missouri – Standing Strength

Our last night away was in the super-cool Hotel Frederick in Boonville MO. The Kelleys had recommended this as a great hotel and area, as well as a halfway point on a two-day drive from Colorado Springs to Kennesaw. We rolled in pretty late last night, but the Brick Room was still hopping with live music. We had to take off this morning before the adjacent town got moving, but the whole area seemed great for wandering, shopping, and playing. I wish we had an extra day for this Missouri to Georgia stretch for more sight-seeing, but work calls us both back tomorrow.

Our main stop for the day was the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. On a short road trip with the kids in summer 2021, we visited the Arch and rode a river boat down the Mississippi. Thom wasn’t able to join us on that trip, and he didn’t really want to go up in the Arch today, as he hates heights (and had his fill of heights on Pike’s Peak). But, you have to stop and marvel at this 600+ foot tall structure that’s the largest arch in the world. Although it’s known as the Gateway to the West, it is (for us) the gateway back east. I walked poor Thom to death in search of the proper park entrance for the Arch, but we ended up seeing the Federal Reserve building, making me think of dad. We left the Arch before it started raining and stopped at Raising Cane’s for a Father’s Day lunch. 🙂

We thought about stopping in Metropolis (IL) to see the touristy Superman stuff, but the pouring rain shut that idea down. It’s hard to complain about the weather, as we were blessed with mostly great weather for nine days. We had a few showers here and there, but we’ve seen really bad weather right behind us or right before us yet missed the bad stuff.

We were able to enjoy numerous bridges from Missouri to Kentucky crossing more big rivers, including the Missouri River, Mississippi River, Ohio River, & Tennessee River.

As we rolled into TN, it felt more like home than a road trip. I’ve made the Kennesaw to Nashville/Smyrna drive more times than I can count to see family. If you haven’t driven this path, it really is beautiful. The drive through Monteagle goes over the Cumberland Plateau and then across Nickajack Lake. There are some stunning vistas to enjoy if you’re not the driver. It doesn’t seem nearly as large and the road doesn’t seem dangerous now that I’ve been out west, but it’s still an enjoyable stretch of road. As you come off Monteagle and head towards Chattanooga, you get some great valley views and (my favorite part), you get to follow the curves of the Tennessee River for a bit. As we leave TN and into GA, I definitely feel home already.

I think it could go without saying that I’m glad Thom made this trip happen. We were in a weird place in life with the “baby” graduating high school last spring and launching into adulthood. There have been so many changes in how our day-to-day lives operate now that the kids are all doing their own things. (Speaking of which, yes, I know I need to update my profile on this blog!) Thom and I have embraced driving adventures together this year (around home base), and that’s been really good having something we do, just the two of us. While we’ve had a weekend away together here and there, we haven’t really traveled just the two of us on this scale. We’ve enjoyed this trip all the way from months of planning together to the very last moment of this last day.

All in all, we traveled 15 states, 7 of which I haven’t been to before. We crossed the Continental Divide twice and crossed most of the major rivers in the country. We saw car tags from all the states except Hawaii and Alaska although we stayed at a B&B with folks from Hawaii. We spent over 100 hours in the car, either traveling or sight-seeing. We drove right about 5000 miles over the past 10 days. We laughed over the different GPS warnings across the country (like “roadkill ahead” or “pothole in road”–that last one would go off all the time if people chose that alert in Atlanta). We listened to music spanning many decades, enjoyed hours of podcasts (mainly “A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs”), and connected with one another through great conversations. I got to take pictures and write & Thom got to drive the Mustang. We had nearly all our preconceived notions blown away. We found beauty along many roads (okay, but it’s true that Kansas, while pretty, became monotonous fast). We also met amazing people all along the way. We basically experienced three seasons and an incredible amount of variety in the geology and landscapes. So many moments were beautiful and breathtaking.

It truly was grand–an epic journey with the love of my life. Here’s ’til I travel again.

It was so nice getting to stay two nights in one place, and the “Bed & Brunch” place we stayed at was pretty cool. We stayed in Casita #2 but spent most of our working hours in the common area. They encouraged the communal living space, even more so than a traditional B & B. It also embraced the CO legalization lifestyle, so there was a “munchie bar” 24/7 and hors d’oeuvres at 4:20 every day. The munchies included typical packaged snacks but always also had fruit, warm cookies, and/or homemade danishes and muffins. There was also always french-press teas and coffee. They had a chef managing a huge kitchen that was open to a large bar, table, and living area. As best I could tell, Chef (as everyone called him) was always in the kitchen tending to anyone’s needs as well as being a social director of sorts. Whether it was 8am or midnight, there was always a group hanging out talking, playing games, working on a puzzle, etc. As you can see below, we ate well at this place that felt like a home away from home. If we’re ever out this way again, we would definitely stay here again for a few days.

It was certainly hard to leave, as these last two days are mainly about getting home. We lingered at breakfast too long, so we didn’t make it to Spicin’ Foods in Kansas City before they closed (to get some hot sauces, including Da Bomb–featured on Hot Ones). However, we had some fun along the long drive. We marveled at how quickly the Colorado landscape changed from massive mountains to farmland or prairie. We got to see windmills again and, once in Kansas, saw oil drilling stations peppered throughout the land. We had a delightful picnic at the Kansas welcome area, featuring some fresh cherries right off the tree (from our first B&B in Colorado). I hadn’t made the Kansas/Wizard of Oz connection for some reason until we saw the feature in the rest area. So, of course, I had to get a photo with Dorothy and the gang. (I tried the whole heel clicking thing to get home, but it didn’t work. Must be the shoes…)

Our last adventure of the day was to acquire Kansas City BBQ. The welcome center had recommended Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, so we headed there. It had a line wrapped around the outside of the building, so we settled in for a wait. After about a half hour (still waiting outside), Thom got an alert that his car was tampered with. So we stepped out of line to go check things (all was fine…so whoever it was had left without damaging anything). We didn’t want to get back in line, so we decided to try one of the suggestions Chef had made: Jack Stack BBQ. This place was a little more elevated, but the food was amazing. It was almost too good, as we still had 90 minutes to drive to our hotel, in the dark due to all the delays of the day. I highly recommend this place if you’re ever in Kansas City.