Monday in Missouri

After the whirlwind of yesterday, today was a tad slower for us. We took a scenic drive through central Missouri today (partly the result of a major accident just north of Kansas City) and eventually wound up this evening in Joplin, Missouri (in the southwest corner of the state).

We did make a stop in Hamilton this morning after noticing the sign announcing that this small town in northwest Missouri was the birthplace of J. C. Penny (he of the department store fame). His boyhood home and museum were nice to see and the story behind the store and the man were really interesting.

We enjoyed two visits to Cracker Barrel today (one in Springfield, the other in Joplin), thanks to very thoughtful gifts from Jackie (Charles' sister). We also found ourselves in Branson but since we had not down our homework about what was going on in this mecca of country music, we kept on moving down the road.

Sunday on the Road

Church this morning was at the First UMC in Winterset, Iowa. The worship service for this first Sunday of Advent lifted up the emblems used in the Advent.

Winterset is also the hometown of John Wayne, and we took advantage of the chance to see his boyhood home. The John Wayne Birth Place museum is a neat place, and it was fun to see the place which provided this American icon with his start.

After Winterset, we drove to nearby Indianola where we were able to visit the U. S. Ballooning Hall of Fame which was really cool. There was so much to see, well worth the effort to get there on a Sunday afternoon.

It was time to continue our journey south, but not before visiting the Imes Covered Bridge, one of the famous covered Bridges of Madison County. The Imes Bridge, built in 1870, is the oldest of the remaining bridges that once graced this corner of rural Iowa.

Making our way into Missouri, we visited Charles' sister, Jackie, in Chillicothe (east of St. Joseph). We had a lovely evening, catching up on family stories, exchanging gifts and lots of laughs. We went with Jackie to the Chillicothe community Christmas lights display and the nearby Jenkins Town House Christmas Village display. What a dazzling explerience!

On to Texas!

We said goodbye to Aitkin and the cabin at Linde Lake this morning and now we are on the road again! We are heading to Texas to see Belinda's mother in San Angelo and then to see Charles' mother in Florida. We've had a wonderful time in Minnesota and hope to return in the near future.

Before heading south, we stopped by to say goodbye to our friends, Judy and Leon in Aitkin. Judy took us to the church next door to say goodbye to some of the faithful volunteers getting the church ready for Advent.

We stopped for lunch in Minneapolis and then made our way into Iowa. One stop today was in Mason City, hometown of Meridith Wilson (of Music Man fame). Too bad the museum and home were already closed for the day :(

Continuing south, we made to Osceola, Iowa, just south of Madison County. We are going to stop there and see one of the county's famous covered bridges tomorrow.

Final "Fish House Parade Day" Thoughts

There was so much to take in today; we are sure that we missed something! Thanks to everyone who made our first-ever "Aitkin Fish House Parade" such a memorable experience!

"THE" World Famous Fish House Parade!!!

Wonders NEVER cease! Today's parade might well be referred to as the 8th wonder of the world.... or at least in this corner of the world!

Today marks the 19th edition of the World Famous Fish House Parade through the streets of Aitkin, MN.

The sun was shining, and the warmth and enthusiasm of the crowd which lined main street more than made up for the cold weather (32F at parade time).

Praise be to God for a fun-loving community which comes together to celebrate God-given things like fish houses, community spirit and the love that binds it all together!!!

Chili Cook-off Teams Were Amazing!

WOW! That's the only word that makes sense if you were fortunate enough to attend this years chili cook-off at the Legion Hall here in Aitkin, Minnesota! There was a great turnout for the event. There were some very unique chili-cookoff teams, to be sure!

Food Aplenty During Fish House Parade Day!

If you were to leave Aitkin today hungry, well, it wasn't for lack of choices!!!

The American Legion Hall was the location for "Kinship of Aitkin County's Chili & Soup Off." The assortment was nothing short of amazing, and the creativity of the teams (particularly in how they presented themselves) was so much fun. Based on the large turnout it was the place to be for serious chili buffs!

The Aitkin United Methodist Church was offering a lasagna dinner and a wonderful desert treat. There was a generous spirit at work in the church fellowship hall this morning! Praise God for such faithful workers! The Westside Calvary Church was hosting two eating-related activities today. The early morning began with a pancake breakfast t0 tempt the craft sale shoppers. The afternoon was given over to offering a sloppy joe lunch. Good crafts to go with all those tempting treats available at the bake sale!

For those shopping in the merchants of Aitkin today, there were other offerings available. The Farm Island 4-H club was offering a side walk bake sale, and other vendors were offering kettle corn, cheese curds and much more!!!

Shopping at THE LOFT, Aitkin, Minnesota!

Holiday greetings from The Loft here in Aitkin! Upstairs from the State Farm & Home Insurance Office, you will discover The Loft.

Ms. Terry Butenhoff is the owner, and she had one great idea! Why not invite family and friends to go to The Loft and have a holiday sale of homemade crafts and goodies?! And the other days in the year, she has it available to rent out by day or by night... for scrapbooking parties, slumber parties, family gatherings, etc.

(Note: The last picture features "to-go-cup coffee cozies." What a great idea to wrap these around your hot to-go cup, so your hands won't get burned! Clever folks!)

SANTA CLAUS and MRS. CLAUS!

What a treat! Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus made time in their VERY BUSY SCHEDULE to stop by The Beanery in Aitkin, Minnesota, to visit some of the very good boys and girls who wanted to pay him a visit!

A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!!!

First-ever Annual TURKEY TROT

Today marks the First-ever Annual Turkey Trot: A 5-k walk/run to promote healthy living! What a great idea, right?! The day after the BIG Thanks-giving feast, why not get out and work off some of those calories!

Registration fees collected will go to support the local high school band and choir departments and local charities. The event is sponsored by The Aitkin Women of Today, a chapter of Minnesota Women of Today.

The fun started with a children's a quarter-mile "trot." The children were accompanied by parents, siblings and Aitkin High School mascot, The Gobbler! The quarter mile trot would be followed by a 5K (3.1 miles) walk and then by a 5K run.

World Famous FISH HOUSE PARADE, Aitkin, MN!

The long-anticipated day is finally here: The World Famous Fish House Parade!

Your intrepid blog reporters are here in downtown Aitkin, Minnesota, standing by to give you "virtual" coverage of the day's festivities. When we started out this morning, it was 24 degrees F. Brrrrr! Thanks be to God that it is expected to get warmer throughout the day. (Hopefully, it will get up to 35 degrees F.!)

Town merchants opened their doors EARLY this morning, "luring" their shoppers to their early bird special deals. Our first stop of the day was to visit the Thrifty White drugstore, where we put our names in the hat to win the 5-pound bar of Hershey's chocolate. How sweet it is... or will be, if we win it! (Oh, yes, and we had to get some chapstick too.)

Next we visited the Aitkin Westside Church, where we found folks enjoying their pancake breakfast (scheduled 7-11 a.m.) and others were setting up for their crafts/bake sale (scheduled 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.).

Next we visited the Angel Thrift Shop, where they were having an amazing "40%-off-everything-in-the-store sale" from 7:00-8:00 a.m. Of course, we bagged some wonderful treasures!

Next we visited our FAVORITE hotspot: The Beanery coffee/tea shop extraordinaire! We set up our laptops, and we are reporting from there NOW. It is actually and virtually the best place from which to base ourselves this day. (... And their fresh-out-of-the-oven caramel rolls are wonderful for keeping up our energy levels!)