Except I have not been attentive to taking pictures when I should. As a result: no photos of our terrrific stop to see Carl and Mary Mungenast in Chesterfield MO (St. Louis). Theuy are thriving at Friendship Village and we were shocked to recall That they’ve been residents there for a dozen + years. The place is gorgeous and no matter what time of year we visit the landscaping is vibrant with blooms. We never seem to run out of opinions, observations, reminiscenses or family tales to share. Two hours zoomed by and we adjourned to the on-site restaurant for lunch (delicious, lots of choices, super-duper service.)
We had a long drive ahead of us, so we said our goodbyes with the happy note that we’d be back in a month! Our expected 6 hour journey to our next stop (Salina, KS) turned into 8 hours because of a horrendous traffic jam. Why Salinas?? Half way to our next planned stop, Arvada. CO (Denver) ….
BUT!! Why not stop to see the geographical center of the continental U.S.? When would we get another chance? So we took at side trip to nearby (sort of) Lebanon, KS.
The map above shows our journey. The 1 1/2 hour drive to Lebanon was a very, very, very strong reinforcement of the stereotypical opinion of the state: vast expanses of corn fields punctuated by soil-rejuvenating soybeans and occasional herd of cattle. Oh, and hardly any people.
The “monument” that marks the actual center of the continental U.S. is sort of sad. The city of Lebanon claims the honor, but the monument is actually a couple of miles out of town. (We had to stop a postman to find out where it was since there were no signs directing us to the right spot!)
Our photo shoot took just minutes:-). And we were on our way to Brad & Julie Kreutz’s house in Arvado, CO. Great to catch up with them and to see their new digs — a beautiful home with lots of room for Leo and Auggie to indulge their passion for hockey and home offices for both Julie and Brad. We’re going to hold them to a promise of visiting us in Chapin!
After lots of conversation (and wine!) we went to a community center area where a live concert was underway. We easily found seats within hearing distance and then walked to dinner at a great restaurant. We really didn’t need dinner….we’d made a large dent in the “snacks” Julie spread out for us…chilled jumbo shrimp, green olives, chips, salsa and delicious cheese! So much fun!
