October 28, 2009. Day 101 Lincoln NE and Topeka KS.

On October 28th, we left Des Moines, Iowa and drove to Lincoln, Nebraska. We were actually driving all the way to Topeka, Kansas, through Lincoln, for a trip of 360 miles with two tours planned. We knew it would be a long day but Kevin had talked to Myers RV in Albuquerque about the refrigerator and had decided to try to get us back by 1 PM Friday to have them do a diagnostic on the frig to order parts if necessary. We were heading back to Albuquerque anyway, to arrive on Saturday the 31st for meetings and appointments we had on November 2 and 3. We just wanted Myers to be able to get the needed parts as soon as possible to complete repairs in order for us to get back on the road without much delay. We hoped to get started again by the 5th.
Arriving in Lincoln we drove straight to the capitol and were fortunate enough to park right across the street. We took a self-guided tour of the capitol because the next tour wasn’t for over an hour which we didn’t have. It was a very interesting looking capitol from the outside. It reminded us of a small skyscraper at just over 14 stories. We were only able to go on floors 1 and 2 and also to floor 14 where we were able to go out on the observation deck. Floors 3 through 13 are apparently offices. What was most interesting about this state capitol is that it is the only state in the country that has a unicameral legislature. Does anyone know what that is? We sure didn’t. Nebraska does not have the normal two legislative bodies – only one. They abolished their House of Representative long ago and now only have a Senate. It apparently is much more efficient and saves the state money.

After our tour we then drove on to Topeka, Kansas, another 175 miles, and were also able to park in front of the capitol with our big rig. That was very helpful to save time and almost never happens, especially twice in one day. Construction was taking place on the entire outside of the building. This was the 31st Capitol we visited and the first time construction of this magnitude was being done. We walked around the entire outside of the building until we finally found the one open entrance. We did not get to the capitol until 4:00 PM and we missed the last tour of the day. We were disappointed to hear that because the capitol allows people up into their dome and we had just missed their last tour. When the tour guide learned where we were from and what we were doing on our trip, he personally took us up to the dome. You have to understand that this trip up into the dome is like no other. They actually take you above the inner dome, in the attic basically, and then up some steel stairs that eventually spiral right into the outer dome and outside. It’s incredible and pretty scary too. We walked up all of the 296 steps that it took to get to the top and we then walked all around the outside of the observation deck. What a great view of the city we had from there. The height of the capitol is 314 feet – the third tallest in the country and 16 feet taller than the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Texas and Illinois State capitols are the other two capitols that are higher than 314 feet. This is only the third capitol that has allowed us to walk up to the top of the dome. We thought that was the greatest thing to be able to go up in the dome. As you walk up, there are people’s names all over the walls – as high as they have been able to reach to write them and even some really strange places where you wonder “how did they ever get up there.” We saw someone’s name with the year 1938 and a senator in 1952. We then toured the rest of capitol ourselves although a lot of it wasn’t accessible due to the construction. Even still it was a beautiful capitol. We then drove to a KOA Campground outside of town and stayed the night. It had been a long day but we were happy all had gone according to plan.

October 27, 2009. Day 100 Des Moines Iowa.

On October 27th, we left Macon, Missouri heading for Des Moines, Iowa. The campground in Macon, Long Branch Lake State Park, was one of those places where we wished we could have stayed longer. It was set in the woods right near the lake and had beautiful views. All roads were paved as was the camp site parking and they had 50amp service plus water all for $19, $18 if you’re from Missouri. It looks like a great lake for summertime fun. We drove the 175 miles to Des Moines arriving at 12:15 and went straight to the Capitol. They actually had a parking lot big enough for the RV. After going inside we found out that the next tour, which included a trip up into the dome wasn’t starting until 1:30 so we decided to go set up in a Wal-Mart parking lot and then come back to the capitol to take the tour. We got back in time for the tour and it was good we waited for it. Anytime we can get up into the dome it makes the tour much better. Our tour guide talked way too much however. If she had been giving information or history that would have been OK but most of it was just stories about other tours. She also kept having conversations with one guy who kept asking obscure questions about things that had nothing to do with the capitol. It drove us crazy. In spite of all that we thought the capitol was great. They have a library that was the most beautiful room we’ve seen in any capitol. It was incredible at 5 floors high with amazing spiral staircases and such unique design. We loved it. When we got back to the RV we noticed that our refrigerator was not working too well. Kevin worked on it for a while but it didn’t get better. It wasn’t totally off but it wasn’t near cold enough in the frig side.

