Last eve in St. Louis

Our friends from the campground laundry came by Sunday night to have a drink with us. They are from France: Matthew (spelled different, in France, I'm sure; sorry Matthew) and Violene (and again I"m sorry if I didn't get it exactly correctly, my new Friend). They are VERY interesting young people, both journalists. Matthew is a newspaper journalist, and Violene is a TV journalist. Their jobs are very demanding: no less than 50 hours a week. This is their vacation, and they landed in NYC, and saw the sights. Matthew had been there before, but not Violene. Then they went to Chicago, and rented a car, and picked up Rt. 66. They're going across the country, tent camping on Rt. 66. They are so intelligent, and delightful to talk to. Very well educated on history of the world, and on world affairs. They had published a documentary on Israel. And we're invited to their house in Paris when we go there. Ours was their first taste of California wine. :-)

The second picture is the next day, as we are driving north on the Great River Road. The river is great, the road is not so great, but it was a wonderful, very slow, trip, with beautiful scenery along the MS River. We stopped in the town of Hannibal, MO, and visited all the Mark Twain sights there. Cute little town. The picture is of Dick standing in front of a statue of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Then on up north on the River Road, and decided to spend the night just into Iowa, in Keokuk, Iowa, right on the MS river. Some of the most beautiful old homes I've ever seen, and many of them built right on the huge bluff over looking the river. They could just sit on their back porches, sip their mint juleps, and gaze out over Ole Man River. Also there's a National Cemetery there, because the Yankees established a hospital there during the Civil War, and both North and South soldiers are buried there. It is among the 12 original National Cemeteries in the country. It was a beautiful, very clean and manicured little town.