Mid West Update from Angela

Saturday, April 17th
Today we leave Dodge City, Kansas and head to Kansas City, Missouri. We are at the point in the journey where we can’t remember what day it isJ We left Colorado in some pretty bad weather but we got safely here. In true Vermilion fashion, one of us got sick! My brother will get a kick out of that:-) Yes, poor wee Joel. He had a high fever that wasn’t coming down so we ended up in the ER in Dodge City. We had pulled into town after 7pm so there was nothing open. We found out he had a double ear infection so is now on antibiotics. Funny thing was – short of a fever we would have never known as he was happy and being a trooper on the long car ride. Hopefully he will be better for the rest of the trip and no-one else will get sick too!
Dodge City is really pretty – an old Western town. Too bad we didn’t have time to explore more here. We have left the winding mountain roads of Colorado and for the most part driving a two lane road through the grassy plains of Kansas. We have cows in Scotland but I mean to tell I have NEVER seen this many cows – they are everywhere. The adults and kids are both amazed at how many cows we have seen. To quote Megan “I smell a stinky poo!” It sure is pretty though to see the beauty of the countryside and see the many colors. They have these really awesome purple blossom trees and we have seen many beautiful homes. Tim keeps us in the traveling spirit by playing tunes he put on his i-phone – right now I am listening to “Life is a highway, I want to ride it all night long…” You all singing along?? We also amuse ourselves with who is right with the directions…Tim with the GPS or Grandma with her AAA maps! The race goes each time we need to find something! The kids are doing really well with the traveling. The girls are watching movies, playing games and eating lots of snacks. Joel sleeps most of it but is keeping busy with toys when he is awake. I am loving the back seat of the van and catching up on some “me” time with letter writing and Sudoku puzzles – haven’t had time like this in a long time!!
We stopped off in Wichita, Kansas to see our friends Don and Sue Duncan. I had met them when I was a kid in Scotland and it was great to see them again. Don is the pastor at a Calvary Chapel there and they have a beautiful church with stained glass windows and it looks like it should be somewhere in Britain out in the countryside – it was lovely to see! They are currently remodeling it since some homeless people had been living in it and it had been vacant for awhile…it’s quite an undertaking but it’s coming along really well.
From there we drove to Kansas City, Missouri and then hit the road the next morning for Iowa!
Sunday! We got up and headed out for Iowa Falls. It was a bit of drive but the kids did well knowing their friends were on the other end of itJ It was so wonderful to see the Nosaleks! The kids have grown a lot and Eric and Jamie are remodeling a lovely house that we got to stay in. It’s right on the lake and they have a boat dock too! It was amazing to wake up Monday and just open the blinds to the beauty of the lake and the pretty flowers and trees surrounding it! We had a great time visiting them and it went too quickly and then we were back on the road heading for Missouri.
On Tuesday we went on the Vermilion Pilgrimage to Lemon’s Missouri to find what used to be called “Vermilion Cemetery” but is now called “Lemonsville Cemetery.” I thought only my dad did this but I guess Tim likes it too. His mom has given him a family history notebook with all his family history going way back and his aunt Donna had told him about Lemons. It was his grandpa’s birthplace. His great grandpa is still buried there. There isn’t much to see in Lemons…a really small town but we found the gravesides of his family members and the Vermilion tombstone was pretty big and towards the front of it. Next we went to find the old church…couldn’t find it so I decided to jump out and ask an old guy that was farming. He told me it had been torn down about 10 years ago so I asked him if he knew anything about the cemetery – he told me, “Not much except folks get buried there!!” After chatting a little bit more it turns out he actually knew Tim’s great grandpa! It’s a small world after all!
We hit the road and spend the night in Colombia, Missouri. Since we had been in the car all day the kids relaxed in the pool at night with Tim.
Today we went to St. Louis – amazing city. It is so beautiful and there’s a lot to see. We went to the top of the Arch – also known as the Gateway to the West. You had to go up in this tram thing that looked like a space pod – very tight quarters and thankfully we couldn’t see out! We got to the top and it was amazing – you could see the whole city – it was a long way down but we did it! Next we went on a riverboat down the Mississippi River. Megan was all into the jazz music playing in the background! Once we did that we had just enough time to head back the arch and see the museums. A horse and carriage was at the dock and so we decided not to climb back up the stairs but to cheat and take a ride. The girls loved sitting up front with the driver. The museum was neat and told of Lewis and Clark and their exploration of the West. From there it was onto dinner and of course, Mississippi Mud Pie for dessert!!
We have been getting in late so Anna will blog soon. Chicago tomorrow! ~Angela~