Random Road Trip

Last month, I told you the story of how the "D" light on my car's dashboard blinked when I drove at highway speeds.  I had the car fixed right away, but I haven't had the time to make sure everything was working. Thanks to the "fall back" to regular time last night, this morning I woke refreshed at 8:00.  I rolled over and stretched, wondering what the day held for me.  The sky was clear and the sun was shining.  It felt like the perfect opportunity for an adventure.  Time to kill two birds with one stone and take a road trip.

The car's problems started when I drove over 60 miles per hour. In order to get my car up to the correct speed today, I had to get out of the metropolitan area, where there's a lower speed limit.  There were three choices: Interstate 70 to the west, 44 to the southeast, or 55 to the south.  My last few trips have been to the west, so I decided to pick one of the other highways today.

I wanted to include church as part of my adventure.  Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I had access to the Mass times of every parish in the Archdiocese, along with Google maps for directions.  I chose the 10:30 Mass at St David Church in Arnold, which was 30 minutes from my house and a mile off of Interstate 55.  Now I knew which direction I was heading.  I  grabbed my purse and left the house.

St. David's was easy to find in a residential area not too far from a major street. I parked my car and followed the stream of people to the front door.  It was a nice Mass.  The people around me were friendly, the priest gave a thought-provoking homily, and the music was provided by a quartet of singers  whose voices blended together well.  One of the singers also played the piano, and his musical accompaniment added a nice touch.

It was 11:45 when I left the church and backtracked to the Interstate.  When I got on the highway going south, the speed limit was 65 mph (and my car's trip odometer read 19 miles). At the 21 mile mark the speed increased to the magic 70 mph mark. I kept a close eye on the D light, which was shining strong and green. At the 23 mile mark, I saw a sign telling me a road construction zone was coming up, and the speed would decrease to 50 mph.  That was NOT what I was looking for!  There was an exit coming up, so I made a quick decision and veered onto the ramp.  The rest of my day's plans were made.  I was going to Kimmswick.

Kimmswick is a small historic town along the Mississippi River.  It has the oldest wrought iron bridge in Missouri, several bed and breakfasts, and a large selection of gift shops. I'm sure there are a lot of good places to eat in Kimmswick, but my destination for lunch was The Blue Owl.  The Blue Owl has been featured on several Food Network shows.  They serve soups, salads, sandwiches, quiches, and plate lunches, but they're most well known for their pies.

I thought the restaurant might not be busy today.  I thought wrong.  There were dozens of people sitting and milling around outside waiting for a table.  When I put my name on the list, the hostess told me it would be a half hour wait, and suggested I might want to walk around or shop while I was waiting.  That sounded good to me!  The time went quickly, and when I came back 30 minutes later I was the next person on the list.

It was 12:30, and I was really hungry.  I ordered one of the daily specials-roast beef and mashed potatoes, which came with a salad, vegetable, and roll.  It was a lot of food, but I ate every bite of it, including the spiced apple ring decorating the plate.  Did I leave room for dessert?  Not really, but you can't go to a place known for their desserts and not indulge, so I got one to go. There were dozens of choices in the bakery-pies, cakes, cheesecakes, and cookies.  I passed on the Levee High Apple Pie (which is made with 18 apples), the 6" tall banana cream pie, and the pumpkin cheesecake and got a slice of chocolate chip pecan pie.  The plan was to bring the pie home and eat it for an afternoon snack.

I paid for my food and carried the bag containing my pie back to the car. I backtracked out of town and went north on the Interstate towards home. All the time the pie was calling out to me.  Halfway home I pulled into a shopping center, parked the car, and ate every bite of it.  It was wonderful.

So is my car fixed?  I don't know.  It may take another road trip to figure it out!