Day One: We're off!
630 miles after leaving home this morning, we are settled in Abilene, Kansas for the night. Whew!!! Mark's trusty ipod was a cool addition to this year's trip - giving us navigation along the way. Ozarkland had to be the highlight of the day. Because every trip needs a truly kitschy awful gift shop - just for old times sake. When we were growing up it was Stuckey's. We will have to try to stop by one of those in the next weeks - if we can find one that is still open. This one promised many things: cheap tshirts, hats and caps, homemade fudge, wind bells, fashion jewelry - and most of it was a lie. Especially the "fantastic giftshop" claim. Saying it doesn't make it so. It did have the requisite moccasin section and boasted a wide variety of pecan logs. But I especially liked the section with handmade rifles for children (even a pink one for the girls) and bullwhips for the whole family. When I put down the pink rifle after giving it a look, a curly haired sev...