50 States, Day 222

  Jefferson City to Springfield, 175 miles

 

"Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

~Albert Einstein

 

Today we celebrate our thirty-eighth year of wedded bliss; stay tuned to seeall the ways we simply went crazy and partied together. First, off to the Country Kitchen for breakfast. See? We just went wild, ordering Eggs Benedict and Cordon Bleu Skillet. Yep, the sky's the limit!

We fired up the scoot and launched, off to Springfield, stopping at Lake of the Ozarks on the way. The Visitor's Center featured a log building with Christmas decorations, lots of maps and brochures, and a museum that mostly focused on the construction of the dam. I love that stuff! Around 1929, they got started building it and bam! Depression. No matter, keep building it. Men worked there for thirty-five cents a day, a great paycheck in those days. Old guys reminisced on video about building the dam, remembering that the work was hard, but they missed the Depression-until the project finished, anyway.

The work those days was labor intensive, shovels and backs doing much of the work, but a few cranes, steam shovels and a railroad made quicker work of it. Reminded me of Hoover Dam, near our hometown, another incredible story of creating a massive dam with lots of men doing hard work.

We rode over the dam and QG was good with it-she hates bridges. This kept her feeling safe with higher walls on either side and a lake on the right. We planned better for the weather, plugging in early and as the temps reached the sixties, ran powerless. Another crazy nice day, a few high clouds, calm and warm. Still we keep thinking we must head south.

Because it's our anniversary, we decided to stay at the Super 8 tonight. Everything's great at the Super 8. With time to spare, we rode to the Wilson Creek Battlefield, where the Confederates made a few less mistakes than the Union and prevailed. It sounded like anarchy, with neither side wearing full uniforms, each soldier shooting at what he hoped to be an opponent. The locals paid the price again, as their houses became hospitals. And some of the descriptions were disgusting. Think maggots and flies, probes and saws, in the makeshift hospital.

Since we're celebrating our anniversary, we stopped at (PP!) Braum's Ice Cream for hot fudge sundaes. Yum. Never been there before. It featured an ice creamery, normal, but also a convenience store-of sorts-with everything refrigerated (lettuce, produce, dairy, meats) and bread. That's it. Seemed strange to us, but what do we know?

Topping off our anniversary celebration, we stopped at McDonald's for Dollar Menu Double Burgers and took them back to the motel. Told you we went crazy.

And now, the love of my life, who puts up with so much insanity, Quilter Girl!

It was a great day with Mr. Sun peeking in and out and the temps in the 60's. We headed for Springfield and Wilson Creek Battlefield.  Missouri was a very strategic state for both sides because of the rivers and railroads that go through this state.  The movie at the Visitor’s Center gave us the human story of this battle, one of the first fought in the Civil War.  The postmaster who had a farm on the main road suffered the most.  His crops were ruined and they spent months taking care of the wounded left behind by both sides.  The human cost of this war is mind boggling and very, very sad.

And yes, it was a good anniversary with lots of great memories.

QG

Tomorrow we may go to Joplin (The jury is still out. What's the hurry? We're not standing by the bike and trailer with the engine running.) Then, in a switch, we are probably going to Arkansas. It just makes logistic sense to head South and East toward Tennessee through Arkieville. This drives QG crazy, as she suggested it two days ago and I rejected the idea. Then today, like some kind of divine inspiration, I clearly saw that going via Arkansas was a good idea. Told you she puts up with a lot. Maybe someday I'll tell you about our thirtieth anniversary, which included off road racing, riders' meetings and tech inspections. Getting all choked up, aren't you? So sentimental and romantic. In my defense, I got QG a card and a gift today, surprise.