It's been a busy time - traveling from Texas all the way to Minnesota with stops in north Texas, SW Arkansas, southern Illinois, northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. We're presently (April 20-25) in Minnesota. The following photos are only a part of the current trip, and there will be more to follow in the near future. After April 27 we will be at the Hixton KOA for the summer.

Human-sized kaleidascope at the City Museum in Saint Louis.

World's largest pencil - 72' long, 22,500 pounds. Also at City Museum.

City Museum can make one tired. Pat and Malwina taking a little nap after climbing.

Pat and son Steve in caves of City Museum.

Dave in one of the tunnels of City Museum.

Pat crawling through hollow log in tunnel system. (And we thought this place was for kids).

Easter egg project at Steve's house in Mascoutah IL.

Decorating eggs is hard work.

At a Cardinal game in Saint Louis. Typical fan.

Da Wave! Here comes da Wave.

Cardinals Fredbird with some fans.

Albert Pujols hitting Grand Slam.

Ice Cream vendor at Cardinal's game.

Spring at the Saint Louis Arch.

Ready for a Blues game in Saint Louis. Maciek, Pat, Daniel & Steve.

The Road Less-Traveled

Whenever we are traveling fairly long distances we will frequently take state highways instead of the larger and faster Interstate highways. Of course, the state highway has to be in fairly good shape and not needlessly add a lot of miles to our trip. There are a lot of interesting (and good) state roads that parallel the interstates, and provide a lot more scenery and attractions. The pace is usually a little slower, although not a lot, and it's easier to stop to see something if you want to. Recently, we passed through Chester, Illinois while following the "River Roads" through Arkansas and Illinois. Chester is on the Mississippi in southwest Illinois. It is the home of "Popeye, the Sailor Man." The town has capitalized on the Popeye theme and it is a successful means of attracting tourists to this barely wide spot on IL Hwy 3. The creator of Popeye, Elzie Segar, was born in Chester in 1894. He later became a cartoonist and used actual residents of Chester as the basis for some of his cartoon characters. If you want to learn more, you can contact the Popeye website at www.popeyethesailor.com.

Spinach Can Collectibles, and the Popeye Museum in Chester, Illinois.

Mural on building that was the Chester Opera House and Segar's Thimble Theater. Building now houses the Popeye Museum and Spinach Can Collectibles.

I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Olive Oyl in the Popeye Museum.

The owner/manager of the museum loves dachshunds (has 5 of them).

Statue of Wimpy, one of four Popeye characters honored by statues in Chester.

More of our adventures in Illinois will be coming soon. Keep checking back often.

Dave & Pat

Spring (Hah!) in Illinois

We're back in the Family Camp at Scott Air Force Base near Mascoutah, Illinois. The base is about 25 miles east of Saint Louis MO, and there is a light rail system between here and STL, which we may take advantage of one day next week. The trip from Texas to Mascoutah is about 1400 miles, which we made with only two overnight stops. We probably would have taken a longer time on the road if the weather had been a little nicer. Yesterday I had to scrape ice off the windshield. Today is Saturday, and it is raining. The thermometer on our picnic table says 48 deg. The prediction for Sunday and Monday is possible snow with temps in the 30's. I think we left Texas too early.
The afternoon weather on Friday was pretty decent. The sun was shining, there was a very light breeze, and it was warm in the sun. Still cool in the shade, however. I managed to get a coating of rubber roof dressing on the RV's roof, and caulked some spots that indicated slight leakage while driving through rain.
We'll be at Scott AFB until the 13th, at which time we will venture even further north to Rockford. It really is kind of neat to see the advance of spring moving northward. I do think that we moved a little too fast and got a little ahead of the advance. Oh well, it was a great winter in Texas.