October 26, 2009. Day 99 Jefferson City MO.

On October 26th, we left Gayle’s house in O’Fallen, Missouri, and drove a couple of hours to Jefferson City, Missouri, to tour the capitol. We were fortunate enough to park the RV and Jeep on the street outside the capitol. This capitol was built in the traditional style like most of the capitols that we've seen so far. There's not very much in the way of “grounds” around it because almost everything outside is parking, not lawns. It does sit on a hill overlooking the Missouri River so that looked cool. Inside we took a self guided tour. We entered up a big, impressive, wide stair case made of marble. There were five floors and we walked around all of them looking into as many rooms as you could. Two floors were nothing but offices. It has a beautiful big dome so the Rotunda from the inside was impressive. We could not go into the Senate Room or its Gallery because they were locked but we were able to get into the Gallery of the House Chambers. When we entered the Gallery you could hear music playing from the speakers overhead. It was “Wild Thing” by Tone Loc. That made us all laugh because it was the oddest thing to hear while in a House Chamber. Kathleen started to dance to it a little and two men at the desks down below saw her and started to laugh too. I don’t think they expected anyone to come in. Until then we had been a little bored with this capitol but the music gave it some character that we liked. While we were walking around we could smell people’s lunches from the offices and we all thought we smelled barbeque. We could not get over that smell so when we left we just had to go get some for lunch. We found a barbeque restaurant not far away called Bandanas. It was very good and satisfied our cravings. We left and then drove a couple of hours north toward Des Moines Iowa and stayed at Long Branch State Park in Macon, Missouri. The area is beautiful with rolling hills and lots of trees. At dusk we saw a beautiful sunset out our front window that reminded us of Albuquerque. It had been a long but good day.

October 23-25, 2009. Days 96-98 St. Loius MO.

On October 23rd, we left Mt. Vernon, Missouri and drove to St. Louis, where we stayed at an RV park at the Casino Queen, on the east side of the Mississippi River, in Illinois. We had an incredible view of the Arch and downtown St. Louis right from our bedroom window. After setting up camp and getting laundry started we called Kevin’s sister Gayle who lives just 30 miles west of St Louis. Gayle and her younger son Jordan came to see us that night to eat dinner and visit. Andrew went back with them to their house and spent the night.

The next day, Saturday, October 24th, Gayle, Jordan and Andrew came back to the campsite and we took the train over the river to tour the Arch. We waited in line awhile to go through security and then again before getting to buy tickets for the ride to the top. It was worth the waiting. We took the 4 minute ride to the top in a small tram with egg shaped pods that seat 5 people. Rachel was a little scared, after Kevin kept telling her how fast it was going to go and how it was going to scare her. Thanks, Kevin!! Once at the top, we were able to look out small windows on both sides for as long as we wanted to. What a great view there is from up there. We then took the 3 minute ride back down and met Gayle’s older son, Justin at the bottom for lunch. We walked into town from the Arch and had lunch at Imo’s Pizza. It was different pizza than we had ever eaten – but it was delicious. It was made with a thin wafer crust, very little if any red sauce and a different kind of cheese. After lunch, we said good-bye to Justin as he went to work and we took the train throughout the city. We had bought train tickets that morning for too much money, $60 (we could have driven and parked for $6), and we were determined to get our monies worth. The kids enjoyed it. We got off at Delmar Loop in the city and walked around before getting on the train back to the Casino. That night, all the kids went to spend the night with Aunt Gayle, so Kevin and Kathleen had the night alone. We went to the Casino for dinner and we fed a slot machine some of our money with no luck. We never win at slots.

On Sunday, October 25th, Kevin and Kathleen left the campground and drove the RV to Aunt Gayle’s house in O’Fallen, Missouri. We parked out front of her house for the night. We spent the day with them visiting, doing laundry, watching football and making lasagna for dinner. Kevin worked for 5 hours on this blog. We had a great time visiting with them this weekend.

October 22, 2009. Day 95 Nashville TN.

