In my 1.5 square mile world, 200 miles seems like a long way to travel. But even I know it shouldn't take six hours -- not even in an RV dubbed Hope. Yet here I sit at the Injun Joe Campground outside Hannibal, Mo., 200 miles into our Ozark getaway for Spring Break 2007.
Captain's log, 5:26 p.m.: we pull out of our alley sooner than I dreamed would be possible just yesterday. Along the way we delivered my Jeep to my brother-in-law in Oxford so he could fix the stereo while we're gone. That added about 20 miles to our trip and cost us a good half hour. Then, since we hadn't had supper yet, we took the opportunity to visit the new casino in Riverside for the Friday night seafood buffet. It only now occurs to me that it's Wednesday night. Still, the crab legs were what you would expect from a buffet and the casino looked every bit as nice as we had been told. The golf course under construction looks really nice. We wasted no time -- or money -- in the casino, but still lost a good hour on dinner. So now it's 8 p.m. and we're only 45 minutes down the road. Not a good start.
Captain's log, 11:18 p.m.: Hope glides into a fully-equipped RV spot at Injun Joe's, I kid you not. Even in the dark, I can tell this place is uniquely Missourian. I hope to explore its scenic batting cages and picturesque go-kart track in the morning, before we continue our adventure. I had fully intended to layover in a Walmart parking lot, if only to irritate my wife. But in the end I decided an electrical hookup and bathroom facilities were necessities. We don't have a generator, yet, and I wasn't able to fill up on water before we left. Plus I wasn't sure you could legally transport Iowa water into Missouri. If you could, why aren't there places on the Iowa side pushing water to match the fireworks vendors on the Missouri side?
My goal was to get as far as Hannibal, and Injun Joe's was one of a few campgrounds that we had a number for and a general idea where to find it. Plus, since my son is reading Tom Sawyer in school, I thought he would benefit from experiencing it first hand.
"I thought you were kidding when you said we were going to Injun Joe's," he says as we walk the dog and survey the campground. "He's not even a major character."
Oh the irony.
Coming tomorrow (wireless Internets baby jesus willing): Lasting impressions of Injun Joe's and the journey to Lake of the Ozarks.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Spring Break '07: Chapter 1
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2 Comments:
Maybe those administrators had a point when they said some teachers weren't up to teaching Twain. I bet they even skipped right over the part where Tom convinces all his friends to put quarters into the batting cages for him.
Happy hillbilly trails!
I'm a "permanent" camper at Injun Joes and am glad you enjoyed the campground. We have been going to this site for about 23 years now. We used to have tents but now in my older years (I'm 57 now)we have graduated to a pop-up camper. If you find yourself back this way again, stop and say hi to the people on site 19. Have a good trip.
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