Missouri

As a tribute to the birthplace of my beautiful wife, Rachel, I extend a heart-felt pardon to Missouri, and particularly the city of St. Louis, for the hours, er days, I spent getting lost or sitting in construction traffic during the past 28 years. The only consolation from driving through the gateway city comes at the other end of I-70, when the Kansas City Royals stadium comes into view. A truly beautiful town, I’m always happy to drive in and around K.C. I still don’t understand why a city in the middle of the country has an international airport, though.
Some other highlights of Missouri include the Lake of The Ozarks, St. Joseph, Knobnoster and Whiteman AFB (home of the B-2 Stealth bombers), and visiting Rachel’s grandparents. Another interesting highlight is always the Noah’s Ark Motor Inn, just west of St. Louis. Unfortunately, it is either already torn down, or on its way to being razed.One notable trip to Missouri happened in 2002, I think. I had planned leave without Rachel knowing and secretly contacted her extended relatives (most of whom live in Sedalia, with her grandparents). The first morning of leave, I had already packed her bags and I told her we were going on a trip. She was definitely surprised, but it didn’t go over as well as I’d hoped. It was fun, anyway, and her extended family put together a huge fish fry with most of her relatives and lots of fried catfish and crappy! It was really neat to see everybody; next time, I will be a little more careful with how I plan out surprises!