Flamingo on a Stick

Missouri Botanical Gardens Yep, one more post. I now have had more posts this week than during the whole summer. I think it just feels so good to be back on the road. It doesn’t hurt that the weather has been almost perfect.  Early in the week we got the bikes on the truck and took off to ride the Katy Trail. This is the longest rail trail in the US. I’ve heard a lot about it and wanted to get at least one day on the bikes. I found a good parking lot for us and then we rode both directions for awhile. I wanted us to stop and check out Trailhead Brewing near the St. Charles trail head. We had a hard time figuring out where it was exactly and before we found it we were hungry so we stopped at Hendricks BBQ for a bite to eat and a brew.  They had a great selection of craft brews that made it well worthwhile and a good brisket sandwich. Once fortified we finally found Trailhead brewing for just a brew. I have to say we were disappointed in the beers. The part of the trail we rod

You are in for a treat. In true John Dean style a special Captain's Log. Enjoy She's wise beyond her year and a half. This is what I've learned so far:   It's better to be outside if you can. There's lots of interesting stuff outside. If you're outside, you need to examine the ground. The best way to do this is to just squat down and get your hands into the dirt or water or whatever it is you're squatting in. It might help to taste things once in awhile. Walk when you can, but if someone offers to push you around in a stroller, that works too. If things aren't going your way, stomp your foot and make a noise. If nobody notices, then give it up; there are too many other things you could be doing. When it's nap time, take a nap. Everything else will wait. When eating, try everything on your plate. If you don't like something just remove it from your mouth and put back on your plate. If you're wa

Our site (#2) Two blogs in a week, I almost don’t recognize myself. One reason is I wanted to write about this park, Dr. Edmund Babler Memorial SP , before I forget. I want it to share with you but also so I don’t forget it for next time. There are definite pros and cons to this park. Pros: Location, location, location.  It is just east of St. Louis which is a fun city to visit, and it is about 20 miles to the trail head at Page Bridge on the Katy Trail . There is another trail head which may be even closer but the website said it is not well marked besides I have heard good things about St. Charles. We have friends and family in the area. One of the fellas who lived with us when he played junior hockey in Cedar Rapids lives nearby as do his parents. It has been way too long since we have seen Sean and I think it may actually work out this time. John’s brother Mark lives across the river in Illinois and we hope to see him too. This is a beautiful wooded oasis near St. L

John and me on our 30th Anniversary, September 1st, 2014 Surprise, I’m back! Its been a long time since the last blog but such is life. This summer was probably the busiest we’ve had since we went full time. Adding the job with the Kernels baseball team really gave us a full schedule. Between it and spending time with our kids and granddaughter the summer flew past.  One of my last photos of Evie for Summer 2014 We are back out on the road and just past our 4th anniversary of full time travels. We began full time living in our fifth wheel in April of 2010 but we didn’t start our travels until September. Passing that mark always makes me look back at this crazy life we’ve chosen. I was thinking about what’s different about this life than a stationary home base or as some full timers call it, a “sticks and bricks” . So here is my list and full timers feel free to chime in or share a list of your own. Instead of just cleaning my home, I have to pack it up and set it up