Our last day in St Louis served as a bridge between the Route 66 world that Michael Wallis is so associated with and the western history that serves as the backbone of his literary output. It included a literal bridge, too, as it happens. During the downtime I had on Sunday, I'd made a startling … Continue reading On the Road with Michael – St Louis III
(other installments of this series here) When I set out to take this trip, I knew I would be updating my blog as we went. I didn't expect to update it every day -- but, as I should have known, our adventures have given me plenty to write about. Although we had no direct book-related … Continue reading On the Road with Michael – KC to Columbia
(other installments of this series here) I had set my alarm for 7:00 AM Wednesday morning, but it turned out that I didn't need it. I woke shortly after sunrise, eager to start the day. I 'enjoyed' a cup of hotel room coffee before joining Michael for breakfast on the 18th floor of the Sheraton. … Continue reading On the Road with Michael – Kansas City
"We're going on a secret road trip Saturday," I told Samantha on Wednesday. She asked for a hint; I told her there was a hint in the front yard. She guessed for days. Eureka Springs? A craft show? Some obscure diner in the middle of nowhere? Nothing seemed to tie to the front yard, though. … Continue reading Strawberry Feels
My mother-in-law is in town this weekend. I am thankful that these visits do not come with the stereotypical hand-wringing and stress; I'm always happy when Cindy comes to town from New York. She's a great lady. Additionally, Samantha is on Cloud Nine the entire time; they usually spend most of the time junk-store shopping anyway. … Continue reading Backroad Bridgehunting
Back in October of 2014, I took a little roadtrip into southeast Kansas. I had never visited the town where my father was born and it sounded like as good a destination as any. I was reminiscing a bit tonight and noticed I never shared the experience here. My writing was a lot different back … Continue reading A Look Back in Southeast Kansas
Friday morning, I woke early. 5:00 AM early, in fact. I had a decision to make. Should I drive straight home, or should I map a full day of driving? I had a few locations saved that I could detour to see, including a theatre in Poplar Bluff that's been on my list for YEARS. It would … Continue reading The Poplar Vote
The last two days in Columbia, Missouri have been work days. That being said, I made sure to maximize my time when I'm not in the office, and as I hoped I've been able to visit some of the small towns around here and experience a bit more of Columbia itself. Here are some highlights! … Continue reading Showing Myself the Show-Me State
When I hopped on the highway this morning, I didn't head to the office like normal. At least, not to MY office. My employer sent me to Columbia, Missouri to do some job shadowing at a satellite office. I love traveling for work! Though I was sad to leave Samantha behind for a few days, … Continue reading Winding Through Missouri
Since I've had a pretty light travel schedule lately, I thought I'd do something interesting with the photographs I already have. I back up all of my photos on Google Photos, which has an appropriately great search function. I posed a question on Facebook last week asking folks to submit words or phrases I could … Continue reading Yellow
Rhys' Pieces 