High Speed Cross Country Transit

July 27, 2008 Kansas City, MO

In the past days we have turned the eastern corner of our trip and headed back into the Midwest. In one day we went from Washington DC to Dayton, Ohio. The next day we stopped in Indianapolis, Indiana, & then drove into Missouri, visiting St. Louis and spending the night in Hannibal, on the Mississippi River. Yesterday we were in Nauvoo (and dad in Iowa for a meeting), and spent last night in Keokuk, Iowa. Today we traveled across Missouri to Kansas City, MO, on the edge next to Kansas (it is less than 2 miles away).


We have seen amazing sights across the USA: thick forests, expansive bridges, city skylines in the distance, wide multi-laned freeways and dirt roads, fireflies in Washington DC, dead skunks in Illinois, bulging rivers running over their banks and forever rolling hills of the midwest. Perhaps the most significant was the tie-up-Tyson episode in tonight's hotel room. A sight to behold.


Comments along the way (can you guess who said these):

"This is going to get messy, really messy!!!"
"Are your seat belts on??"
"Come on you meow mix"
"Let's have fun!" "Play with me!"
"Does our hotel have a swimming pool?"
"Seat belt check!!"
"I'm hungry!"
"Seriously, guys, we need water" "I need water, or I'll die!"
"I missed the turn; we'll have to turn around"
"Never eat soggy waffles"
"Dad! Slow down!"
"Dad, how long will it take to get to our hotel?"
"I'm hungry (again)"
"I've got another text message!"
(in the middle of all this, we missed hearing, at least once: "Moritz!!! stop touching me!!")

In Washington DC we saw the White House and the Smithsonian Institute and the boys just had to get an FBI t-shirt (at the Pentagon we checked out the parking lot, but didn't go in; we drove past the CIA headquarters, too). Thursday we didn't get to our hotel until 10:30 pm (road problems 3 times along the almost 500 mile trip that afternoon). In St. Louis dad's meeting turned out to be right next to the St. Louis Temple -- beautiful building on a hill overlooking the freeway. In Hannibal, MO we saw Mark Twain's home, and Becky Thatcher's home. Tyson practically got run over by a loonngggg train coming through. Mom and Riley climbed to a lighthouse, while Dad and Tyson hucked rocks into the Mississippi River in memory of Huckelberry Finn.

Saturday we had a great time in Nauvoo -- pioneer games -- especially "graces" (Tyson's favorite), a walk down the "Trail of Hope" to the river, special stage show in the visitor's center, t-shirts and souvenirs, Nauvoo Temple, checkers (Riley blasted his dad twice), a puppet show, and the evening ended with the marvelous Nauvoo Pageant -- friendly, warm, colorful, informative, musical -- a great event to visit which made us proud of our pioneer heritage and the early days of the Restoration of the gospel.



Today we attended church with the Keokuk IA Branch, and then drove across Missouri. It has been a day for scriptures, general conference talks, naps (not for the driver, however), and even a Chinese buffet....and when we arrived -- 99 degree weather.

After we visit Kansas tomorrow, we will have been to 15 states, 1 province of Canada, and the District of Columbia, in 13 days and will have traveled more than 3,300 miles!