Despite all of the traveling backwards and forwards, we realised at Easter that we hadn't been on a break for several years now. A break when you get a few days not to work, do chores or work through a colossal list house repairs. A break to relax! We decided to head to Florida and planned a thrifty four day road trip accordingly, set out with regular stops to antique stores, thrift shops and cheap and cheerful motels. Unfortunately the tropical storms had other plans and Florida has now been hiding under rain clouds for the best part of a month.
Plan B... We look into the possibility of an alternative break! Colorado, New York, California, Boston, Vegas, Texas, Georgia, Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania, Montana! I think I calculated the route to almost all 49 of the other states! Taking into consideration the very limited holiday time we had and the distance of some of these places I also looked into flights. Oh my word flying is expensive here! At one point I searched for a flight to Boston and almost fell off my chair! An internal flight to Boston was working out at the same price as a flight to London! As Nick would say here in Missouri, "We are in the middle of everywhere." When looking at a map there is some logic behind that statement, but when you realise the size of each state and how many miles away the next city is I felt more as though we were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way out!
Plan C? After some consideration (and news that the two days of holiday Nick has acquired had diminished to one) We decided to play closer to home. Thus leading us to Springfield, Missouri. Nicks college town of four years. I quickly planned a route, figured out some new pit stops and found us a one night stay in a hotel for the evening.
Springfield, Missouri one might say is not the most happening of places, at the end of Nicks college years I distinctly remember us both looking forward to moving back to St Louis. It may not have been our first choice but we hadn't been back for five years and felt it would be a good time!
We were pleasantly surprised... Our three day, two night Springfieldcation turned out to be most excellent! We checked into our swanky little hotel at 11pm and trekked through a tropical jungle atrium with a wheely case, caught site of the indoor pool and spa and eventually found a door that lead us to a lovely room for the night!
The following morning we enjoyed a full American breakfast and made our way out to a selection of flea markets, antique stores and thrift shops. Unfortunately, Springfield turned out to be a little sparse on the mid-century modern findings but that didn't spoil the fun of looking on bit.
We made our way downtown for a browse and visited Nicks old fraternity house. We were let in by one of the current residents and took a look at all of the old composite pictures and rooms. Good times.
That evening we ate pizza by the pool and drank some cocktails in the bar!
In light of wanting to make the most of our stay we managed to get a couple of hours sunbathing in and a dip in the pool before checking out.
This wasn't a scheduled stop but how could one resist! What treats could this place possibly have in store!!!
A slingshot racoon?
A large creepy piece of porcelain?
We stopped at a few more thrift stores in Lebanaon and Rolla before making our last stop at Meramec Caverns! An excellent array of stalactites and stalagmites were to be seen as well as a gloriously manual light show finale to the "God Bless America" theme tune.
A lovely weekend with a lovely man!
