After a slow start on Wednesday morning we finally were on the road for our vacation by around 9:45. Destination Southeast Missouri, specifically Onondaga Cave State Park.
The first fun thing that happened is that, as we were traveling down the highway, an SUV pulled up beside us and the passengers started waving frantically at us. It took us a moment to realize it was our friend Billy, his fiancee Laura, and Laura's kids! We made a quick phone call to see what they were up to; they were also heading out for a family vacation.
He made the state capital, Jefferson City, by lunch time. We had recommendations from the Osage Bluff Quilter to eat at good barbecue joint, but Shane didn't feel confident maneuvering the RV in traffic, so we ate on the far edge of town at a little drive-in burger joint called Daisy Delight. It's a clean little place that's been in business since the mid-1950s. For that type of place, it was pretty good. I had the clam strips basket, while Shane ate a triple burger and Kat enjoyed a cod sandwich with fries. I learned a helpful tip there. Instead of dressing a whole batch of cole slaw with dressing, only to have it get watery, spoon a little dressing on top like you would dress a salad. Now, why didn't I think of that.
We reached our campground around 3:45 and were all set up in site 60 and playing in the Meramec River by 5:30 or so. Unfortunately, I didn't get any river pics that day.
I knew I wouldn't want to cook the first night at camp, so we had store bought pulled pork barbecue on buns, some potato salad I made at home, and some chips and dip. Since it was Kat's birthday, I made these little "cup" cakes for our dessert. I don't normally make things like this, but for camping, I make exceptions. This is called 3-2-1 Cake. It's just one box of angel food cake mix combined with 1 box of any flavor of cake mix (this time a "red, white and blue confetti" cake mix). Spoon 3 tablespoons of the combined mixes into a cup, stir in 2 tablespoons of water, and microwave for 1 minute. See, 3-2-1. Except this one seemed to work better as 3-1-1. Whatever. I topped them with just a spoonful of vanilla frosting and some patriotic sprinkles.
No campfire pics this trip, since we're under a statewide burn ban in the state parks. No big deal, since we're also under a heat advisory. No need for a cozy fire this week.
Oh yeah, this too.
