Missouri

This is a neat state with many rolling hills and more remembered experiences

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I took a class in Leavenworth once that really helped me

From The Listening and Learning Center

I learned that if someone is taking the time to talk to you,

Perhaps you should take the time to listen to what they are saying

The prison there was a bit much though and I was really glad when my family picked me up

We awoke to the horror of September 11th after spending the night in Concordia

On our way home from buying a beat up 73 Mustang convertible

I awoke and saw while watching TV, what appeared to be a small plane

Lodged in the side of a tall building in New York

Then with horror and a very real certainty I watched

As a passenger jet plowed into the next door tower

I knew instantly it was not an accident and we rushed home in our 1973 Mustang and

It was a horrible day

The radio in the Mustang did not work so we stopped at a Wal-Mart

And bought a portable 5" TV-Radio

While there we saw the towers collapse and we did not know what to do so we prayed

We drove so very fast all the way home speeding the entire way

Almost two years later, we drove that same fully restored Mustang across Missouri on the way to Illinois in order to finally sell it

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We have ridden to the top of the Arch in St. Louis and taken many pictures

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We were there once as the mighty Mississippi was in full flood stage

We have seen Stan the Man Musial's statue and

Went to a baseball game at the old Busch Stadium

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We went to see a Broadway production of the musical Hair in St. Louis

While staying at a very nice downtown hotel

From Kansas City we have driven across the wooded lake country to Springfield

And then over to Branson

We have come into Branson from every side and gone to many a show there

Yakoff is one of our favorites and we have laughed often and hard at his show

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We became casual friends with the Braschler Family

Who had a theatre in Branson for many years and always gave a great show

We have camped at Table Rock Lake and taken grandchildren and their parents

When they were much younger to Silver Dollar City

I almost killed myself turning over a van on the way to West Virginia,

I went around a very curvy corner and a car was on my side of the road and did not stop

As I rolled the van with Linda and Jamie in a car behind me

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We think God was warning us not to go to West Virginia but we had nowhere else to go

The drive from Branson to West Plains is over some of the most winding

Narrow roads with sharp edges

We have gone looking for red colored trees in the autumn and eaten at Lambert's,

A place they throw rolls at you

The food was great and the atmosphere was better

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We have driven through and stopped in the wine country north of Springfield

Six Flags is yet another place we have visited near St. Louis

Near Sullivan, we used to always visit Meramec Caverns where I had once visited

With my mom, dad and family

This was one of the famous Jesse James hideouts

The flea market in Springfield is another of our haunts and

We have found small treasure there

We have crossed the Big Rivers near Cape Girardeau and Cairo

I interviewed for a position I dearly wanted but did not get near Perryville

We drove past Ted Williams fishing place and stopped in Lebanon for the wooden bowls

Missouri is a state we have deliberately visited and often driven through

A drive through a wildlife park near Springfield is yet another of our Missouri memories

Kansas City Missouri and the Royals are another major attraction for us

We have gone to many Royal games and also saw Phantom of the Opera there

We saw Nolan Ryan pitch for the Rangers and got burned at a long extra-inning game

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We used to like to eat at Dick Clarks and go shopping in Kansas City

We bought our beautiful Pretty Girl, an Italian Greyhound just outside Kansas City

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The most fun was when Linda and I put way too much bubble bath

In a motel Jacuzzi while staying in Branson

The bubbles were so over the deep tubs edge and we were laughing and

I was running from the tub to the bathroom sink

All the while trying to empty the tub with an ice bucket, it wasn't a pretty sight but it was fun

When Linda almost died in a Wichita hospital years later,

I kept trying to get her to remember this tub experience

I thought it would make her smile and want to live more and maybe it did

It makes me smile even now

ear Branson we have seen the Amish in their classic styled buggy’s.

This is a State although hot and humid, hilly with lots of wooded forest area,

Many big lakes and lots of neat things to do

We would have no issues ever returning here as this is a State you can enjoy yourself in

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