Thelma and Lousie Part Two AKA Buttercup and Daisy :)

Mary Ingalls. Laura's older sister.

OK me and "Butter" slept late cuz we had an exhausting couple of days( not sure what our excuses were the rest of the trip) But we new our next destination and that it would not take very long to get there.

It was The Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, which in Laura's Little House books was referred to as the Blind School in Iowa. They all saved their money and went without many necessities so that sister Mary could attend, after going blind from what was probably encephalitis or meningitis.(although in the books Laura said Measles)

It's in a lovely little town in Northern Iowa called Vinton. The people of the town were very nice. Vinton is located on the Cedar River which had some flooding problems this year.

Another little quirky fact about Vinton is that the Courthouse was featured in the 1996 John Travolta film called "Michael"! along with a few other rural scenes. Since I don't know the movie it doesn't mean much,but I intend to see it now if I can rent it!

This is how the school looked at the time Mary attended, which is not a great deal different from how it looks today.

They have changed the name to The Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School. The "Sight Saving" is because they evaluate children and see if they can be fitted for glasses that can help them and a few other medical procedures.

We did not go in to the School since it is out for the summer. (Probably would not if it had been open) but I think if we had to do it again we would be braver and ask if we could go in and look around. This was our first "official" stop and we were not as sure of ourselves as we got at the weeks went on :) We knew by the internet that there were no "official" tours.

The School was open in 1852. Mary attended between 1881 and 1889 missing one year because of illness or lack of funds. She was never well and suffered facial pain and after completing college she was taken to Chicago to relieve it. She suffered many strokes and eventually died after suffering one when she was in her early 60's.

Contrary to the silly way she was portrayed in the TV show Mary was a very serene serious young woman, who accepted her fate with great courage. Laura always looked up to her. She helped support the family by giving music lessons and making things with beads that she learned at the Iowa Blind school.

She lived with her Mother until her mother's death and then went to sister Carrie's home but suffered several strokes and within a few years of losing her Mother, Mary also passed away.

I loved the pattern and the old bricks that this school was made of. Every view was something to look at, something very pretty. There was some construction going on but you could still vision Mary walking those grounds and around the walk way.

We had our own picnic lunch at the Kiwanis Club park which is right by the school.

He joined us for lunch :)

I have read since returning that there is a chance this school could be closed, along with the School for the Deaf. I hope that doesn't happen.

And after our picnic we were OFF! and we landed in.................... INDEPENDENCE ~

I wonder how many Independence's their are in this country, I know we were in two! Actually I do know, there are 16!

This Independence is one of the coolest little towns we stayed in. The first thing we did was go to a fast food place and in came a young Amish couple with a baby. I had to hang on to Buttercup cuz she WAS going to snatch that baby! She was dressed like you would dress a doll to look like an Amish baby. I think what I loved most was her little black socks and her chubby bare legs under her little blue dress. Unlike the Amish baby in the following picture, OUR baby had a white bonnet on and she had little black ringlets on her forehead. So cute we could not take our eyes off of her! And then they got up and left with her!

The Wapsipinicon River flows thru the heart of Independence. The legend of the River's name is a love story similar to that of Romeo and Juliet. A young Indian brave named Wapsi and an Indian maiden named Pinicon from opposing tribes fell in love. They tried to run away. When they were about to be caught they jumped to their death. "The murmuring river was singing their funeral chant. Without a word, the devoted lovers plunged into the river. Her father arrived to see them struggling in the water, sinking and rising and with one last gasp they sank"

The Wapsinpinicon River and dam.

The Wapsinpinicon Mill is located on the dam. It is celebrating it's 150th anniversary this year. I think the festivities were in a couple of weeks. Seemed like we missed every celebration! Which was really ok, it was very hot!

They make poultry and stock feed. It is on the National Registry of Historical places. There is also a museum there.

Because we stopped early enough we went walking down by the River and to the little park. I really beautiful little park.

The Motel that we stayed at was certainly not the fanciest but you could tell they had at some point tried to make it a lovely place. It still was but needed a little TLC.

We found out later that Independence has one of the largest Conservative Amish groups right outside of town. But we didn't know that so we didn't get to go see them :( Although on our trip we saw several.

