NONNY AND HER THOUGHTS .....: A Tiny Vacation

Saturday, June 30, 2012

A Tiny Vacation

Our Tiny Vacation

After driving from our home in Wellington, Kansas to a funeral in Web City, Missouri, where my pastor-husband officiated, we decided we needed a "tiny vacation". After the emotions of the day we wanted to take a short break before going home.

We drove as far as the Joplin, Missouri area before stopping at a motel - WITH a pool. It was such a sweltering, humid day that a motel sans pool was not an option. After having cool showers and changing out of our sweaty clothes we went in search of supper. I was delighted to see one of our favorite restaurants close by: "Cracker Barrel". I love their "real" food, and their iced-tea is always perfect. ")

We returned to our room and changed into bathing suits for a plunge into the pool. The water felt so good, as it was still very hot and humid (the pool was inside). There was a bit of commotion as we got out of the pool, and a couple of guys told us that the electricity had gone out! Oh, no! Not on this horribly hot and humid evening. "There goes our tiny-vacation", I thought, "and I didn't even throw a flashlight in the bag as I usually do."

We made our way back to our room, opened the drapes to capture the last of the quickly-fading light and showered off the pool-water in the dark. After dressing again we followed the flashlights of others back to the lobby to see if there was any info about the electricity situation when, lo and behold, the lights and the air-conditioning returned! We were all a bunch of happy campers. No more problems after that. Seems the area our motel and a few other motels and restaurants were in had experienced a "brown-out" due to the high use of all the air-conditioners because of the high heat. (How did we ever survive days like that before air-conditioning???) It ended well, and we got a good night's rest. Slept late the next morning, leaving around eleven a.m. to leisurely head towards home.

Our "fun" on the way home was our stop in the pretty little town of Baxter Springs, Kansas. We've driven through Baxter Springs quite a few times over the years, always on the way to other places. This time we drove "into" the town, and stayed awhile. :) Baxter Springs is not only a pretty town, it holds much historical interest. If you ever go, visit the "Baxter Springs, Kansas Route 66 Visitor Center", on the main street, Military Ave., for lots of free information, coffee and conversation. The Visitor's Center is located in a refurbished Phillips 66 gas station that has been there since 1930. (Be sure and sign your name on the wall before leaving!)

Part of the original Route 66 runs through Baxter Springs. The town sees a lot of Route 66 history buffs. There is a Route 66 emphasis throughout the town.

Besides Route 66 history, you'll find Civil War history. One of the two Civil War battles fought in Kansas was in Baxter Springs. You will find "cow-town" history. American-Indian history. History connected to the criminals, Bonnie and Clyde, who robbed the same little grocery store in town twice in less than a week. And, for you baseball fans, well ... remember a player by the name of Mickey Mantle? He was the son of a miner from Commerce, Oklahoma - and he played for the semi-pro team named "Baxter Whiz Kids" before becoming a New York Yankee-er. A Baxter Springs brochure states that to the people in the town who knew him personally "he's still just 'Mickey' ."

There is also a first-class museum in Baxter Springs, second to none: "Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum". Lots of beautiful and interesting displays in a very beautiful building. Everything is artfully arranged, with lots of space for moving through the exhibits. Not to be missed.

We wanted, of course, to find a good place to have lunch. We found it. Actually, we had lunch at one place and dessert at another. Both were great. Lunch was at the "Cafe on the Route" cafe, run by Richard and Amy Sanell. They also operate "The Little Brick Inn" bed-and-breakfast - that we just might have to check out one day. You will find them at 1101 Military Ave., the main street (cafeontheroute.com and the littlebrickinn.com). It is a friendly cafe with a "real" chef who "really" knows how to cook. Try the smoked salmon, or the pecan chicken, as we did. Yum! This little cafe made big news a few years ago: they were featured on the Food Network - on the program where the guy travels around the country to different cafes, fast-foods, etc. You won't regret eating there.

Too full for dessert after lunch, we toured the museum, which helped build up our appetites again - just enough for dessert. SOooooo ... just up the street from "Cafe on the Route" is "Angels on the Route", another pleasant little cafe. Here you'll find sandwiches, soups, candy, coffee, frozen custard ... and ... malts and milkshakes! This cafe is at 1143 Military Ave., owned by Sue Gast and Sue Ramage (sblgast@pacbell.net). We were there for something cold and tasty and found just what we wanted: homemade malts in tall frosty glasses. Mine was strawberry - with REAL strawberries. It was so good. Reminded me of the homemade strawberry ice-cream we used to get at the "creamery" when I was a kid in Newport, Rhode Island. My husband had a maple-walnut malt, if I remember right. Of course, we had to taste each other's, agreeing they were both wonderful. :) As we sipped away at the "good-ness" we had some interesting conversation with one of the owners, as well as a customer who had come in.

Cold, frosty malts in a sweet little cafe with friendly people on a very hot day. Perfect. It was a good end to our Baxter Springs visit. If you make it to Baxter Springs don't miss the "Angels on the Route" cafe or the "Cafe on the Route" cafe. And tell them Sandy sent you!