Keri & Jewels Casa Redo: August 2008

Saturday, August 16, 2008

The Road to St. Louis

The trip to St. Louis was long (the drive to Hot Springs was also long!). The kids were good - little girl was very tired of sitting in her car seat at one point so we pulled over. The weather was nice. We drove to St. Louis on a Wednesday, so the 18-wheelers were plentiful. At one point close to Memphis I counted 15 in one lane. That number does not include the 5 that were in front of us.

Some of you will know the importance of the Cape Girardeau sign. I was really tempted to pull off and take the Rush tour, but after being in the car 7 hours another 1 1/2 seemed excessive. We made it to St. Louis before dark - thanks to Jewels' trusty Nuvi 650.

Friday, August 15, 2008

I Like Ike!

Ike is State Farm Insurance Agent extraordinaire! We didn't get pictures from the tour of his agency, but did snap one of this nifty billboard. Be sure to call him with all your insurance needs - He can do business in Texas!

Digging for Crystals

There was a ‘dig for crystals’ place up the road so we took all the kids. You are given a bag and a bent piece of rebar once you pay your fee. Whatever you find, you can keep. Along with crystals there were fantastic rocks (landscaping). Five minutes into digging Jewels and I realized we were not dressed appropriately. If we ever go back we will not wear white, we will wear long sleeves, jeans and gloves. All of us got cut digging for the perfect crystal.

Bathhouse Row

Of course the hot spring baths are the attraction in Hot Springs. Buckstaff is the only working public bathhouse. A second is being renovated and may be open by now. The bath houses are run by the national parks. We toured one that is held as a museum. Sonya kept the kids one day so Jewels and I could go back to Buckstaff. I decided 5 minutes into the experience that I'm not a "public bath" kind of person. I wasn't sure the tub was sanitized properly though the rooms smelled of Pine Sol. When my "bath lady" asked if I wanted a sitz bath, I looked over at a rather large woman on the sitz next to where I was to be - it really looked like she was enjoying the treatment, but at the same time looked like she was having a bowl movement. I declined. I did have a fantastic massage. Jewels liked his bath, but wasn't able to get a massage. All in all, I'm glad went went, but give me the Trellis any day!

Hot Springs

We toured historic Hot Springs with Sonya and the girls. The town is very proud that Bill Clinton lived there. We couldn’t help but get a picture with the sign – it may just be our Christmas card this year!!! We were really impressed how hot the hot springs are. You cannot touch the water for but a second – it’s really hot. The green you see in the stream is the only thing (slime) that grows in the springs. The town was fun, but both Jewels and commented that if felt like a “beach” town – cheesy souvenir shops, tacky shirts, etc. We ate in a cute diner called Bubbaloo’s. The boy liked the bar seating. The oldest enjoyed watching the owner cook. Little girl actually ate something besides French fries – a rarity on the trip. The weather was beautiful, the company fantastic…it was a fun day.

Somewhere I have a picture of my grandparents at this same fountain.

Hot Springs Village

We started the summer with a family trip to Hot Springs and St. Louis. Keri’s cousin, Bethany married Elliot in St. Louis on June 7th (06/07/08). Since we are a family of five and plane tickets costs a fortune, we drove the 2,000+ miles. Jewels’ cousin, Sonya, lives in Hot Springs Village which happens to be half way to St. Louis – very convenient for us! Sonya, Ike and their two girls graciously hosted our layover. We had a great time with them. Their home is located in a beautiful resort/retirement community. The hills and turns made me a little ill, but the scenery was fantastic. We were lucky to arrive the same weekend they received their new boat. The kids had a blast tubing and swimming in the lake. Thank you Sonya and Ike (and girls) for a great time!!!