There is also an old hospital that opened in 1873 under the name "Iowa Hospital for Insane" and they have tours! I can't believe Buttercup missed THAT opportunity!

Thelma and Lousie take on the Midwest AKA as Daisy & Buttercup

I'm thinking I really need to really back up. In 1949 when I was only 9 years old my Auntie Lou gave me "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder for Christmas. Now I will be the first to admit that I wasn't then nor now a 'big' reader. I read a little something most days but I'm far from a book worm.

When I was a kid I had way too many things racing thru my head. I don't think I was inside from sun up till sun down. But I fell in love with this little girl named "Laura" and I wished that I could have lived when she did, it sounded like so much fun(at that time). And my grandmother told me about similar stories that she and her mother went thru coming west.

Every year for the next 5 years I got a book from my Auntie Lou in the "Little House" series. THEN I got in my head that I'd rather have clothes then books! So I don't have the complete set of first editions! But I have most of them:)

Then came a long a little niece named Nikki, who's Mother(my sister) bought her a set when she was a little girl and she fell in love with them too. She and I have talked about Laura and the Little Houses for years. Several years ago we decided "someday" we were going to go visit all the places. Now I have been to a couple, one with my husband but it was pouring down rain and the other on the last trip I ever took my Mother on. She just loved it and I nearly had to drag her out of the museum in Missouri.

So this last year we(Nikki & I decided) we really better go if were going. Time marches on and who knows what the future holds. So save and save we did. We opened our own Credit Union Account and by saving all the little extras AND Uncle Brownie renting us a car(I think he thought we were going to wreck his) we made our plans and off we Went!

We had had a very busy couple of weeks, trying to plan this trip, get clothes gathered up, plans made, graduations to attend and stay RESTED! But we made it. And on Memorial Day off me and UB took off for the Airport to meet Buttercup :) And there she was just dragging herself down the airport walk yapping on the phone ~

After some confusion about which car we had rented and for how much we got a great Ford Escape! It was perfect for what we needed. Seats laid down and all our stuff packed in neat as a pin ... and you KNOW it stayed that way:) There also was this little matter of two keys given us that were welded together. We wondered later, just how that would have helped us.

It was hot VERY HOT but we said our goodbyes and headed out of town. Since it was already almost evening we stopped fairly soon cuz Buttercup had not really eaten and she needed her strength since she was going to have to do all the driving :( She didn't mind.

We got to the Ky border about dark and found a nice place to stay in Oak Grove(which isn't easy if you know anything about Oak grove)

Of course as we are unloading to get organized Buttercup notices this strange sweet smell and feel to her cosmetic bag. Someone forgot to screw on the shampoo lid..heheheheh.. Actually it got everything very clean and nothing was TOO badly damaged.



We were RUDELY awakened at 8 ish by a leaf blower! Actually it was earlier then that but I think that was as long as we could stand it. Some poor mother trying to get her baby back to sleep came out and screamed at them and they decided it was a tad early to be doing that in front of a motel!

Here we our, Our very own Self Portrait Buttercup and Daisy. Daisy, you will notice IS dressed for the heat!

We wanted to get a photo of every state we entered but we went whizzing by KY or it was dark, not sure which.

Illinois was very beautiful, what we saw of it but we were not there but I think about 2 hours. This is where we started seeing ROADKILL! Now Roadkill has never been humorous but after 16 days or so of it and trying to spot the most unusual and bizarre things it became hysterical. So we started keeping track of them(or Buttercup did in her blog) We also counted other things besides license plates but we won't go in to that :)

But what we started to see in Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri was TURTLES~! yes you read that right. Remember this was the end of May the first of June and they were just in the recovery stages of the Mississippi River flooding and all the waterways surrounding it. So I'm guessing that the turtles got washed up or perhaps they were running for higher ground! Whichever, they didn't make it :( I think we saw one live one there and a big snapping turtle somewhere else.

And then we approached St. Louis.... ahhhh St. Louis, with the Arch ya know.

I think this is the first picture of the Arch a long with the string of construction that incorporates EVERY town, city, villa, hamlet, etc in the USA!



