Tripping home - company leaving, company coming!

 The receptionist at the hotel I stayed at in Hannibal was the sweetest, kindest young lady!  The receptionist at the hotel I stayed at on the way to Ohio however, acted like I was a bother to her.  I told this receptionist how much it meant to me that she was so welcoming!  It brought tears to her eyes.  I believe it is important, isn't it, to tell someone when you appreciate them?  Kind words mean a lot!

After checking into my room, I took a shower and settled down to do some studying to teach Bible study.  HGTV was calling (we can't watch it at home since we have "poor man's tv") but this was the more important thing to do.  I did watch one episode of Love It or List It before falling asleep.

In the morning, I ate in the lobby and fixed a to-go lunch from what was available.  

I stopped for coffee; there was a fire close by!  I was tempted to go see, but I know the firemen don't appreciate onlookers.

I decided to stay on Highway 36 all the way through Missouri and on to Washington, Kansas.  Never been there before!  I would take Highway 15 down.  I was in a more relaxed mood and did not want to fight traffic in and around KC.

Some of this was new country for me!

Many farmers were out.  Harvest in full gear!

Seeing lots of patriotism. 

Love these old school houses!

Clay Center courthouse.

Our guests who stayed in our basement this week had left earlier that day, so I washed sheets and got ready for our next guests who were on their way!!  Our grandbaby (and her parents) were coming!!!

Delightful road trip Ohio to Missouri

A clap of thunder woke me up in the middle of the night, followed by some loud music.  🎵

    "Take me out to the ballgame."

    "Jingle Bells"

What in the world?

I went out in the hall, but didn't see anyone up.

The electricity had gone off too, as my fan quit.  After a bit, the fan came back on and the music stopped after playing perhaps 30 songs?  Ha!!

I woke up before the rest of the household.  When I packed my bags into the car I noticed the beautiful sunrise!   God is such a "Painter"!!!

It wasn't long before the others woke up.  Aunt Anne explained that whenever the electricity comes back on following "taiden" (outage), the door bell runs through all the songs in its repertoire.  How funny!  Evidently, Uncle Mahlon and Aunt Anne had gotten up and gone to the basement to make sure the sump pump wasn't overflowing from the heavy rain.  Then Uncle Mahlon went outside to turn on the generator.  The lid slammed on his arm and he tore his skin and began bleeding.  So Aunt Anne had to bandage him up.  What an exciting evening!

After eating a bit and getting coffee, I said my good-byes and headed home.  But before I did, I decided to go into Pandora and say "good-bye" to Uncle Wally's home.

Do you see that hump in the road?  When we were children, my Dad would drive the car real fast over it and we would get the willies in our tummies and we would just laugh and laugh.  I tried it, but guess when one ages, it doesn't do the same thing any more.

 Here is the church Mom grew up in.  The front area was added later.

The cousins had said they got a contract on the house!

One last good-bye.

I stopped for coffee, then missed the ramp onto 30 around Van Wert and ended up going into town.  I'm glad I did.  Look at this magnificent court house!  I would have loved to go inside!  Another time!

Some renovation going on downtown.

One thing I noticed on this trip - a LOT - was all the American flags out.  I think people are upset about what is going on in this country politically and are showing their patriotism.

Took 224 past Decatur, Indiana.  I saw a sign for a historical marker, but never did see anything.  I looked it up on-line later, and they boast a beautiful court house also.  I will need to stop when I come on this road again!

"A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a broken spirit dries up the bones."

Proverbs 17:22

I took 69 south (a 4 lane) for awhile and then turned west on 26 to avoid Indianapolis.  I enjoy those rural roads!

Isn't this a hoot?

Frankfort, Indiana courthouse

This building had a big NHK sign on it.  NHK?  I grew up with NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) Japan Broadcasting Corporation.  Well, this is not that.  This is an automotive seat manufacturer that serves the Subaru plant.  I guess it is a subsidary of a Japan-based company.

At Frankfort, I assumed Google maps would take me south to Lebanon and onto 74, but it directed me onto this little coutry road!  It must know what I like!!

I looked south and there was a storm on 74.  Perhaps the Lord was orchestrating all this to keep me safe!?  Who knows!

As I was passing Danville, Illinois, I came across this rest stop.  I tend to stop a lot when I am driving by myself.  

