Even though last weekend was pretty eventful, Robert and I seemed to get stir crazy. Maybe it’s because we felt our trip to TN was too short. Maybe we wanted to procrastinate on doing something. I don’t know, but the feeling of getting out and away from the RV overtook us the entire weekend.
Antenna Launch
Last Friday, I got up early to get cracking on some big work projects. It was a very productive day and I practically worked non-stop since about 5:00 a.m. By the time 2 p.m. came around, my brain was fried. Robert was getting “hangry” and I was in no mood to cook. We decided to close up shop and head to Nevada, MO to eat and do a bit of shopping at Sutherlands.
Although Robert and I are trying to eat better and avoiding certain foods, we decided that a visit to White Grill was in order. It’s our favorite place in Nevada. Since we were both so hungry, we just wanted instant satisfaction of a whistle burger and Suzie-qs.
Robert had been anxious to build an antenna launcher ever since we returned from Tennessee. Sutherlands had all the supplies he needed: PVC, connectors, caps, ball valve, and a Schrader valve.
On the way home, Robert took a detour toward Walker. We hadn’t been down that road yet and we’ve seen the sign to Osage Village State Historic Site many times and wondered what that was all about. We found the site and it looked like a short hike around a field. We just did a drive-by and promised ourselves that we’ll come back another time.
Once we got home, Robert got busy on building his antenna launcher. Oh, my! It’s the simple things that amuse us the most.
38 Special
Saturday came and Robert had a gig scheduled at Shawnee Bluff Vineyard to play with Grayson Wood and the Rusty Tractor Nuts. They were the warm-up band before the 38 Special concert. What a nice venue. The grounds were absolutely beautiful! There was a grandstand at the bottom of the hill behind the main building. The hillside had been landscaped to be in a stair step design so that the chairs could be arranged level in rows. On each side of the main seating were VIP tables.
Robert and the boys were set up on the patio next to the main building. They played for a couple of hours before the main show. Once 38 Special took the stage, Robert and I took advantage of the short lines for the food trucks to have a bite of dinner. The food and drink were fantastic! Of course, we didn’t have official seats for the concert, but that was just fine by us. We liked wandering around and sitting on a picnic bench that had a great view.
I think the best part was the impressive fireworks show after 38 Special was done playing. It must have lasted non-stop for 20 minutes. Bigger than most towns could offer. Wow!
As soon as the fireworks were over, GW and the Rusty Tractor Nuts played another hour on the patio. I was so surprised how many people stayed for the little after party.
We were packed up and ready to head home at about 11:30 p.m. We were pleased to be back home in bed by 1:30 a.m. That’s fairly early considering his gigs usually end at about 1 a.m.
Osage Village State Historic Site
Sunday afternoon, even though it was HOT, Robert was stir crazy to get out and away from the RV for a bit. I reminded him that we were gone all day the day before, but he said that was considered work. I have to agree with him. The only reason we were traveling to the Lake of the Ozarks was because of music, not doing something on our own schedule.
I really wanted to stay around the RV to organize and clean. OK…not really. Organizing and cleaning needed to be done, but I really didn’t want to do it. I’m easily distracted, so we decided to go back to the Osage Village State Historic Site. We wanted to take the short trail walk and drive on some dirt roads we haven’t been on yet. We figured we wouldn’t be gone too long. We’d satisfy our itch to get out and about yet still have time to do our domestic chores.
As we headed toward Walker, MO, we took out our handy Missouri Gazetteer so that we could take a different route than we did on Friday. I was sure I was navigating Robert in the correct direction, but he kept insisting it didn’t feel right. What happened is the “X” that marked the spot on the map for the Historic Site is off a tad bit. To me, it looked like it was on one dirt road when it was really on another. We were close, but we needed to backtrack a bit and look for the signs we saw on Friday and follow them. I updated our map if ever we want to go back.
Once we arrived, we started out for short interactive hike. We learned this was where the earliest known community of Osage Indians lived in Missouri (between 1700 and 1775). It is estimated that at its height, the village had between 2,000 and 3,000 occupants. In 1941, an archaeologist surveyed the site and confirmed that the location was the primary site of the Osage Indians. In 1984 the land of the historic site was sold to Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources for preservation.
Although taking the short hike wasn’t much different than walking around in the fields at home, we would have never learned what we did without visiting. Besides, we got out of the house and logged steps on Pacer.
Our little trip only took about two hours meandering, but it satisfied the itch of getting out and about. There was plenty of time for Robert to do some adjustments to his radio antenna and me to pick blackberries.
The organizing and cleaning couldn’t be put off any longer. Living in a small space, things seem to get cluttered quickly. The good thing is that since we live in a small space, it doesn’t take long to get things in order. It’s just a matter of mustering up motivation. Together, Robert and I reluctantly tackled the job!
