Ready or Not Here I come. I'm off to Missouri

And we're off. Now I was told we were leaving by 6am so I was up and dressed but my ride (Kaleb & Pamela) weren't. LOL  That's okay. We still left close to 6:30am the 22rd.  Kaleb was the driver and navigator and I was the passenger until must later.  Riding with these two was entertaining. We stopped in Texarkana for lunch at the Pecan Point Gastropub.  Pamela and I shared the fish taco's and fries.  The tacos were huge and tasty.  Good thing we shared. We finally rolled into my sisters house around 8pm and they waited to eat until we got there. We had some yummy soup and sliders. And then we got the tour of their house and shown where our rooms were. Kaleb and Pamela stayed the night and would drive on to my adoptive niece Hannah and her family's home a couple hours further north on Thursday some time after hanging out with Barb and Cresia for a while.

I guess while I was gone Bruno surveyed the property wondering where I went and why I did I leave Bri, Pamela's dog.  Bri and Sadie love to run and bark at the cows and Jerry. Bruno just watched.

Cresia had an appointment in town the next day so Barb took us out on the mule to get the lay of the area. We met a few of their neighbors while out. Cresia went to school with some of the neighbors and that's how they found their land to build on. 

We all enjoyed the peacefulness and beauty of the area.

They live on Lake Wappapello and are surrounded by water and lots of trees.  

Just down the road is a boat ramp.  

 

I learned something new about Cresia... She went to school with Sheryl Crow and her brother. You know the country-style song writer with optimistic lyrics. Cresia just saw them a couple weeks prior to us being there. 

I thought that was pretty cool. 

We stopped at this their neighbor Tommie and Sandra's for the views.  Can you see in the bottom right corner of the picture? It's a cable car. The husband built it for his wife to be able to get down and back up from the lake. Sweet.

Lots of birds and wild life around. It's so pretty.

 

Pamela and Kaleb    and me

 

Barb, Pamela and Kaleb and me slouching down.

 This is Lola. She's pretty, well fed and very loved. She takes up most of the Welcome mat.I took this picture just out back of Barb and Cresia's home. You can see the water. Like I said surrounded by water and trees.       This was my home away from home for 8 days. This is Barb and Cresia's home.   That's Kaleb surveying the area.

Two of Barb and Cresia's friends, Sherry and Ginger came down for the weekend and we played domino's. Mexican Train. I had only planned domino's once over 10 years ago but I kinda got the hang of it. They all seemed to have a system to playing. They'd put their domino's in rows and switch them around. I knew I was in trouble but I didn't feel too too horrible with 40-60 points left in front of me when one of them went out but the best game was the night when their neighbors Lisa and Byrne joined the 5 of us to play. Barb rarely had any points left to count against her but one game she went down..... She had 195 points. I actually did better than her with 153. I got the giggles because while her score was bad I wasn't so far behind. I doubt she'll ever live that game down. The player with the least points is the winner in case you've never played.

.

On Saturday 10/25 we loaded up into Lisa's SUV to go shopping. First stop was an Amish market. It's alway amazing to see folks driving a horse and buggy on the highway.  Cresia was reliving her childhood with a coon skin cap. She had she wore alllll the time. 

Our next stop was in Caledonia. I think that's the spelling. This was a cute town Several cute shops, lots of landscaping, and Barn Quilts on most of the buildings. We went to Angie's antique shop. I might have found a couple of small things and a baggie full of 2 1/2" Fabric squares.  One can never have enough fabric. I also found this dummy.  Made me think of the vanquilist Charlie McCarthy doll. 

Big Foot is very popular around here. Barb had a nice conversation with this one. 

  

One of the shops was like an ole time soda shop with extra's.  You could buy soda and ice cream on one side and my favorite foo foo coffee. Hot or cold.  Do you remember the candy cigarettes. We thought we were so cool back when had them.  LOL

We continued to walk down the street found a cute little boutique but first I found a home with outdoor plumbing. LOL.  Then I found an old truck. Me and my trucks.  

Cresia snapped a picture of Barb and I in the shop and then outside Lisa took a picture of Ginger, Me, Barb, Sherry and Cresia. I realized after going through all the pictures I didn't have one with Lisa in it. 

Finished on the main street and headed around the corner to Pattie's Pickins. They had a bit of everything.  This is David and my's kind of place.  The trees in Missouri are changing colors and they are so pretty. Ginger made friends with this big foot.  Barb was attacked by a bear. You should have seen the claws on that thing. Sharp metal. They would have really hurt someone. I actually didn't get out here and do much looking around. I had been having trouble with pain in my heel on the inside of my right foot but everything I could see from the car was pretty cool.  I have an appointment on the 26th on November with a podiatrist. That is the earliest I could get. So another 30 days before I can maybe get some relief.  Uggh

At some point we stopped for a bite of lunch and 3 of us got a baked potato with pulled pork. Can you say huge? I barely ate half of it.  I ate the rest I think for dinner or lunch the next day.

   

One of our sites was a garage covered with license plates. David might like this idea if we could afford getting that many plates for his barn.

Sherry and Cresia were always on the look out for a photo opt. They'd already found a bike by the train caboose across the street but just as Sherry went to sit on this bike she read the sign on the seat.  LOL OOPS.

 

Barb and Cresia were telling us about this dog who greeted everyone passing the intersection. He became an icon but sadly he's no longer there. Senior moment. I can't remember if he got killed or if it was natural.

Sunday 10/26 it was chilly and damp out but Cresia took me, Sherry, and Ginger on another ride on the mule. 

  

Down one of the roads we saw this big owl. Yes I said owl. LOL from my position in the back I couldn't see the statue very well and thought it was a bear. They thought I was crazy and blind. I guess they were very right. The picture is very clear it's an owl. I know the girls start laughing when they see this post. To get to Barb and Cresia you drive down dirt road. 7 1/2 miles off the highway. When we came in after dark we were hoping we were on the right road.

 

 

We broke Cresia. She was doing a favor for Sherry and lost her balance and fell. At first we laughed and then we felt bad when we saw her knee. She was in pain for sure. Sherry and Ginger packed up that afternoon and headed back to their respective homes about 2 hours away. 

Did I mention that Cresia and Barb fed me well and were the hostess's with the mostest. The bed I slept in was so comfy. Two more sleeps before Pamela and Kaleb will be back to pick me up and we head back to Texas.

I'll stop for now because there's more pictures of some beautiful views coming up and this blog is long enough.

Until the next blog post... Sisters are connected throughout their lives by a special bond... whether they try to ignore it or not. For better or for worse, sisters remain sisters, until death do them part. ~ Brigid McConville