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25 April 2006 -
Tuesday
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Up early and on the
road by 6:30 am we noticed how unencumbered one could be when staying the
night at a motel. Absent was the morning
meal, and talk we would enjoy when staying with family and friends. Also those morning chores associated with
sleeping in the camper van such as the need to roll up sleeping bags, wash
coffee cups, and stow away gear was noticeably absent. Today we would again
be heading east on Interstate 70 toward Maries County,
Missouri where we planned to accomplish more research on our Moreland, Brown,
and Pinnell ancestors. Some time
between 1815 and 1818 our 4th great-grandfather and Revolutionary
War patriot Peter Pinnell came to Missouri along with our 3rd
great-grandparents Asa and Elizabeth (Clemens) Pinnell who settled east of
Lanes Prairie in what is now Maries County.
If not the first they were among the earliest settlers in Maries
County. George Moreland and his
family moved to Missouri before 1839. They settled in Johnson Township in the
southeastern most part of Maries County.
Robert and Jemima (Walker) Brown, parents to our 2nd
great-grandmother Lydia Ann (Brown) Moreland had come here in 1851. Robert
and Jemima are buried in the Pinnell Cemetery, Lanes Prairie, Maries Co.,
Missouri. After about two hours
on the road we stopped for breakfast at our second Waffle House where Fred
had the best bowl of grits of the trip. Unlike our previous experience the
Waffle House in Alabama both of our meals were excellent. Upon driving about
125 miles east into Missouri we departed Interstate 70 at Columbia and headed
south on U.S. Highway 63. By now the van had
over 7,800 miles and it was time for a second change of oil, in addition one
of the tires was loosing air, and needed to be inspected. Using our Streetfinder software we easily located
a Ford dealer in Jefferson City.
While waiting for the servicing we decided to get some exercise and
generally stretch our legs a bit.
During the planning of the trip Tom took the lead in creating a
fitness routine for us to follow on a regular basis. To realize this we
brought several items such as an exercise mat and stretch bands. He created a list of exercises that
started with our “abs” continued on through 4 more body parts ending at the
“triceps” for an overall routine of sixteen calisthenics. Once on the journey Tom made an attempt to
follow the routine but found it difficult to accomplish as the van was flying
down the interstate at 70 miles per hour!
Along with the early rising, long hours of research or driving stints
and late stops made for a very long day.
Our exercise routine never really had a chance! The only real exercise came about while
walking around cemeteries. After |
strolling for less than one-half hour our now finely tuned bodies
stopped into an Applebee’s for a snack and beer! It was here that we met Kendra, a young twenty-something
bartender. A peppy and engaging young mother of three boys aged 7 months, 4
and 6 years Kendra was indicative of the many single women who struggle daily
to raise a family. When we needed to
call the dealership to see if the work was done she let us use her cell
phone. As a result the whole business of waiting for the camper to be
serviced was much more enjoyable because of nice people like Kendra. As a result we nominated her for our “best
bartender” award. Upon paying for
the service on the van Fred was presented with a 3- inch nail that was taken
out of the leaking tire. It certainly
was nice to know that the problem was successfully solved! By the late afternoon we had finally arrived in Maries County and it’s county seat Vienna, population 628. We immediately ascertained that there wasn’t much going on here except what county government services needed by this largely agricultural community. A few miles south of town we found a nice RV park where we settled in for the night for a reasonable $15.00 that included water and electricity.
The Scenic 63 RV Park and Motel, Vienna, MO
Although there were two other RV vehicles at the Scenic 63 RV Park and Motel it was apparent that we had sole use of the
clean and fairly new bathhouse*. * No we didn’t actually take a picture of the inside of the
bathhouse. Both Photos came from the
Scenic 63 Rv Park and Motel website. |
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