Travels of Geo Nova

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Work finished up for me on July 29^th.

After a very brief stint in Maine we have started our journey west where we will join an Airstream Caravan called a South West Adventure. It will traverse the Four Corners area of the SW. It was very difficult to hook up the trailer and leave Wilson Lake in the rear view mirror. We departed on the 31^st. As hot and steamy as it is now Wilson Lake would be GREAT!

The first leg of our meander west was north and west through Quebec and Ontario Provinces to visit with Diana’s cousin in Uxbridge Canada, a beautiful area of rolling hills and many dairy farms located north and east of Toronto. The 3 nights with Rob and Lynn went by very fast. We did manage to visit 2 microbrews in the area. There was a rail to trails path near their house so we went for a walk on the gravel trail. They were great hosts. We look forward to visiting with them in Florida this winter.

After 4 nights in Canada we were off to Kalamazoo Michigan to visit with boating friends Bill and Melinda from our Caribbean 1500 days. We had a great bike ride on a rail to trails trail that took us out of town through the cornfields. Kalamazoo was a vibrant town with lots to offer. It was the complete opposite of my preconceived notion of a decayed Mid-western postindustrial town. Proof of that is they support 13 microbrews! We sampled several. The highlight of the visit was spending time with Bill and Melinda.

Springfield Illinois was our next destination. We by passed it this past spring when we were trying to put as much distance between us and a huge tornado weather complex originating in Oklahoma. Springfield is the capitol of Illinois and of coarse the adult home of Abraham Lincoln. We visited both his home, now part of the National Parks system and the museum associated with the Lincoln Library. The museum takes a very modern approach to telling the Lincoln story. There are some traditional displays, such as one of the three remaining stovepipe hats know to exist today. This hat has marks on it created by the President’s hand as he tipped his hat when he encountered other people. They had a holographic “movie” called the ghosts of Lincoln. It was incredibly real. We knew we were in the heart of the Midwest when we looked out the back window of the trailer and saw a huge soybean field less than 100 feet away. In fact the camper next to us approached me and he asked what brings you here? He pointed out there’s not much here other than corn, beans, beans and corn.

Play ball! Our next two stops involve baseball. Bush Stadium in St Louis Missouri is home to the storied National League St Louis Cardinals. The stadium is downtown, close to the famous St Louis Arch along the banks of the Mississippi River. Our campground was located in the center of the city 2 miles from the stadium. This enabled us to walk all over the city. Our first stop 3 blocks from the campground was a home where Scott Joplin lived for a few years. Here he wrote the Entertainer along with many other songs. The campground can best be described as a paved parking lot however it fit the bill and made our visit to see the Cardinals possible. Our next baseball experience was at the opposite end of the state in Kansas City Missouri. Kaufman Field is a very nice and friendly venue to see a baseball game. This stadium is located on the outskirts of the city so we drove to the game from another less than beautiful campground, but it worked for a day. Abe had been here and recommended a BBQ place. We arrived unhitched and hit the road to go get lunch/dinner. The BBQ was in an old gas station. Parking lot was packed and what a surprise when we went inside. Great food.