For some reason Dick(our GPS) could not seem to get the streets right and kept trying to send us back to Illinois~ Now we really liked Illinois but that was not our designation. But no matter HOW many times we punched in Vinton Iowa it would send us back to Illinois! And that was the "Bridge of Contruction!" Finally I looked at a real live map and we escaped!

St. Louis has some cool old cobblestone streets, in parts if the city I'd never visited before!

Ahhhhhhhh yes I think this was one of the final views of the historic Archway to the West that we saw! Somewhere in the bowels of St. Louis :)

The rest of the day was filled with beautiful scenery and roadkill turtles! But we found the most lovely little town that some day I'd like to go back to visit! Hannibal Missouri! Home of Samuel Clemons as a boy and where his "Mark Twain" stories were set.

We had a terrible time finding a motel in that town but we did finally and all was well. Buttercup didn't want to stay near the noise of the interstate so we toured Hannibal several times before we decided on............. you guessed it a motel near the interstate! I am not a Bed and Breakfast person and Buttercup didn't get a say in this so,,,,,,,,,, Good Dinner and off to bed!

Things I've learned or rediscovered :)a prelude to Buttercup and Miss Daisy's Laura Trip :)

AND HERE WE ARE ALL PACKED UP AND READY TO GO! This is how Buttercup's friends think we went :) Aren't we adorab

I did not know that herds of turtles stormed the highways in Ky, Mo and Illinois to "escape" the floods. At least 764 cracked and splattered turtles later perhaps they learned to just ride out the waves!

I did not know there were 83 different views of the Arch in St. Louis. but my Buttercup found them all! :

That there were hundreds of bard quilts in Mo. Ill and Iowa. Of course Buttercup only would stop at about 5, but there WERE that many!

There are very scary things standing by the Mississippi River!

PHOTO OP!!!!

Frightening Storms come up in the mid west. But kinda cool too:)

Have you ever seen anything this cute in your life ;-)

If we saw a sign ANY sign with Nikki, Nicollett, Nicole..etc.

This is only one sign we photographed in many directions if it was even REMOTELY Buttercup's name! One time she turned around 5 times to get just the right shot!

These are called "Pot Holes" up there if they are drained. We have pot holes in our streets!

We drove over a thousand miles to Pepin Wisconsin to see the Little House in the Big Woods and they were having a FISHING TOURNAMENT! We had to go back to Minnesota to find a room!

This is on a Thurs. and we were told they were "practicing".. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

Minnesota's state bird is the GNAT! and 5 katrillion bit hunks out of me!

And Suzy laughed hysterically and rudely at me! I could hear her all the way from Mississippi!

Buttercup made her own corn cob doll. Aren't they just precious!!!!!!??

Yes that temperature is correct. Who knew??????? of course I WANTED to go the end of June when it was cooler, but noooooooooo

Sod houses smell like DIRT! and I'm pretty sure they have worms in them!

How can a town get lost twice. Once by a tornado and once by us :)

There are horses called Missouri Fox trotters and

they live in Missiouri.. How would I know???

I live in Tennessee

There are white Pelicans on fresh water! I thought it was a deformed Swan!

I found the sweetest little bunny by the road but Buttercup said it had rabies so I had to leave it for the hawks to eat

Some people REALLY liked bowling!

That Silo's can be made of brick and have tree's growing out of them!

That pigeons pooped on Laura's HEAD!

How did we get to Hollywood and see King Kong?????

If anyone tells you that you look like a Horses Rear End, this is what you look like!

That flags could have 48 stars :) actually I remember this~

I've seen the aftermath of many tornado's but I've never smelled death,(Joplin)

Someone would actually CHOOSE to drive a car that looks like a SKUNK!

We went where???????

More about Letter boxing then I ever expected!

That my Buttercup would deface "The Kings" wall!

That I would be drug thru Memphis TN when it was 110 degrees!

That we were going to Mississippi!

But with all this I remained with my normal sweet precious disposition :)

But mostly I learned that I have the sweetest niece in the world that took me on the trip of a life time. Not just what we saw but how we saw it and how we shared it. Thank you my Buttercup :)