All 50 Road Trip-June 5, 2018, Day 25

(click here for today's pictures)

Mitchell, South Dakota to Independence, MO

Due to the time change and laundry, Robby and I were up until after 1 last night. We still woke up fine though we probably should have woke up earlier, but in our defense we have been doing this for 26 days so we are probably just a bit tired. When the boys and Campbell were dressed this morning, Robby sent them down to breakfast together. They were almost finished when we made it down to breakfast so we sent them to get the cart and start loading it up.

Soon we were back in the car for our 7 hour day. Like always, on our long driving day, our first stop was minutes away from the hotel. The Corn Palace was under construction the last time we were there, but this time the only construction was working on the murals for next year. We walked around looking at the murals. We even sat in on a video about the Corn Palace for a few minutes and listened to a lady explain some of the murals. My girls love gift shops as much as I do, however, we didn’t need anything from the Corn Palace since we already have a Christmas ornament from there.

On the way out though, Robby did decide that we needed some popcorn for the ride today. When we climbed back in the car, we passed out popcorn, drinks and ipads in hopes that we could get on down to the road. Now, on the way we started seeing signs for De Smet. Aww, that is where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived. We went there the last time we were here, and it was just magical. I will agree with Robby though that we probably don’t have enough time, but I am still a little bummed to miss it. 

Sioux Falls, South Dakota we stopped at Falls Park for a few minutes. We walked around the falls and took a few pictures. The thing that we noticed the most aout the Falls Park was that it is hot outside.  Hot! I guess it is hot at home as well but when we left home, it was still coolish. When we left there, I drove some. The kids watched a movie, and Robby passed out lunch. Today’s lunch was crackers, cheese and spam. This used to be a treat to most except I think now most everyone likes it better when we fry it at home.

Soon we were in Iowa or some state nearby and stopped at a part of the Lewis and Clark trail We walked through the Visitor’s Center. Then we walked on the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge where you could stand in Iowa and Nebraska simultaneously. It was a warm walk but on the way back, we did walk through some fountains to cool everyone off. From there, we walked back into the Visitor’s Center planning to watch their movie about Lewis and Clark. We sat down and watched about 2 minutes before realizing that it was the same movie that we had already watched at one of the Lewis and Clark sites that we have been to on this trip.

From there, we went by the stadium that hopefully the Hogs will be playing at next week followed by some fun on a slide downtown. We had stumbled upon the slide last time we were here and the kids still enjoyed it. Next stop was the birthplace of Gerald Ford, who was born in Omaha. Who knew? 

Back in the car, we drove on until we found a gas stop that looked like it had slushies. The kids were able to pick out a drink and after filling up we were back on the road. Robby and I spent a good bit of time reviewing BBQ restaurants in Kansas City to see where we wanted to eat supper tonight. The kids listened to a movie. They all have radios so they are able to use their headphones/earbuds to listen to the movie. That is wonderful because it doesn’t have to be so incredibly loud for Robby and me. 

A bridge was out in Kansas City so we had to take a forever detour. It probably wasn’t forever but since it was nearing 8, and we were starving it seemed like forever. BBQ was waiting for us at Joes KC BBQ. It was one of Les’ recommendations, and when we saw the 30+ person line at 8:30 at night we knew we had chosen well. 

Robby had called ahead so he was able to bypass the line, and since we had seen a park on the way there, we stopped to eat there. The kids were thrilled that we had a playground that they could run around on, and we were thrilled that we had real food to enjoy. The BBQ was delicious. We had ribs and sandwiches. The beans were pretty different and good, but not my favorite. It took us a few minutes to get everything ready to eat.

After we ate, the kids played some more while we cleaned up, and then we headed to our next stop. We did take a picture of the giant shuttlecock on the way to Winsteads for a quick milkshake. We were here in 2014 for a milkshake. We looked at the pictures of that visit, and the kids looked so sweet and precious. Now they are just all grown up! 

We didn’t tell the kids that we were getting a huge milkshake and that the milkshake would came with people playing a tambourine and shouting. As we were waiting, Anderson wondered aloud if the milkshake came with a parade. Indeed it did! Once again, the kids’ eyes were huge as they delivered the milkshake. Last time we just ate one, but this time we were able to pretty much eat every bit of both milkshakes.

Our hotel was 20 minutes away, and it was nearly 11 when we got inside of our room. The kids changed and then played their ipads for just a minute before going to sleep. Everyone is exhausted today, except for Whitman who had a good nap this afternoon in his car seat. He is still going strong in the couch bed by Graham.