Home again, home again, jiggity, jog.....

At least that is what Grandma always said!

We left on Friday, Sept. 9, around 9 a.m. and we returned on Saturday, Sept. 17 around 8 p.m.

Mileage - 2052

That's a heck of a lot of miles we put on the Escape in a week.  For us, that is!

Was it a good trip?  Yes, it was.  Did we do everything we wanted to do?  Not exactly, but we did some things that were unplanned and some things we thought would be fun just didn't work out. And you know what?  It didn't really matter.  We just did what we wanted to do and what we didn't, we thought we could do another time.

For instance - we drove to the Mud Island area along the Mississippi River with full intentions of going to Mud Island, spending some time along the river bank.  Then we spotted the HUGE Bass Pro Shop and went there instead.  We just marveled at the size of the store, the fact that a hotel was located at the top, and that there were ponds and a sky high elevator (which cost $10 to ride so I didn't do it!).  I know we didn't see all of the store because it was so big and we were just tired of walking.  

We came out of Sun Studios and looked around the area, took a few pictures, and then a shuttle bus pulled up out front. The driver hopped out and told the people on the street he was taking anyone who wanted to go to the Rock and Soul Museum---so we got on the bus!  After that tour we decided to walk a few blocks over to Beale Street, and on the advice of my former colleague Robb, we went to BB Kings BBQ for lunch.   Not planned, just spontaneous.

On the drive to Tunica Casinos, we spotted the Tanger Outlets, so we decided to go there the next morning.  After I finally figured out the Hollywood Cafe (another suggestion by Robb- and I was being rather dense because I have always liked that song), we returned there AFTER the outlets for lunch.   Funny thing was that we were just a mile or so away from the restaurant the night before and didn't realize it was there.  

But now we are home.  Today's drive was long and we were ready to be back in our living room once again.  Because there was drizzle and some light rain showers in southern Illinois, we scratched the plans to visit Cave-in-Rock and Garden of the Gods.  Some other time I guess.  But we did stop at Big Peach, drive through Terre Haute, and re-trace the route that we had driven so many times when Megan and Hilary were at ISU.  Lots of memories from those four years.

Looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight in our own bed!  I don't sleep well in hotel rooms for some reason, and my pillow was just not working out for me on this trip. ( I need to add 'new pillow' to my Christmas list).

Lots of ideas for future blog posts so check back often!  I am ready to write!