Happy Saturday.   A nice day yesterday.  We drove some more around town in Bethany and looked at a lot of things we missed the first day.  Still hard to believe that we didn’t see anyone I knew but that is how much times have changed.  Now had we parked the car and walked into every store or gone to the grocery store, yes we might have run into someone but whether they would have recognized me or I them is the question.  Anyway enough about that.

Around Noon we headed for Maryville, Missouri.  Home of North West Missouri State University.  We drove through the town and the campus.  I’m happy to report that Maryville is still a thriving community and is growing.  Lots of new businesses in town and a bustling downtown.  Traffic was congested in most places and it is still before the students arrive.  So that was a very good feeling.  Maryville is the one place that if I won the lottery I would move to.

We stopped by the Public Safety Department.  They were gracious enough to give an old officer a tour of the facilities.  I was envious of all the new equipment they have including their fire equipment, which included an aerial truck and three new pumpers (We had two trucks.)  They also have 9 squad cars (we only had three) and one of their cars is equipped with license reader.  It is technology that allows an officer to drive through areas where cars are parked on either side of a row (like motels, shopping centers, grocery stores), and it quickly reads the license plates of the car and determines if there are any wants or warrants outstanding or if it is a stolen vehicle.  Pretty cool.

The best part of the entire trip was the time we spent with Al and Pat Turner.  We were invited to come out to their specious home on 3 acres of land full of trees and a pond.  We walked some of the property, talked a lot about good ole days.  Pat is a very talented artist, and all things craft.  She showed a lot of her tireless work to Jeanne and Jeanne was impressed.

We invited them to have dinner with us at Applebees and they suggested another place and that they would pick us up around 6:30 p.m.  We drove out to the Mizingo project.  A huge lake for fishing, boating and recreation, with camping facilities and even cabins for rent at lakeside.  There is also a large area that is set aside for youth groups to have privacy from the rest of the park.

Additionally there is an 18 hole (beautiful) golf course that is adjacent to the property and is also open to the public.  Wonderful place for residents and visitors.  We made a decision to come back here to enjoy the amenities soon.

They took us to a place called A&G’s.  A very nice up scale Italian Restaurant.  We had a wonderful meal, beverages, and conversation.  Al and Pat were celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary yesterday and they were gracious enough to share it with us.   When the check came Al had already worked it out with the waitress to pay for the whole thing.  I felt terrible and after much discussion and gnashing of teeth he won out.  I did get to leave the tip however.

So we bid them good night and feeling very full and exhausted called it a day.  Today it is off to Kansas City and to meet up with our friends Deb and Terry.  We’re going to a Royals baseball game with them tonight.  They play the Boston Red Sox, so it should be a great game.

Also a big thank you to all my friends and my Son who wrote very thoughtful and profound responses to my blog yesterday.  They were truly heartfelt and I appreciated them so much.  To Kathy and George well said and to Bobbi it was so good to hear from  you.  My regrets that I didn’t realize your were still there as I would have loved to visit with you for hours.

About the photography or the lack of it.  We went through the town of Standberry yesterday on the way to Maryville.  There was a building on the side of the road with all these sculptures made out of metal.  Fascinating so of course we turned around and took some images.  The beautiful pond is on Al and Pat’s property.

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your Saturday (they are very precious and there are only 52 of them a year) and as always please be careful.