Set back and grab a cuppa your favorite Gear Grease and look at getting back on the road to adventure. While the wife and I are far from being tourist we have been known to make rather sporadic side trips and find new and unusual routes to reach our destination. Some of which are casually planned while others are unexpected to say the least. The wife is an amazing navigator and ensures we reach our end goal in spite of me.
Our current trip will take us to Hannibal Missouri and Big River Steampunk festival. In this case both the journey and the destination are a part of the adventure. Our trip will kick off from our home base just this side of the Red River on the Oklahoma side and stop just this side of the Mississippi on the Missouri side which in essence means we will travel from one side to the other of both states. We will start our journey on the historical Jefferson Highway passing through McAlester which will host the Steampunk Stampede in April of 2024 and transfer over to the Historical Route 66 passing what many consider to be its birthplace in Springfield Mo. ending up in Historical Hannibal Mo. and home of Big River Steampunk Festival the largest outdoor gathering of this type in the US. Sorry folks Historical just seemed to be a key phrase I couldn't resist.
For some a trip is as simple as packing enough stuff to survive the weekend and hitting the road. Ours is a bit more complicated as not only do we need to pack for ourselves but the kids as well. This means allowing for any one of a dozen or so things which may occur and require extra clothing. How many stops should we plan for as this adds time to the already allotted time that google maps states it will take. I don't think they ever consider fuel stops or any other delays, but I still consider it a challenge to beat their suggested time. Once this is somewhat sorted out its time to figure out how to entertain said kids for a ten-hour road trip and wonder how many times, we will hear the legendary comment "Are we there yet?". Once we get this all figured out then its time to make sure everything for the show is ready and loaded along with our personal stuff so we can begin our journey and see whose but goes numb first.
Sometimes I wonder if it is all worth it and when asked all I can say is "And what give up show business?".
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