The Trip

We are back and the trip was fantastic. Spent 2 days in Seattle and saw Alex and Amy, then flew to Minneapolis and rented a car and headed south through the Mid West. We visited farms, antique stores, caves, wineries, the Mall of America (and rode all of the roller coasters), visited an aquarium, Lake of the Ozarks, visited the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder (which is 18 miles from the farm we bought) and generally immersed ourselves in the Ozark rural scene.



Alex, Amy and the old guy



Holly at a farm behind Judy's house in Woodinville, Washington



Holly and Judy at the same farm



Starting in Minnesota; had to hit all of the sites



Working our way through Iowa..lots of corn



Old house in Hartville, MO about 18 miles from our farm



Downtown Hartville; County seat of our county; very picturesque



We toured many civil war battlefields...a lot of bloody battles were fought in Missouri and Kansas..Missouri never did declare for the confederacy and remained an important state for the Union



We tended to stay on the back roads like route 66 rather than the freeways..and yes we got our kicks



Caves everywhere and we toured some of course



Dont remember where this was but old buildings and small towns surrounded us



Toured the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder where she wrote Little House on The Prarie, Little House in the Big Woods etc.



Only about 35 minutes from our farm



Spent a half a day touring the Wilson Creek National Battlefield near Springfield; site of an early and bloody Civil War battle



Last two days at the Mall of the Americas in Minneapolis; we rode every roller coaster and ride. toured the aquarium, etc. etc. etc.

It was great fun and we saw literally hundreds of deer, wild turkeys, hawks, and stayed in some interesting mom and pop route 66 motels....I think there is a law that you have to be Hindu to own a Motel on Route 66..but I may be wrong...