The End------finally, right?

The long drive from St. Louis to Lengby was broken up by a quick drive through the town of Hannibal, Mo; birthplace of Mark Twain. I was looking for the statue of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn for a photo op, as I had read the home tour was way overpriced for what you get. Although Hannibal is advertised as "America's Hometown", it was clear to my carload that the moniker would only be true if your hometown was a trailer court in 1982. At least the garden with the statue wasn't hard to find and looked beautiful.

Our overnight stop, which hadn't been planned ahead of time since we wanted to get as far as we could, ended up being Clear Lake, Iowa. You may remember this as being the location of the plane crash which took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, immortalized in the song, "American Pie" by Don McLean. We ended up picking a budget hotel since it was too late at night to set up a campsite and we wanted to get going very early in the morning. The hotel was owned by an Indian family who loved visiting with Shawn about Anju and our India/adoption experiences and didn't mind our rig taking up 4 spots in their parking lot. The hotel lobby had a picture of the memorial at the crash site. It is a significant hike through a field to get to it, so I just took a picture of their picture. Much easier, and less poison ivy.

After our restful evening in the hotel, we made it home the next day, with a quick stop in Monticello for some highly desired KFC with my mom.

Whew! All in all, it was a wonderful trip and the kids still talk about it and all the things they learned. They talk excitedly about seeing all their new friends again soon--we hope so too!

Since our big trip, we've had several other ones--shorter, of course. We've camped in Scotty a week while Shawn had summer seminary in the Twin Cities. We've been to southern MN for a wedding and bridal shower. We've even made a day trip to Lake Superior and back. So, no grass growing here! One negative aspect of living in a more remote, rural area with commitments every Sunday is that we don't get out much during the school year. Well, I think I'm good for awhile. I'm ready to curl up in my home with some chili and coffee and let the snow fly. (Remind me of this in February when I'm going crazy.) I'll definitely have a full photo album to page through, and some warm memories to keep me company.

This post is in memory of our dearly departed station wagon which made this trip possible.

It has gone on to the big car lot in the sky---

if in fact the elevation of the junk yard in Winger, MN is higher than it was here in Lengby

which is actually quite doubtful.

Shawn will never forget you and all the times you shared

driving up to Roseau.

RIP

"And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!"