Off The Editor’s Desk – 10-24-2012
Paula and I spent the last six days on a motor trip to Little Rock, and Hot Springs, Arkansas and to Memphis, Tennessee to watch a couple of our grandkids participate in a cross country meet and a soccer tournament.
Driving south on I-35 from Iowa into Missouri, it quickly became apparent that the fall colors were just beginning to show their grandeur, which made the trip very enjoyable. Our youngest son, Joel and his wife Stacia and kids, Austin and Emma live in Little Rock. The kids drive the 900 plus mile trip from Glenwood City straight through in some 13 hours, but it takes Paula and I two days. We make it to Kansas City and stay overnight.
The first thing we noticed was the price of gasoline was much lower. We purchased some at $3.33 and nine tenths. But down the road a few miles the posted price was $3.17. But that was the only thing that was cheaper. The Comfort Suites in Liberty, Missouri, where we have stayed several times before on our trips south, was $69.00 the last time we stayed, now has jumped to $94.99 plus tax, which made it $110.00 for the night. Eating out is also getting expensive. We returned from Memphis up through Illinois and stayed at Wisconsin Dells Sunday night. Breakfast there took $25.00 for the two of us. A cup of coffee sets one back $1.99.
If one could predict the outcome of the November 6 election by the number of campaign signs along the roadways, it will be a Republican landslide. Signs in all the states that we traveled through, except, Illinois, ran four to one Republican.
St. Louis has a street named after the President. I always figured one had to be dead before you got a public way named after you.
We came into St. Louis shortly after the Packer vs. Rams football game was completed. We got stalled in traffic on I-55 downtown and it took extra time to clear that out. But that was all right, as the Packers won.
Coming through Illinois it quickly became apparent that they had little rain over the summer. The cornfields were nothing but stubs of stalks less than a couple feet high and all bent over. It was a shame.
As for our grandkids, it was a great weekend. Austin took fifth place in the Lake Hamilton Cross Country Invitational in Hot Springs. Austin is a senior in high school and Emma’s soccer team of 11-year old girls took first place at the Wolf River Tournament in Memphis. So we had an enjoyable time, but it is always great to get back home.
—Carlton