Three Days of Travel

This post is more of a travel journal for me for our days of travel between The Badlands in South Dakota to Lexington in Kentucky on Our Land That We Love Tour. Tomorrow I’ll share the photos from the cemetery we visited in Louisville.

Friday September 24th our route to Omaha, Nebraska took us through more of Iowa than Nebraska. We traveled I-90 from the Badlands to Interstate 29 south through Iowa to Omaha. These photos are proof positive that taking photos from a moving car isn’t the best way to do it.

Sapp Brothers headquartered in Nebraska. Because we were in Omaha we thought eating steak would be appropriate. We found Gorat’s Steakhouse and were able to get an early table and meal. Gorat’s where the food was good but the ambiance could be described as ‘faded glory’. The service was good and the food was good and we’ll leave it at that. We paid about the same for steak here that we did in Wyoming $67.00 for two steak dinners.

After dinner we found a Costco to fill our tank up with gas. We paid $2.739 per gallon. Then we checked into our hotel for the night. We tried Aloft a new offering from Marriott properties. It was a modern, trendy property with minimalist interiors. No free breakfast. Our AAA rate was $125.00 and with taxes the total was $147.71. This new modern concept was not pleasing to us or comfortable for us.

On this day Friday September 24th we drove 469 miles and it took approximately 6-1/2 hours.

Our drive to St. Louis on Saturday September 25th took us south through Missouri. The miles we would drive were 431 and it took approximately 6-1/2 hours. We filled up with gas from Costco again in Independence, Missouri at $2.579 per gallon.

Our hotel in the burbs of St. Louis was a Residence Inn and we enjoyed the extra space. Our AAA rate was $137.00 for the night with the total after taxes $157.43. We also topped off our gas tank at another Costco closer to our hotel at $2.699 and did a little shopping while there. We found a Mexican Restaurant for Linner.

Early Sunday morning the 26th of September we tried to travel on Interstate 64 to Kentucky. What a sad photo of the St. Louis Arch. We ended up on the wrong highway when google was over zealous in making sure we would miss road closures in Louisville, Kentucky 250 miles away! They wanted us to go north to Indianapolis so my vantage point for getting a clear and good shot was lost. We got off that route pronto and reconfigured to go our original route with plans to deal with the closures when we got closer to Kentucky. Back on Interstate 64 we traveled through parts of Illinois and Indiana before we crossed into Kentucky.

When we made it around the detour to get into Louisville we took a short side trip to Cave Hill Cemetery. We had a little time before we needed to carry on to a scheduled tour of Bulleit Distillery in Shelbeyville at 3:30, which we enjoyed.

It was a good day of travel after our early morning google maps mess up. While we were at the Bulleit Distillery we asked the staff for a recommendation for dinner. One of the recommendations was for the best barbecue in Kentucky which we decided would be our choice. Red State Barbecue on Georgetown Road in Lexington did not disappoint.

Delicious! We both got the brisket. This was a self serve type of arrangement where you go up and order at the front counter and pay, you are given a number and you wait to hear your number when your food is ready. There was a constant stream of people coming and going picking up orders or ordering in and eating. I didn’t keep the receipt and we paid cash so I don’t remember the total but it was very reasonable. This was one of our favorite meals on our trip.

Our hotel for this night was in Georgetown at the Lexington Georgetown Fairfield Inn. Our AAA rate was $129.60 and with taxes $142.88. This property was rundown and not a favorite. The staff was friendly. Our total miles this day were approximately 337 miles with driving time at 5 hours.

We were in for an amazing experience on Monday September 27th with a short drive north of Georgetown. That post or more likely posts will be for another day or days. But first, Cave Hill Cemetery tomorrow.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Looking Back ~ Buster Brown

The Bellefontaine Cemetery had a great system for finding all the notable famous and fascinating people buried on their grounds. There was a clear white line in the middle of the road that you could follow and then each of the 58 notables were marked with red markers. Black markers showed Civil War notable people.

When I heard that George Warren Brown (1853-1921) the maker of Buster Brown shoes was buried here I wanted to see his grave site. When we were young my siblings and I would be taken to a shoe store in Montebello on Whittier Blvd. that carried Buster Brown shoes. Even though we always struggled to make ends meet my pop was determined we’d have good shoes to wear. We would get our new Buster Brown school shoes every year and a pair of shoes for church.

George’s brother Alanson (1847-1913) is buried across the road.

The Journey Through History book we bought at the front office at the cemetery gives the history of all the notables buried on the grounds. It was worth the $5 to purchase it. Here’s what is written about the Brown brothers…

“Traveling to St. Louis for a church convention, Alanson Brown found the city centrally located and populated with ambitious citizens. Seeing opportunity, Alanson decided to invest in a new wholesale shoe business in St. Louis.

His brother George Brown worked as his star salesman but found the shoes he had to sell did not meet the needs of his customers. When George could not convince Alanson to manufacture shoes in St. Louis, George set up his own company making shoes, including the still popular Buster Brown children’s line. Recognizing George’s success, Alanson’s company also began manufacturing shoes in St. Louis – then a city known for shoes, booze, and news and last in the American League.

