Our time at Waukaway was fantastic - Gene, Pam, Jason, Joy & the crew rolled out the red carpet. We have a real heart connect there. I told Jason before we left that there are not too many places we can roll in and feel entirely at home. I look forward to more visits there...and a few more launches off the blob. We will post Jackson's video of my launch in a few days.
This afternoon we drove north through Mississippi into Memphis, then hopped across the river and up the western fringe of Arkansas. Listening to The Trucking Bozo on WLW via XM, I heard about a plant ADM built very near our farm in Velva, North Dakota. That may not be too exciting to you, but coming from a town that went nearly twenty years without issuing a new residential building permit, anything getting built is a bit of a thrill.
Speaking of the ol' hometown*, I also heard them mentioned on the drive down: Turns out they're giving away the bowling alley! Star Lanes is an icon in Velva, and most of my growing up years, the only place to get a bowl of chili or hamburger and fries after a basketball game. Apparantly the current owner needs to unload it and has come up with a novel way of doing so.
Prize in N.D. Bowling Tourney is the Alley
"I call it the 'ultimate winner take all,'" Bail said. "There's one winner, no second place prize. The winner gets the whole property - a bowling alley, restaurant, the real property that goes with it."
Gotta give the guy credit - it's a great idea. Not to mention the fact that it's probably easier to get rid of it this way than to try and sell a six lane bowling alley in a town of 800 people. This would be a great way for someone to live out his Ed fantasy.
As we entered Missouri, we started seeing a spectacular lightening show to the north We debated stopping or driving further on...I assured Kelsey "that storm could be five miles or fifty miles away....". Turned out it was about ten. So much for my stormchaser skills. The rain hit the van and we hit the exit.
Tonight finds us in another Hampton Inn, somewhere in southeast Missouri. If the billboards are right, the name of this town is Exit 96, Missouri. We're about at the halfway point of the trip, which gives us another six hours on the road tomorrow.
Rest well. I will. :)
*Is it just me or does the corny background music to the Velva.net website sound a lot like Bon Jovi's "Who Says You Can't Go Home"? And yes, it's a small enough town that I know everyone singing, and if the internet is working up there, I will probably live to regret calling it corny....nah.
2 comments:
The town looks a lot like Chastity's hometown. Was that a bridge I saw in the picture? That, my friend, is progress. Chastity can't boast that. :)
I hope you're more right on your timing of the Day of the Lord than the lightning storm! HA!
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