Silver Dollar City

Uneventful dog sitting today, so this post is an interview with Tess and Sean about th day at the Silver Dollar City amusement park near Branson, Missouri.

Q:  Sean, did you enjoy the amusement park?
Sean: Yeah.
Q: So what did you do first, or like best?
 Sean: Well, basically there was the River Blast. When you were on the boat, you got to shoot a bunch of targets with water -- this water cannon, and really soak them!  And then when you're not on the boat, you blast them!
Q: So everybody gets soaked? That must have felt good on a hot day like this!
Sean: Basically, yeah. And the River Ride was the same.
Tess: About six riders sit in each raft and ride over several rapids. Everyone gets  completely soaked, so we did it together twice -- because, already soaked so why not?
Sean: Yeah.

Q: Sounds perfect for the day! Anything else?
Sean: Not really.
Tess: Except the glassblowers and the blacksmith.
Sean: Yeah, the glassblowers were cool!
Q: Aren't glassblowers usually pretty hot?
Sean: Yeah, but they were  cool, too.
Tess: Did you want to show Grandpa the souvenir you got?
Sean: Okay.
Q: Wow, that is great! "To go where no man has gone before"? (A simple brass wire and plate  model of the Starship Enterprise.)
Sean: Right into the blacksmith's forge.
Tess: And then there were the twisted potatoes ...
Q: I've never heard of that!
Sean: Yeah! The potato was cut in a spiral and wrapped around a stick. It was really good!
Tess: The ones wrapped around a hot dog were a crowd pleaser (nodding in the direction of the "crowd").

Q: Did you ride any of the roller coasters?
Sean: Yeah, but just one. It wasn't much fun for me ...
Tess: The Thunderation roller coaster.
Sean: ... so I didn't do any more.
Q: I'm with you there.
Sean: And we rode on a log, and Mom got really soaked!
Tess: There were only two of us, so they put us at the back ... and I was in back of Sean. So, drenched.
Q: Hearing a common theme here.
Tess: Felt good on a day like this, too.

Sean: There was one other ride that took you down into  a dark hole on a train, and at the end they dump a lot of water on you. It was the best!
Tess: It's called Fire in the Hole, sort of a mix of railroad bandits, dioramas, and dropping off hidden ledges in the dark. It's Will's favorite.
Sean: And at the end they yell "Fire in the Hole!" and dump a lot of water on you!

Q: So, City Museum yesterday and Silver Dollar City today. If you had to choose just one, where would you go -- or is that just a silly question?
Sean: It's a silly question, you have to go to both!
Q: Great advice, thank you both for your report!

Sean: One more thing, can i tell you a joke?
Q: Okay, I'm ready.
Sean: Where do pencils go when they go on vacation?
Q: I couldn't begin to guess.
Sean: Pencilvania,  of course!

Over the River (restored)

Crossing the Mississippi

This is already becoming a wonder-filled and memorable trip! The St. Louis City Museum, first of the  big adventure stops, was a jaw-dropping rush through mazes of spiral stairs, tunnels, chutes, slides, and Daliesque  walls and tunnels formed from images of mythical land and sea beasts, running from dimly lit caves and two large ball pools to ten-story open chambers to a Ferris wheel- crowned roof. Outside, irregular platforms and rebar-framed tubes climb up to a boom-equipped pumper truck, a pagoda, and a  couple of scrapped business jets  -- and amazingly for the number of youth charging around through all of this, no evidence of injuries.

The celebration of our passage through the Gateway to the West concluded with a visit to Ted Drewes,  an ice cream mecca suggested during an online conversation with Will today that followed photo reports of his son's derring-do.

Staying in a motor lodge tonight west of St. Louis ; time to decompress and do laundry.

Risks and rewards

Careful scheduling today aimed to make sure there would be time for a campfire grilled fish fillet dinner this evening. Even a one mile trail walk to view the Natural Bridge had to be discarded after scouting found that (allowing for climbs and descents) made the actual distance much longer.

Time was set aside to visit the Kentucky Horse Park, however. Respect was paid to the scope of Kentucky's commitment the many breeds of the animal whose hoof prints have followed humanity's ascent towards modern civilization (liberally recalled from the show  announcer's  patter while the horses trotted and cantered around the fenced yard).

Sean and Michael sitting back to enjoy the show

Most remarkable notes from the show for those of us who are not racing fans: presentation of the Gypsy Vanner horse, a new (to me) registered breed, very sturdy animal with a keen eye; presntation of the Shire horse, a recovered breed that dominated European warfare for many centuries (key word here is dominated,  a Really Big Horse who pushed my hand around when I offered a jaw scratch, sniffed my fingers to see if there was food and nibbled a bit to be sure -- no? I must be useful for something!); and finally, a colt rescued by the Humane Society and available for adoption. When approached,  I pleaded a chronic lack of resources and Tess regretted inadequate practical knowledge.

