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 seven year old in a cute dress ran up, picked up the pink rifle, and said, "They even have handcuffs!" I could not make this up if I tried. 

So if you ever are trying to find that special gift you once saw in a Lillian Vernon, Harriet Carter, or Oriental Trading Company catalog, get yourself right over to Ozarkland. They have it. Although check your schedule - our $3 worth of chocolates took 20 minutes to purchase. And by then the Elvis umbrellas, creepy curly haired dolls, and "humorous" old man figurines were starting to scare me. 

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