Still Not On the Road of History

Once on the road, I was headed to Hannibal,Missouri. I am still checking off the states I need to visit, but I am headed toward them. The drive was again uneventful. Another rainy day, but an easy drive. I told Mom as I was talking with her, it probably beats driving when the sun is beating into the car. (Maybe not, but I am trying to find positives here....)

It was a fairly short drive and I was looking forward to seeing the Mississippi River. I know I have seen it before, but for some reason I do not remember it being a big deal. Well, once in going over the bridge, I know why I didn't think it was a big deal. For some reason, when you talk about the M I SS I SS I PP I river, I think it should be very wide and lined by trees. Otherwise why would it have been such a big deal for Huck and Tom to go down it on a raft? Needless to say, no trees, not that wide and not that memorable.

I had planned on spending the night in Hannibal at a Bed & Breakfast and take a tour of a an old estate that looks like a European castle. Well, sometimes things just don't go as planned. Who would ever guess that most things in a tourist town would be closed on a Sunday afternoon? Very few stores, very few people walking around, and very few inviting places. In fact, I wondered if the town and state is suffering from the economy since there were lots of buildings that looked empty. I did drive around the older homes and looked at the B&Bs. Some were okay, but overall the town felt like it was rebuilding or falling apart.... not really sure which. The good news is that I did recognize the one way streets and stayed in the right direction.

Go figure, but the one store I did find open was a shop that specialized in Missouri products. I noticed a little sign that said wine tasting, and since the restaurant next door was closing and I still hadn't had lunch....it made sense I should check it out. (Besides, I had gotten off the highway earlier when I saw a sign for some family winery and while I drove for a long way I never found it, but did come up to the road that turned back onto the highway) The owner Larry was such a nice guy and he did let me sample a couple of the wines, told me where some of them were made and sold me a couple bottles of white. Since he was so friendly, I did ask him about where would be a good place between St. Joseph (my next town on my route) and Hannibal and he suggested Macon, MO. Said it was a bigger town and there was a nice restaurant in a nearby town - although it might not be open on Sundays. (It was not)

No matter how far you go, there is always something that reminds you of home. Again, there were freshly plowed field, lots of green trees, older farms, and - of all things - a RTS Truck with it's big Grand Rapids, MI logo. Made me smile.

Macon is a town of 5538 people, per the sign. I saw an advertisement for a private little motel that had been redone in 2009 and it Internet so got a room fairly early in a town that also had very little to do. I did find a local restaurant for dinner, found a Walmart of all things and then went to a movie at the Macon Cinema. The theater had 3 movies playing and only about 8 cars in the parking lot. I saw the Back-up Plan with Jennifer Lopez and for awhile thought I was going to have a private showing, but finally my two other couples showed up. And I was glad that I had company, even though I was not talking to them.

Tomorrow is another day.....and hopefully more things open. But even if not, I have driven about 600 miles in two days and I can't remember the last time that I did not have to worry about a schedule or timeline. This is not bad......