On October 22nd, we left our great campsite at the Wal-Mart, HA-HA, and drove a short distance to leave the RV at a closer parking lot while we drove into Nashville. Kathleen’s favorite camping spot has now become Wal-Mart. Kevin liked it at first too thinking it would save us money but Kathleen has put an end to that. There’s always something we need from the Wal-Mart. We found parking downtown but had to walk a few blocks to the capitol where we were given a tour. They capitol was built between 1843 and 1859, and during that time, the Architect and the Building Commissioner were both buried within the walls of the capitol. One of them is buried on the north side and one on the right side of the building. We thought that was quite strange, and definitely the first time we have come across that in our tours of the capitols. Also, President Polk and his wife are buried on the grounds close to the capitol. We liked our tour guide too as she was very knowledgeable and friendly. We enjoyed this capitol. We didn’t stay long though, or even see more in the city because Rachel was not feeling well. She was really complaining about feeling bad and looked as white as a ghost. She didn’t even want to walk back to the Jeep so Kevin went and got it then came to pick us up. We went straight back to the RV so she could rest. She did start feeling better and so we left and drove on toward St. Louis, Missouri. We ended up staying at another Wal-Mart this time in Mt. Vernon, Missouri.

October 20-21, 2009. Day 94-95 Ashville NC

On October 20th, we got up early and headed out for the day. Kevin lived in Ashville when he was 10 and 11, so we drove to his old neighborhood and house to show the kids. We drove around the neighborhood and he recalled the different friends he had and the things they used to do. Kevin even knocked on a neighbor’s door to find out if they still lived there after 40 years. They did but were out of town. While doing that the next door neighbor came out to see what he was doing. Kevin ended up talking to him and his wife about the neighborhood for almost an hour. Kevin called his mother in Florida and she asked them about all the old people she could think of. They were able to tell her about almost all of them. We then drove into town to tour the Biltmore Estate. It is the biggest house in the United States at 175,000 sq. ft. with 8000 acres of beautiful trees and rolling hills. The estate has a winery on it, a big hotel, restaurants and much more. We planned to go in and tour it, until we found out it would be $170.00 for us all. We decided not to but say we did! We instead watched a video about the place that they show before the tour then we took the kids to McDonald’s for lunch (they liked that better). We then drove 30 miles up the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a 495 mile road that winds through the Appalachian Mountains. We drove to Mount Mitchell, which at 6,684 feet, is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. We walked to the observation deck and had an amazing 360 degree view of the area. It was breathtaking with all the leaves changing colors. The drive back to town was just gorgeous with all the colors. On October 21st, we left our campsite in Ashville, North Carolina. We drove about 6 hours on our way to Nashville, Tennessee. We set up camp at a Wal-Mart. Kevin rested a little, while the kids and I went looking for flu shots for them. We were unsuccessful in finding any. We went to the post office, and shopped at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.

October 18-19, 2009. Days 91-92 Raligh NC.

On October 18th, we left Tarboro, North Carolina, and drove an hour to Raleigh NC. Again, we stayed at a Super Wal-Mart. It was a Sunday so we had our internet church then Kathleen and the kids went and did a little shopping. She also got the kids their first haircut in quite a while. Kevin enjoyed watching his football. On October 19th, we left our campsite at the Wal-Mart in Raleigh (after Kevin and Kathleen got a flu shot – that was fun!) and drove to the capitol. We took a self guided tour. This was the first capitol we had been to where their Senate and House members do not meet at the capitol. They have not met there since 1961 due to space issues. This made the capitol more of a museum. They have kept everything in place as if someone still meets there. It was easy to see why they had to move out. Most all the rooms were small and not well equipped. We thought it was an average looking capitol. Not the worst but far from the best. Their new Legislative Building is down the street. The same architect that designed the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. also designed their Legislative Building. You can tell, too. It looks like a mini Kennedy Center. We didn’t really care for it. It looked like a building from the 1960’s and not in any good way. We learned that the capitol was the very first building in Raleigh, in fact, the very first anything. That is how Raleigh started as a city. They built the capitol building and then just let everything else come later. After touring the capitol and walking around a little we drove on to Ashville, North Carolina where we stayed at The Wilson Riverfront RV Park right along the river (and the interstate!!) Kevin and his family had lived in Ashville from 1969 to 1971 and we were there to see his his old neighborhood the next day.