I'd almost believe, though, that when the Gypsy cantered by and looked at me sitting in the front row, it knew I was thinking of another life not lived. (The rider and I ignored each other, of course.)

The Gypsy Vanner 

Noticed when passing by Louisville and over the Ohio River: a surprising number of suspension bridges with a new one under construction, and a new stadium of eye catching design named the KFC Yum! Arena. Tess and I agreed that someone's marketing group should be sent back to the minors.

As the Subaru struggled up the alpine cliffs leading away from the river (alpine by Indiana standards), signs assured us that the Hoosier Helpers were ready to assist with any roadside emergencies. Another one for the minors -- or authored by someone with a certain twinkle in his eye?

Santa Claus, Indiana.  We didn't go there

We passed on visiting Holiday World at Santa Claus,  Indiana, preferring the less dubious if equally risky prospect of a fresh cooked fish dinner.

This evening in Henderson, Kentucky, is full of prospects and risks. Having failed to find any retail source for fish of non frozen, non breaded, and otherwise interesting in culinary sense, Tess prepared a camp dinner based on foil-wrapped beef tips and vegetables  tossed into a charcoal fire. After the meal concluded with campfire marshmallows, the result was unanimously voted a success.

For the next act, the master chef intends to spend the night in his new hammock suspended between two sturdy trees. Skies are clear, fortunately.

Invading exotic lands

One last run to the waste transfer station, then everyone posed for a farewell photo. We climbed into the Subaru, and Tess took the wheel for the last run over the mountain on Pilot Road.

We debated briefly between a GPS path following Interstate 81 (slightly faster) and one following US 460 (slightly shortter), and quickly agreed to the latter option -- which immediately directed us onto I-81, because why not? So Tess had one more happy dance with the 18-wheelers.

Signs of invasive species in West Virginia and in Kentucky -- torrents of kudzu pouring in great waterfalls over rocks exposed and shattered from their millenia-old layers, once again cloaking visions of deep time from invading eyes.

Drumbeat

Busy with the ritual acts of deconstruction on the day before the movers arrive -- emptying kitchen cabinets filled with opened bags and bottles of cooking magic, disconnecting cables on the entertainment center and various  computers, rushing around for last minute parties and farewells.

Time to load up and march off, without looking back.  Tom Stoppard: "We burn our bridges behind us, and pretend that the smoke makes our eyes water."

The firefighter's chariot headed north at mid day, carrying donated cooking supplies and the redwood bed frame I built in 1984 for the chariot's owner. The bed returns from service with his nephew and namesake, Sean the Youngest, and will now encourage happy dreams of soot covered helmets and flashing lights for his daughter.

Some things last much longer and accomplish much more than expected, though we slap them together quickly and rush back to work on important stuff. What was it that was so important? Long forgotten.

All of this emptying and moving of furniture is making Cocoa nervous; she glides up like a gentle giant and places her heavy paw on my forearm for reassurance. So I scratch her neck and chest and speak  to her in reassuring tones ... but when I stop scratching,  she puts her paw back on my arm and looks to me with sad helplessness, begging me to put everything back the way it was.

Cocoa

I understand what she is feeling! This has been a home, a vibrant (and vibrating, thanks to my grandson) frame for growth, for loss, for moments both glorious and sad.

Walking the empty shell of our Delaware home after its sale in 2010, I found it hard to connect with the place where we had lived and struggled for twenty years. It was a time of mourning for me, an afternoon of recalling days that had been swept away forever to make room for tomorrow.

Much that same feeling is flowing though this house today. Boxes, shelves, and the hundreds of things that accumulate over the years are stacked under signs that say "PLEASE PACK" or "DO NOT PACK". Care has been taken to ensure that the camping supplies and the trash cans are in the DO NOT PACK section.

Visitors drop by, and vague promises are made to meet again. We know we never will.

House Wi Fi will be shut down early Monday morning, so my next post will likely be from a coffee shop of opportunity along the road on Wednesday.

Riding a Firefighter's Chariot

Well, owned by a firefighter at least.

Tess,  Sean, and chariot

Sean and I said goodbye to the dogs, and rolled south to meet up with the wagon train in Riner.

On to the next terrain feature!

Winds are not cooperating with the forecast mid day end of the rain; time to declare success and move on toward the next part of this summer.

Beyond the plan to have fun pretending to be a pterodactyl again and to renew my Hang 1 certification,  I now have the local "park pilot" clearance to fly from the 150 foot launch without instructor supervision. This will reduce costs when I return here again, possibly in time to see the autumn leaves.

Next stop, Valhalla Ranch to pack up and be ready to roll south this weekend. Next post will be about a week from now, on the road West to Hayward, California!