Joplin, Missouri

Please note that I do not have my fancy camera with me. Dave took one look at it and said "we don't have room for that". So I grabbed my little point and shoot, my old favorite that I recently found.....trouble is I've forgotten how to use the thing! I did grab the book so after I read it, I'll be posting some photos.

We left Oakland at 7:30 am which meant I had to crawl out of bed in the dark. Our friends arrived and we crawled in to SIL's truck for a ride to the airport when it was still dark. So by now you all know that I do not like to get up before the sun has warmed the Earth, and I no longer drink caffeine, so this is not my preferred way to begin an adventure.

We arrived in Kansas City, Missouri around 1pm local time, jumped in to the "party bus" from the local Harley dealer that picked us up and we were off. The dealership was really nice, people were great, and we were on our way by 2pm.

So off we go in the hottest part of the day in the middle of a heat wave with the sun beating down on us. It was so HOT! The temperature gauge on the bike was at full tilt, 120 degrees! It was really around 115+ but I have no idea how to factor in the humidity.

We arrived at our B&B at 5:30pm. What with the heat, humidity, and wearing a cooling vest, let's just say that we all looked like we were rode hard and put away wet.....because, well, that's exactly what happened! I had time to climb in the shower with the water on absolute cold to bring my body temperature down and then we were off to dinner with Dave's family. Fortunately they picked us up and we didn't get back on the bike.

I could barely eat because I was exhausted and hot. I drank about a gallon of water and at half a quesadilla....Dave had a grand time. He's a lizard, the heat doesn't bother him...at all. We had fun visiting with the family and then they gave us a quick tour of the tornado devastation.

It has been two months and they've already made great head way in cleaning up the area, which is about 30% of the city of Joplin. They've even begun to rebuild. There's a lot of confusion because the people want to build and the government wants to change the building codes. They'll work it out. Also, there's some dickering with the insurance companies. At least 40% of the homes were not insured. They were owned by slum land lords and it wasn't worth it to insure the structure. In a couple of years the place may be totally new!

Home Depot, WalMart, and JoAnn's are totally ruined, but Hobby Lobby next door is untouched! Home Depot & WalMart are rebuilding already. The place looks like a new city where things are cleared, and like it was bombed in the places where they've done nothing. The trees are splintered or totally uprooted. The community and surrounding areas are being very supportive.