.  The river bank looks very different now with flood gates and a berm.  None of that existed when we lived there.

the 34 foot levee that helps to protect Hannibal from flooding

Today there is a sea wall and levee system to help the river
stay out of downtown



The Mississippi within its banks

If you ever have an opportunity to go to Hannibal be sure to go out to the Mark Twain Cave.  The cave is the oldest tourist cave in the state of Missouri and has been operating since 1886.  The cave was an important location in five of Mark Twain's novels. The cave is part of a much larger system of caves with speculation that parts of it remain undiscovered.

The cave has a colorful history.  In the 1840 a Hannibal physician bought the cave to conduct macabre experiments on dead bodies.  Jesse James used it for a hideout in the 1870's.



One of four entrances to the cave.  This is the entrance that the tours enter.



The Good for the Day...fun place to visit during Mark Twain Days in July or the Autumn Folklife Festival in October

The Bad for the Day... If you have claustrophobia or fear of the dark don't take the cave tour.   At one point they turn off the lights so you can experience total darkness.  Pitch black as no light penetrates the cavern.

The Weird for the day...The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is in the top ten for the most censored books.   The book has been a target of litigation, banning and even in 2011 it has been a subject of controversy due to multiple racial slurs within it's pages.

Hal Holbrook doing an impersonation of Mark Twain.

Oh...Something I noticed while walking downtown...In the old part of town, bricks were place along the sidewalks  for memoriams, recognition etc.  I happened to notice one that had me puzzled.

What do you suppose the one that says "A Farce Without an End" means?

Green Acres



My husband grew up on a farm. His family stayed in the same geographical area for his entire childhood surrounded by their very large extended family.  I, for the most part, have always lived in towns or cities.  My family moved around a bit as a kid but I did spend a large portion of my childhood in the vicinity of Iroquois County, Illinois.  I met my now husband when he was 12 years old while my dad was drilling a water well for one of the buildings on the farm. I was 11 and remember him as being tall and skinny.




Anyway...Thursday, we headed back to his family farm, which he now co-owns with his two brothers.  My husband and his brothers look at their farm not only from the perspective of their family history but also from the perspective of costs, profits, production, blah, blah, blah...more work than fun. 

It turns out that it takes a great deal of work to plant crops like soybeans.



My brother-in-law is a good guy and a good farmer






We are pretty much the equivalent of a modern version of Green Acres with a twist.  My husband knows a lot about being a good farmer as he grew up on the farm. BUT.... He likes the city life.  I know next to nothing about farming, much like Eddie Albert's character, Oliver and I think farming looks interesting...dare I say fun.  So in our version hubby is Lisa and I am Oliver.

From where we live in Kansas City it takes 7.5 hours to get to Iroquois County, IL.  We always take the small state highways as opposed to the Interstate highways because it makes for a far more interesting drive.
Oddly enough, taking the backroads gets you there in exactly the same amount of time. 


This is what would see if one would drive on the Interstate



Ahhh, the beauty of traveling the Interstate (you do get the sarcasm here, right???)



The backroads however always have neat things to look at. 



If you ever need some tacky souvenirs, Nostalgiaville is the place to get them.
Need anything with Betty Boop on it???  Kingdom City, MO




Crossing the Mississippi at Louisiana, Mo




The Mississippi River (my tinted widows are making it look dark...it wasn't)

 Stopped in Springfield, Illinois for lunch.  If you haven't ever visited the historical area of Springfield it is worth a look.  The Lincoln Museum and Library is really interesting.



Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, IL

Be sure to check out the show  "Ghosts of the Library".  You won't
believe what you are seeing.



A little gas station in Dwight, IL that sits on RT 66












The little town near hubby's family farm is L' Erable.  It is tiny at around a hundred or so people.  You would have to hand count the inhabitants as the US Census doesn't recognize it as a town.  Still, it is the home to the oldest wood framed church in the state of Illinois. St. John the Baptist, Roman Catholic Church is still used today.



St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, L'Erable, IL





We recently attended a very pretty wedding
at St. John the Baptist



The largest town near our farm that would have hotels is Kankakee, Illinois.

Civil War Memorial in front of the Kankakee courthouse



As a little girl I thought this was the most magnificent waterfall.
I hadn't ever seen a real waterfall at that point.  Who knew??

Kankakee gets a lot of negative press as it has experienced an economic slump for a number of years but there is a lot of pretty places around town as well. 



We make a few trips back to the farm any given year but it is especially nice if we can go during the time of the county fair.  This year it worked out. 

So today, I am just getting you to the farm...tomorrow, I will post some farm pictures and Wednesday will be a post about our day at the fair.

The Good for the Day...It was a fun trip visiting old familiar places and seeing our family and friends.

The Bad for the day...when will this hot weather ever cool down.

The Weird for the Day... Kankakee is about 50 miles south of Chicago.  Saturday morning, we walked out of a mall to a downpour.  The rain was so heavy that it flooded nearby areas including O'Hare Airport.

A song about a train leaving from Kankakee