Another Surprise!!!

29 May 2016--The day after we met up with Bernice, we had another surprise...after a long day of sightseeing we got home and as we pulled up behind our RV we noticed a familiar RV right behind us...lo and behold, without even knowing we were here, a friend that we met in Florida was right behind us!!!

Diana is from Indiana, but travels full-time herself and is staying here at this RV Park for the summer in order to visit with a cousin she has that lives here.  What a small, small world!!!  If you look closely at the pictures, you can see that Diana is very 'festive', decorating both her RV for the Memorial Day weekend and herself as she and I go out the following day to check out St Charles, the town we are staying in to visit this area.



St Charles is an historic old town, now a tourist area (haha), with lots of old buildings, eateries, pubs and gift shops along Main Street.



We just stopped at this place to get the pictures!

 

We ate at this bar and grill, the 'Bombshell'!  Notice the tattoos on the barmaid/waitress.  She definitely played the part, and was very nice, to boot!



They had lots of upscale shops, and even more with your everyday touristy stuff to buy.  Everyone should know by now that I love these little catchy sayings...I always marvel at the wittiness of the people who make them up!  haha



I love this 1st one for obvious reasons,  and I think I have had the dream they talk about in the 3rd. haha



I can hear my sister Julie saying this 1st one.  haha  And probably Karen saying the 2nd?  haha

 

I first heard this saying from a commander I had in the Air Force...I have never forgotten her saying it...I love it!



Cutest little soda/ice cream/candy shop.  The penny candy is quite expensive now, but it is fun to look at! haha



Along the way we ran into Daniel Boone...Diana introduced herself and then embarrassed me by making out with him!  haha...only kidding, Diana!



This is me and Diana at a statue of Lewis and Clark at Frontier Park, right down by the Missouri River.  It is situated on the Katy Trail, a walking/biking trail that traces the old railroad tracks and goes for a full 238 miles!!!  The 3rd pic shows a few entries in Clark's 1804 journal...it is interesting to see how they spoke and what they capitalized when writing in those days.

  

St Charles was the temporary 1st Capitol of Missouri, and this is where the elected officials met.  If you blow it up, you can see right through to the Missouri River through that portal.



Most of the buildings had placards posted telling their history.  This was originally a tavern in 1804.



And these 2 buildings were built by the same woman in the 1830s.  The 1st was a Methodist Church and the 2nd was a schoolhouse.


 

I love this 1st building...now a shop, but built in the 1790s as someone's home.  The 2nd is how lots of them look now, serving as shops and restaurants.



A look at the routs Lewis and Clark took during their exhibition.  We are in the town marked with a flower looking thing in the lower right-hand corner.



On Saturday Cathy, Diana and I went to the Irish Festival down in the town, where we were supposed to meet up at the old railroad station.  Lots of people, food, and beer...surprise!  haha  That John Deere contraption is motoring up an ice chopper for some ice cream Diana and I had.



My kind of guy!!!

 

A couple Irish fun facts...Who built the White House, where do we get the word 'boycott' from, and what does 'Erin Go Bragh" really mean?



The highlight of the festival, Irish music and Irish step...and people willing to dress up and have their pictures taken with you! haha



A little music and dancing.



And a nice dinner with Diana downtown tonight.  Toasting our parting again tomorrow as Cathy and I head out for Springfield, IL, the capital of Illinois...then to Elkhart, IN, where most RVs are made and where we can see the RV Hall of Fame (haha---not kidding!)...and then on to Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Does it get any better than this?!  haha