Both brothers supported St. Louis institutions and focused on improving the lives of others. George’s widow set up the George Warren Brown School of Social Services at Washington University.

With parallel lives, the two brothers rest across the lane from each other at Bellefontaine – Alanson in a 1910 domed mausoleum by World’s Fair architect Isaac Taylor and George in a 1928 hexagonal tomb by the St. Louis firm of Mauran, Russell, Crowell.

I put out the call to my friends from Montebello on Facebook to help me remember the name of the shoe store on Whittier Blvd. in Montebello. They pulled through big time with more information than I ever knew about the couple who ran this store. Here’s how the conversation went…

To my Montebello friends…does anyone remember the name of the shoe store on Whittier Blvd. (on a corner) that sold Buster Brown shoes??? My brain will not bring it up.

Lana: Was it Kinney shoes?

Nancy: I can see it but I can’t remember the name!

Nancy: Lana would remember since she”s MUCH younger than us!!

Randy: It wasn’t Kinneys,that was up on 20th st and Beverly Blvd. Sorry

Judy: Was it Sandlers? It just popped into my head so it may be totally wrong.

Lynda: That sounds right Judy.

Ellen: Yes..Judy thank you!

Anne: It was Sandlers! Judy is right!

Tania: thanks for shaking up my brain Ellen. Maybe when it resets I can remember some of this stuff.

Gloriya: Sandlers sounds correct.

Steve: Sandler’s Shoes was on Whittier & I believe 5th Street, right across the street from the Deluxe Cafe. They had one of those old X-Ray machines where you put you feet into a slot and and Mr Sandler could see if my toes were touching the end of the new shoes in the mid 1950’s. Needless to say, the poor old man died of cancer in the early 60’s, which we now know was radiation poisoning from that machine X-ray device.

Ellen: Steve, thanks for the info. That is so sad about Mr. Sandler. Did his wife work along side him. My dad remembers a man and woman team in the store. They always commented to my dad that he only bought shoes for his kids never for himself…

Linda: I also remember my mom taking me to Sandler’s store to get Buster Brown shoes. She had my feet x-rayed there and trusted that the shoes fit better than anywhere else. She instilled on me that need. I have never had bunions or crooked toes thanks to her.

Steve: Ellen, yes there was a blond lady that worked there, that was probably his wife. Linda, I always wondered why my toes would glow in the dark when I was younger – LOL

Facebook bugs me in a lot of ways but when I can interact with old friends and get good memories like these it redeems itself for me.

Do you use Facebook and have you found some good ole friends there? Did you wear Buster Brown shoes when you were growing up?

Good Fences #10

My fence this week is from Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. My daughter and I spent a few hours here on our road trip from Seattle to North Carolina. If you like cemeteries this really is a worthwhile one to visit with many wonderful monuments and so much interesting history.

I’m joining TexWisGirl at Run *A* Round Ranch for Good Fences.

Thank you for being a fabulous hostess!

Road Trip Re-Cap

It’s time for ABC Wednesday and we are on the letter R.

Thank you to the ABC team!

I’ll share a few snapshots of my daughter and my road trip across the U.S.A. The reason for our road trip was to return her and her car to Jacksonville, North Carolina to be ready for her husband’s return from Afghanistan. The reunion will be rewarding for them. We left Seattle on April 27th and arrived at our final destination on May 4th.

In the meantime it’s interesting living in a Marine populated city with license plates from all over the U.S.A. I will leave Jacksonville on Thursday and re-unite with my Dear in Orlando, Florida for a conference he is attending and then finally be back home later in May.

Day one on the road. We stopped in Spokane Valley for lunch with my son and his girl friend and then carried on.

Day one we drove across Washington and Idaho and into Montana!

Day two started with snow in Bozeman, Montana. Retreating was not an option so we returned to the road hoping for good traction and no sliding on the road.

Day two ended in Rapid City, South Dakota. We drove across Montana, down into Wyoming and across to South Dakota. Three states a day became our road trip theme. The other theme we did not want to repeat was snow but when we woke up in Rapid City to start our third day on the road snow was whipping side ways in some extreme wind conditions. Again retreat was not an option.

We learned to rely on Rest areas in many states across the U.S.A. They appeared just when we needed them most and they were all clean and well maintained. This is how the snow was sticking because of the severe winds in and around Rapid City.

Many times along the roads that were unknown to us our minds recalled the reassuring verses in the New Testament from Matthew that read…

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

I also would sing in my head…His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

Day three ended in Nebraska which means we traveled across South Dakota, into Iowa, and finished in Nebraska.

Day four we left Nebraska, entered Iowa again, and headed to Kansas City Missouri to meet up with a bloggy friend for RIBS!

After a great lunch and meeting Pam face to face along with her daughter we continued on to our stop for the night which would be just outside St. Louis, Missouri in the state of Illinois. Day four ended up being a four state day!

On Day five our goal was to reach Hendersonville, Tennessee. We traveled along some rock lined highways and other areas full of green trees from Illinois into Kentucky and then down to Tennessee.

