Sunflowers, BBQ, and Presidents

We have been on the road for 6 months.  We have seen so many wonderful sites that we will never forget while we look forward to just as many more!  We have enjoyed many tasty regional cuisines and are looking forward to trying more.  This is such a wonderful trip, and we are having a great time together exploring this great country.

We drove through Iowa, stopping to have a loose meat sandwich.  It is kind of like a sloppy joe without the sauce, the meat is seasoned and it is very tasty.

 

The Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, was our next stop.  The museum is housed in the actual barn where the trail began, and the displays were fascinating to see.  We saw dioramas of what the trail looked like in the various parts of the country at that time, the three men who financed it and became bankrupt because of it, information on the first and several other riders, what the stops looked like, and much more.  It was such a fascinating museum!

 

the first rider prepares to go!

the mochila used to carry the mail





In Independence, Missouri, we visited the Truman Presidential Library.  They had lots of displays on the history that happened during his terms of office, which were important dates in WWII.  They also had displays of what America was like during those times, as well as the life of the Trumans.

the Oval Office of Truman

 

We traveled on to Kansas City where we had some BBQ at Arthur Bryants.  We had pulled pork and ribs with sides of their fries, beans, and slaw, and it was delicious!

  

We cruised through the city and saw the downtown Public Library.  What a great design to have classic books grace the outsides of a library.

 

even the steps are books!

 We went to the Hallmark Visitors Center to see the history of Hallmark.  We saw cards through the years, and all the many Emmy awards for their TV shows.  We watched cards being printed, and even got to make a bow on the bow making machine. 

 

 

We drove into Kansas, the sunflower state, and just loved all the wild sunflowers alongside the road.

 

 

 

And of course we had to stop at the Wizard of Oz Museum to see Dorothy and friends.  They had lots of movie trivia, mementos, and signed memorabilia from the actors.  Since I love that movie, it was especially fun!

 

  

We went to the Eisenhower Presidential Library next.  It had great displays on WWII, the Korean War, and the weaponry used, the White House china, Mamie's fashions, and memorabilia from the 50s.

 

  

We stopped for some sliders that were delicious!  We wanted to take home a bagful!



 

 

Mushroom Rock State Park had some really interesting rock formations.  They were varying heights, and quite fascinating to look at.

 

 

We enjoyed some toasted ravioli with marinara sauce in St. Louis. What a tasty treat!

 

 

While in St. Louis we had to stop at Pappy's for our favorite BBQ again.  We had a feast of ribs, fried corn, potato salad, green beans, sweet potato fries, and a pulled pork sandwich !

 

 

Then we had a "concrete" super thick, tart cherry frozen custard for dessert!