Our Journey through Missouri and Illinois

After arrival at our campsite at Indian Point on Monday we had to make a quick turnaround and drive into Springfield, Missouri. I had an audiology appointment at 3:45 PM to be evaluated for service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus. The VA was able to set it up while we were on the road. Following that appointment we had dinner with our son-in-laws parents, Tim and Diana Edgington who live in nearby Nixa, MO.

On Tuesday we had lunch at the The Keeter Center, where they offer a unique farm-to-table dining experience at Dobyns Dining Room. For over 100 years, work and agriculture, as well as education, have been important at College of the Ozarks®. From its humble farm beginnings and early canning operations to today's student-run farms and Student-Made Products, "Hard Work U"®, as the College is known, continues to serve the Ozarks in many ways.

From there we enjoyed another Sight and Sound production at their theater. Two years ago we experienced the musical production of ESTHER and this year we had tickets for DAVID. With original music inspired by the Psalms, DAVID is a state-of-the-art theatrical experience for the whole family. We witnessed one of the most legendary Bible stories as it came to life with spectacular special effects, massive sets, and live animals in this original stage production. This was our third Sight and Sound live production and we were not disappointed. It was simply amazing and inspirational!

For our last day in Branson we decided to embark on an unforgettable journey aboard the Showboat Branson Belle for an afternoon cruise and experienced a day filled with excitement, entertainment, relaxation, and delicious dining.

We set sail on the open, pristine waters of Table Rock Lake and immersed ourselves in a world of live music, dancing, comedy, magic, and a scrumptious 3-course meal!

Thursday, April 30 was our departure day so we got on the road and traveled 284 miles to Triangle H Farm in Edwardsville, Illinois. This Havest Host venue is a horse farm and riding facility just across the border from St. Loius, Missouri where we planned on using it as our base for the next two nights.

We had booked tickets for a baseball game at Busch Stadium on Friday, May 1st to see the Dodgers play the Cardinals on my birthday. Prior to the game we went to lunch in the city section of St.Louis known at "The Hill" This is the Italian neighborhood in the city and is famous for their restaurants. We had to try the Toasted Ravioli that you dip in marinara sauce. They were okay but not a do over.

Busch Stadium was my 19th Major League ballpark as I journey to visit all 30.

We thought about going back into St. Louis on Saturday but I have been concerned about one of the tires on the RV for the last couple of hundred miles. The front passenger side tire has been wearing very unevenly for some time now. So much so that the outside thread was nearly gone. We have been buying all our tires at the Discount Tire chain the entire time we have been on the road and have always purchased their tire warranty with each purchase in the past. We were hoping the warranty might apply to this situation.

So instead of heading back into St. Louis, I found a Discount Tire dealer farther north on our route in Springfield, Illinois that could accommodate us that day. It took all day to get the tire replaced but it was covered by the dealership. We just had to cover the cost of the warranty on our new replacement tire. With the tire issue solved we called a church in Bloomington, IL, about an hour up the road on our route, to get some information about church services on Sunday. Our plan was to stay in the Cracker Barrel restaurant parking lot in Bloomington on Saturday night and attend the church service in the morning. Turns out the pastor offered us the convenience of parking at the church overnight. So we drove to New Life Fellowship instead of the Cracker Barrel for the night. That was a blessing!

Sunday morning we fellowshipped with the folks at New Life, shared about the RVICS ministry we are part of and made some new friends. From the church we continued a mere 42 miles on to Pontiac, Illinois, home of the Route 66 Museum. We were staying at the City of Pontiac Golf Course for the night and rode our bikes into the town for dinner at Bob and Ringo's Tavern.

Karen walking out of the restaurant with leftover ribs and coleslaw for later.

We left late Monday morning on May 4 for Naperville, IL, just west of Chicago and stayed overnight at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. My plan was to avoid downtown Chicago and stay west of the city. On Tuesday morning we left after breakfast traveling through two different waypoints. First was the Walmart Supercenter in Streamwood, IL then on to the Costco in Lake Zurich before eventually arriving at Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, IL.

We had the paved 50 Amp section to ourselves just a short walk to Lake Michigan.

Illinois Beach State Park—stretching 6.5 miles along the sandy shore of Lake Michigan in northern Illinois—offers a full range of recreation opportunities at one of the most unique and beautiful natural settings in America.

Illinois Beach is the only remaining beach ridge shoreline left in the state, with dunes and swales, sprawling marshes, forests of oak, and vast arrays of animal life and vegetation.