Ohio Trip 2019: Part 4 - Cabin in the Woods
From Kansas City we got back on US 50 heading east. Our destination for the night was Vandalia, Illinois, but we took time during a lunch stop to walk around Jefferson City, Missouri.
Our route was about six and a half hours of driving. While taking I-70 would have been less than five hours, sticking to backroads was a much more enjoyable drive from the lighter traffic to the scenic views, passing through small towns with lots of character. On the way to Jefferson City, we passed through the town of Tipton, population 3,262, according to their road sign, with their Eight Ball water tower. You don’t get to see that from I-70!
In Jefferson City we found a nice park to have a picnic, McClung Park, which overlooks Lincoln University. We ate in the old stone picnic shelter that was built in 1915. There was also an old dance hall that appeared to be rented out for an event that day, but we were able to sneak in and use the restrooms. A trail led off into a small wooded area, but we were not up for a muddy adventure. Instead we just enjoyed viewing the redbud trees that were in full bloom surrounding the parking lot.
After lunch we drove downtown near the Missouri River to take a stroll down East Capitol Avenue. Between the old State Penitentiary and the Governor’s Mansion, the street is lined with some old houses that look like they were quite grand in their day, but today most of them are in desperate need of repair and some of them look vacant or condemned. You would think, due to their history and location, that people would be investing money into these houses so we were not sure why that is not the case. A little research revealed that the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation placed the East Capitol Avenue Historic District on its 2018 Places in Peril list and efforts are being made to try to save these buildings and their history (2018 news article).
The Governor’s Mansion on the other hand was gorgeous. There are public tours of the inside, but we just admired it from the outside. The groundskeepers were busy planting flowers and there were tulips everywhere. One of the tour guides tried to talk us into taking a tour. We might have taken her up on it, but we wanted to get to Vandalia before dark. According to the Missouri State Park website, the mansion tours are run by the Missouri State Parks and all visitors are required to have reservations at least 24 hours in advance. However, it looked like several school groups were taking tours, so we’re guessing that the tour guide was going to let us tag along, but we declined.
We continued down Capitol Avenue to the State Capitol building. Unfortunately, most of the building was covered in scaffolding and tarps, but the grounds around the Capitol were nice. In addition to the Lewis and Clark monument, there was a memorial dedicated to the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDot) employees who lost their lives on the job. After enjoying the fountains and more tulips around the Capitol, we walked down the length of High Street to get back to our car. While the old buildings surrounding the Capitol were on more of a grand scale, the old store fronts along East High Street had more of a small town feel, except for the imposing Cole County Circuit Courthouse. After passing the pretty red brick Grace Episcopal Church, we headed back to Capitol Avenue where our car was parked and got back on the road.
In order to save some money and to create more of an adventure, we did not stay at any hotels on our Ohio trip. The first night was in a Kansas State Park cabin. For the rest of the trip, for the nights we were not staying with relatives, we booked places to stay with AirBnb. Vandalia was our first experience in an AirBnb and we were thoroughly impressed. Our reservation was for a rustic cabin. When the cabin came into view as we were driving down the country road, the word “Wow” spontaneously popped out of Right Buddy’s mouth. As we got closer, RB could not stop saying “Wow!”. The cabin was set back from the road in the trees, with the ground beneath the trees covered with daffodils. It was a fairy tale setting.
Keep in mind, this was not a three star hotel accommodation, but we were not paying hotel rates either. The cabin was an old rustic log cabin that might remind you of your grandfather’s fishing cabin, but it had everything we needed. There was a comfortable bed, refrigerator, stove, microwave, and bathroom with a shower. The bathroom looked like it was not original to the cabin, but was added later, as you have to go through the screened porch to get to it, but the water was hot. There is no sink inside the cabin other than the one in the bathroom, so we washed our dishes in the wash basins provided on the porch. Since we are used to camping, we felt right at home. If you want a memorable stay with lots of character, this is the place. RB snapped off as many pictures as she could before the sun set, but then had another chance the following morning in bright sunlight. LB had a hard time getting her to stop taking pictures in the morning and get into the car so they could continue their journey.
(RB)