Stairs on top of stairs

“It’s always funny when old people curse,” said JG on the drive back to our hotel in O’Fallen, just west of St. Louis today. We visited Mark Twain’s home of Hannibal. The town would be a contractor’s dream if the townsfolk could afford the repairs. There was about a dozen flights of stairs up to a lighthouse running right next to a local’s backyard. JG asked the woman who was tending to her yard what it’s like living next to a tourist attraction. “Well, people say only one of two things: nice view or oh shit more stairs.”


We ate at the Mark Twain Family Restaurant. When I saw they made their own homemade root beer I ordered a float. The root beer was so good. When we asked if they sell it we were ready to purchase two gallons until we realized they package it in used milk gallons and they don’t seal it. The restaurant could make a fortune off their root beer if only they’d invest in a little packaging and marketing.

JG had chili in a bread bowl. JG has a thing for bread bowls in general. As single guy he’d purchase just the bread from Panera and keep a stock of canned soup in the pantry. The chili was actually very good and they showered the entire thing with shredded cheddar. JG’s meal and the root beer were the only things worth writing home about so we’ll move on.

I could not imagine cooking in an 1800s kitchen. You’d have to start the next meal of the day immediately after the one just served. I got a kick out of looking at the kitchen that was attached to the pharmacy across from Mark Twain’;s house.

So we rented a car for this adventure. We figured it was worth the $50 not to lug the truck back and forth. JuJu and Indy are vegging out at the hotel room. Indy really likes her carry case. I put her out on the bed and she tucked herself into the kennel on her own. JG laughed when I put Animal Planet on the TV for them.

OOOOOh. So, good news on our living situation. The privatized housing company said there’s a newly remodeled house for us if we want it. I was thrilled with the floor plan – one story, so that will make life a lot easier for Judy, aka Ju-Ju. The master bedroom has a walk-in closet and its own bathroom. The washer and dryer are located downstairs in the basement. There looks to be considerable storage space down there.

(Friends of ours in Spokane said they would take Indy for us – so we’re able to live in housing now.)

With any luck we’ll have a firm mailing address that we can change on the road.