Day 14 ~ Friday, July 1st, 2011

The guys hand us the Route 66 book. They say "look and see, tell us where you want to go, what you want to see and where you want to sleep and we will take you there"

Well, the girls had a thought. We are sure the guys had the same thought! We were on the road by 11:43 am. We fly through...
See.... we could barely "catch" the sign!

We were thrilled to see this sign...
The girls settle in for a movie on the mac while the guys "take us where we want to go"!

We pull into the Lesjaks residence at 9:28 pm. Just look at their faces... PRICELESS!

We step right out of the rv.... lock the door. We head into the house. The pizza we ordered while on the road arrives within the hour. Shots are poured. Toasts are made We plan on having a great evening together before waking in the morning to unload the rv together!

We met on a fall day in October. We both had little girls the same age. Our families grew. We were neighbors who did everything together. The guys would come home from work, see each other mowing their yards and the next thing you knew, we were having a cook out together. Drive in movies in the back yards. Cocktail parties and Birthday parties. Some people just come into your lives and STAY!

That's the way it is with us.

To the trip of a lifetime... Thanks for the memories!

How about those bikes?!

Hickory Shores in Clinton County, Ill.

Well... we made it to the Hickory Shores Resort at 6:20 Thursday, June 30th. The people in charge had NO IDEA we were coming and scrambled to find a place for us for the night after we told them SOMEONE at the resort told us we didn't need a reservation!

We drove some miles out of our way for this?

Ok... not so bad. We can even have a campfire~ no fire band here at the Shores!

We settle in and unload our bikes to head to the pool! Those bikes, what did you say about those bikes Jim?

Jim and Dave- flexing for us girls!

There were a few water races... won't say who won, but it was very entertaining for all at the pool!

Dinner at camp!
Cooked by flashlight~ It was wonderful! There is nothing like bringing a personal chef on vacation with you! Jim was the grill master the whole trip!

Morning...
Day 14~ Decision time! What to do?

Day 13 ~ University City and St Louis, Illinois

We follow the road ...
right into St Louis!

We decide to visit University City ~ The Loop! Shops, shops and more shops!

We "park" at a meter. We get the funniest looks from everyone we meet! Some guys from the store right there come out to ask us some questions. How is it driving that big thing? Is it a blast? What is that on the grill? Did you hit a bird?

A butterfly~

Devil City~

Better check where we want to shop!

Isn't it a fun street... I mean LOOP?

We stop at the Blueberry Hill~

A well known bar/restaurant.

The walls are covered with memorabilia ~ from Chuck Berry...

albums...

Pee Wee Herman...

you name it... they had it!

It's Howdy Time!

Back outside,
was their very own "walk of STARS"~

A comic book store...
We couldn't believe they are $2.99~

A theater marquee seemed very fitting to our trip.

We continue on the road, passing by the famous arch!

Beautiful sky line!

The road is taking us to Hickory Shores. We are looking for a "resort" type campground, at least that is what the website promised! We wanted a relaxing night around a campfire. The man on the phone said, "No need to reserve, just come on over"! It is a bit out of the way but we all agree it will be worth it and hey... They have a POOL!

Day 13 ~ Joplin, Missouri

We wake in Sapulpa, Oklahoma and decide to pack up and go... 6:40 am and we are off! The plan is to drive to St Louis, Missouri today.

We make it to Missouri, and stop for breakfast at a local Cracker Barrel. We know we are close to the devastation of the Joplin tornado. We talk to some residents who tell us that we can drive thru the area. They want people to remember them. To know they still need help. The site of this city is hard to take in... They so need our prayers.

Trauma Counseling and PRAYER.

Like a war zone.



Joplin High School with new missing letters... HOPE

The hospital... will be torn down.









Pray for the people of Joplin. The death toll is at 153 persons. From these pictures, we are thinking that God was watching out for this city, the devastation so vast and wide, it is a miracle that so many lives were spared.