This is one fine rest area!!  There was a trail called Pioneer Cemetery Trail and I decided to take it!  The walk would be good and I love old cemeteries!

I almost turned around.  It felt rather spooky being by myself in this wooded area.  Anyone could lurk around here.....  I decided I would go just a little more, and I was glad I did.

Hard to read the sign below, so here is what it says:  Edward M. Wilson's family members and others.  Some in unmarked graves.  Sleep the eternal rest in this place.  Wilson's history was carved in stone on his grave marker.  He came to the United States from Ireland in 1802, when he was seventeen years old.  He fought the British in the War of 1812.  In 1832 he came to Vermilion County and began purchasing land from the government for $1.25 per acre.  He farmed the land and eventually owned more than a thousand acres, including the land where the rest area and this cemetery are located.

The pioneer salt works were located in the river valley below the cemetery not far from this spot, and thousands of bushels of salt were being rendered each year.  One of the original rendering kettles from the salt works can be seen at the rest area.

The large granite marker is a replica of Wilson's original stone with his wife's information added.  It marks the grave of the Irish immigrant who fought in the battle where Francis Scott Key composed the Star Spangled Banner, and whose children were represented in court by Abraham Lincoln.

Loving this road trip!

I arrived in Hannibal just as the sun was setting.  Ready for a night's rest.
 

Uncle Mahlon Geiger

 We celebrated Uncle Wally's life.  He lived well.

After Bible college, he and Aunt Wanda went to France and served as missionaries for 40 years with TEAM Missions.  Below is a picture taken before they left for France.  My grandpa and grandma are on the right; Monroe and Anna.

Here he is as a child.

Brothers

Brothers, grown up.

The picture below is from back in October, 2013, when my mother was still living.  Uncle Wally and Uncle Mahlon came to visit us in Kansas.

Now, only Uncle Mahlon and Aunt Anne are alive.  Wait, not true!  Mom, Dad, Uncle Wally and Aunt Wanda are more alive than ever!!!

Saying our good-byes.

Nancy, my cousin, spoke such gracious words at the service.  My cousin's son, Devereux, played the piano and his wife sang Great is Thy Faithfulness.  Nancy's husband, Rob, gave a sweet talk.  Rob is a Presbyterian pastor and he told the story of how Uncle Wally, who is Mennonite, once told Rob that he had a book called "What The Bible Says of Infant Baptism".  He was handed this book and when he opened it up, it was filled with blank pages!  We all got a good laugh over that!  Uncle Wally was quite a jokester!  

And he loved to whistle!  You would hear him whistle all the time!  Often not even a tune.  Just a straight long note.

When Uncle Wally and Aunt Wanda returned to the States, they debated about which church to attend.  Uncle Wally wanted to go to St. John Mennonite, where he grew up and Aunt Wanda wanted to go to her church, the Ebeneezer Mennonite Church.  Rob said that although they did attend St. John all these years, Aunt Wanda got the last laugh because they were buried at Ebeneezer!

I was surprised to see Rev. Tschetter's grave!  They were good friends of my parents.  He also pastored the church that Allen grew up in for a while.

I saw a pile of old cemetery gravestones in a pile.   The undertaker told me that the church had begun a project to clean these old stones and reset them.  Some were all broken apart.   Some are illegible.  They don't know who is buried in the spot where they were.  But the Lord knows who is buried there and one day He will come for His own!!  I hope it is a project that will one day be restarted so the people can get their headstones put back in place!

The church provided the family a meal for after the funeral at Uncle Mahlon's house.  The pastor took a family photo of all of us in front of the old barn.

"Nancy, let's go into the barn!"

There is nothing like the smells of that barn to bring back memories!!

We used to climb up that ladder when we were kids.

See the double-door?  

My mom had told me they used to jump out of that onto hay bales below.

It's a long ways down!!

A hand-crank drill that grandpa and great-grandpa used.

It was neat to see the toys that my great-grandpa Aaron made.

That evening, those who were still around went out to eat in Bluffton.

One fun memory of our time together is how some of the cousins ate a peanut butter and jelly burger.  Ever heard of this??

What a precious time to be with family!  And to thank the Lord for Uncle Wally's life and the impact he made for the Kingdom!