Day 7: Stuck in the Midwest with you
ROGERS AR -- Our first stop today was in Columbia, where Chad's MU (Marshall) met a bigger MU (Missouri). The Tigers defeated the Herd, as Mizzou's campus was under off-season construction, forcing Chad in/through/around buildings to get to the bookstore. There, a camouflaged elevator door convinced Chad that the split-level bookstore was not accessible.
We then moved down to Jefferson City where, most impressively, the capitol dome was visible from some four miles away on US 63. (Granted, the Missouri River valley makes the whole area flat, but still....) After some wandering around, we had lunch at a nice little café called Madison's.
Heading south toward Springfield, things fell apart when we hit Osage Beach, focus city for the Lake of the Ozarks. Summer traffic, combined with road construction, caused a monster traffic jam. (It didn't help that we had to pull off for gas, and then crawl back on the road.)
Subsequently, we were playing catch-up to our airport departure time minus an hour, and though I was nearing an 80 mph average on the interstate, strings of tractor trailers weren't helping. So when we did reach Springfield, I made the executive decision that we wouldn't make it, and put Chad to work on the phone, rescheduling our flight.
When I purchased the tickets earlier this year, Chad got in on a special rate as the traveling companion of a frequent-flier cardholder. Well, as per the rules on the rate special, that got null-and-voided once we had to reschedule, and Chad's new ticket came in at the full-fare-for-a-next-day's-ticket price of $875; mine was $475. As this was his birthday present, I gratefully covered the expenses. You may say, "Brad, that's way too much", to which I respond, "It's going on my frequent-flier credit card, so I get points, and I have the money to cover it." (A bit of a hit to the account? Yes, but that's why we save money for emergencies, kiddies.)
So instead of flying home, it was a no-stress evening at the hotel. Chad caught up on his e-mails, and I went across the street to see an Eclipse.
We then moved down to Jefferson City where, most impressively, the capitol dome was visible from some four miles away on US 63. (Granted, the Missouri River valley makes the whole area flat, but still....) After some wandering around, we had lunch at a nice little café called Madison's.
Heading south toward Springfield, things fell apart when we hit Osage Beach, focus city for the Lake of the Ozarks. Summer traffic, combined with road construction, caused a monster traffic jam. (It didn't help that we had to pull off for gas, and then crawl back on the road.)
Subsequently, we were playing catch-up to our airport departure time minus an hour, and though I was nearing an 80 mph average on the interstate, strings of tractor trailers weren't helping. So when we did reach Springfield, I made the executive decision that we wouldn't make it, and put Chad to work on the phone, rescheduling our flight.
When I purchased the tickets earlier this year, Chad got in on a special rate as the traveling companion of a frequent-flier cardholder. Well, as per the rules on the rate special, that got null-and-voided once we had to reschedule, and Chad's new ticket came in at the full-fare-for-a-next-day's-ticket price of $875; mine was $475. As this was his birthday present, I gratefully covered the expenses. You may say, "Brad, that's way too much", to which I respond, "It's going on my frequent-flier credit card, so I get points, and I have the money to cover it." (A bit of a hit to the account? Yes, but that's why we save money for emergencies, kiddies.)
So instead of flying home, it was a no-stress evening at the hotel. Chad caught up on his e-mails, and I went across the street to see an Eclipse.