11-06 to 11-10 2018 Traveling to Missouri to Visit my Son

Somehow it is hard for us to get to Missouri.  Whenever Mo and I travel east, we will make an effort to angle north as we return west to see my son John and his family.  Often that visit is limited because we are on the road, and have to get back west before a certain time.  I decided that I needed to fly east to Missouri for no reason but to spend time with John. I had no distractions, nothing to interfere with the visit, and could simply focus on being there with him.

John has some limitations due to adult onset Type 1 Diabetes, a nasty killer of a disease.  Things are often a struggle for him and for his wife Shannon.  With a tiny home, they preferred that I stay nearby in a hotel.  That worked out great for me as well, since I had a space for some privacy and my own rental car to get around as needed.

Great room at the Downstream Casino Resort

I stayed for 5 days, and each day John would ride with Shannon to work and then meet me at the rather luxurious nearby Downstream Resort Casino where I had a great deal on a lovely room.  John and Shannon had a great coupon that reduced the cost of my visit by half. John and I would visit, laugh and talk about old times, cry together about how hard things can be for a person facing a disability.  It hurts terribly to see my son hurting, but I am so glad that I could be there with him for a time, at least.  Missouri is a very long way from Oregon.

Family Reunion in Rocky Point, 2007

The last time John visited me in Oregon was in 2007, when I had a big family reunion at Mo’s place in Rocky Point.  Prior to that, John managed to drive out to Oregon with his family in 2004.  I have visited him a few times during our MoHo travels since then, but quiet, one on one time with John was something I missed.

Our mornings were simple, visiting and having a meal at the restaurant together before we spent some time exploring John’s home town.  He has lived near Joplin, in the small town of Alba for many years now.  He loved taking me around the area and showing me homes he had owned and lived in, places where he had worked, beautiful landscaping jobs he completed during his working days.  There was lots to be proud of. 

My favorite day was a lovely sunny cool day when we drove into the country to discover the George Washington Carver National Monument. Located just outside Joplin, the hardwoods were still showing gorgeous leaf colors and the grounds were almost completely empty.  We wandered the museum, and walked the grounds, learning so much about this incredible person with an incredible history.  As a soil scientist, I was surprised that I hadn’t known about GWC’s influence on soil conservation.  It was a truly lovely day.

John also took me to the falls where he had taken his step kids to swim when they were growing up.  It was cold but lovely, and I could imagine that it might be a great place to be in the warm summertime.  Later that evening, his wife Shannon invited me to her father’s home for home made noodles in chicken soup with her family. 

It was a quiet trip, with good times with my son.  I have promised each of my adult kids a trip of their choosing, and with all the girls trips now completed, it is time to focus on John’s trip.  He told me with heartfelt sincerity that he would rather I simply come to visit him in Missouri.  So that is the plan. Rather than trying to see him in the midst of MoHo travels, I will fly there and spend a few days with him each year.