On day Six we would only travel in two states Tennessee and North Carolina. Our goal was to take a scenic road to Asheville, North Carolina nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains for a two day retreat and rest before we traveled the final five hours to Jacksonville, North Carolina (Camp Lejeune Marine Base).

Our scenic route took us through some towns that surprised us with their weird attractions not so much rural charm.

Finally after passing a few attractions like these in Pigeon Forge we entered some refreshing views like these.

We were rewarded after our sixth day of travel with dinner at the Omni Grove in Asheville, North Carolina with beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

If you’d like to see more photos from this grand Inn click here.

Our seventh day was spent at the Biltmore Estate and Gardens. The azaleas at the Biltmore were in their glory. I will be posting more about our day at the Biltmore in the future.

On day eight of our travels we reached our final destination in Jacksonville, North Carolina, home of MCCS Camp Lejeune. We checked into our hotel and started the planning lists for securing an apartment asap and setting up a temporary home for Katie and Andrew upon Andrew’s return and homecoming from Afghanistan. I’m happy to report that I’m preparing this post from that apartment with wifi and all the bare essentials are in place for Katie and Andrew to live comfortably for the next few months. I might have even lost a pound or two carrying boxes up the three flights of stairs to their third floor apartment. (no elevators)

Road trip mission accomplished. Semper Fi!

Relief and Rejoicing upon Andrew’s Return soon to commence!

SeaJack Road Trip Day #5

On day 5 we started in Illinois and backtracked to St. Louis, Missouri so we could investigate the Bellefontaine Cemetery. It was worth back tracking for. We spent about 3 hours at the cemetery and I’ll devote a whole post later to this beautiful place filled with so much history. When we were done at the Cemetery we headed east again to Illinois and then crossed into Kentucky and made it to our Tennessee destination for the night at 5:30. Here are a few shots from the road.

I have so much to share from Bellefontaine.

Our day #5 on the road was Thursday May 1st. We started in Illinois, traveled back to Missouri, back to Illinois, then to Kentucky and finally ended up in Tennessee.

Kentucky

Tennessee

On Thursday evening we had dinner with Andrew’s best man’s mom in Hendersonville, Tennessee. We were given a nice place to lay our heads and headed out on Friday morning for Asheville, North Carolina via a scenic route that took us through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg next to the Great Smoky Mountains.

We are thankful to be so far into our journey safe and sound. Tomorrow we stay put right here in Asheville. I’ll be sharing all about our time soon. We traveled from the central time zone to the eastern time zone today.

Hope May has started out well for all of you!

The 2nd Half of SeaJack #4!

After our fabulous barbecue lunch in Kansas City we headed on east to just beyond St. Louis for the night. We crossed from Missouri into Illinois.

We crossed the Missouri River and in St. Louis we crossed the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi River.

After we settled into our hotel in Illinois just outside of St. Louis for the night this restaurant was recommended to us for dinner. This is a one of a kind restaurant. We found out that this restaurant was featured on Man vs. Food. The portions are huge here so I ordered a small salad still feeling full from our huge lunch. These rolls are served at the table whether you order them or not with a wonderful butter cinnamon honey spread and just plain butter. The rolls were just the perfect temp and softness to please my palate. Delicious!

I’m saving our stop at Calvary Cemetery in E. St. Louis and the Bellefontaine Cemetery for posts after I’m settled into our hotel at our final destination.

Today was day #5 and we are now in Tennessee. I’ll be catching up with my posts soon. We are staying with a friend of Andrew and Katie here. Tomorrow we continue east to Asheville, North Carolina where we will be spending two nights! I’m looking forward to two nights in one picturesque spot! Finally the weather has settled down for us and we have had no challenges on the road.

SeaJack Day #4

Wednesday was the fourth day of our road trip and because of the special event on this day I’m going to have two separate posts breaking the day into two halfs.

The first post for Day #4 can be called, ” I’m going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come.” We started in Nebraska, crossed a bridge into Iowa and then continued on I-29 crossing into Missouri and on to Kansas City.

Our route to I-29 took us through this quaint Main street in Plattsmouth where we continued on crossing the Plattsmouth bridge over the Missouri river and which had a $1.25 toll.

Did you notice we have sunshine and clouds? We had mostly dry weather on this day. There were pockets of rain but they didn’t last long.

After two and a half hours on the road we spotted Kansas City in the distance.

We had a very important lunch date in Kansas City and I’m happy to say we weren’t late. We found our way to Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue where we were meeting up with a long time bloggy friend Pam and her daughter Whitney.

Over my blogging years I’ve always appreciated Pam’s thoughtful words and prayers for me and others. She’s a gem.

Pam’s husband sent Pam to lunch with instructions to pay for our meal. Thank you Pam’s hubby. We really appreciate your generosity. We had no problem with conversation throughout our meal. The food was delicious and filling. Pam gave Katie and me a bag with homemade cookies to take along our journey. Pam! The cookies are delicious and we do want the recipe…as close as you can get it! 🙂

We are so happy it worked out with timing for us to be able to meet up for lunch. This was the end of the first half of day four on the road. I’ll share about the second half of day 4 tomorrow as we continued east through St. Louis into Illinois.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Missouri