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Friends,

Today was an easy day. No damage, no crazy events, just a normal day.

You guessed it, we spent the night at a Kansas Walmart and hit the road early. By late morning we were in Missouri.

Kansas City was our destination and as soon as we got there, we found a statue. We are suckers for statues. Somebody worked really hard to build it, and other people worked even harder to inspire its creation, so we feel obligated to take a minute out of our comfy lives to receive the message that a statue has to offer.

In addition to a statue, we stumbled upon the Tenth District Federal Reserve Bank. We went inside to take the tour, but our camera was not welcome. They had a fleet of robotic fork lifts that were moving pallets of money from one place to another. They had a solid gold bar on display that was worth $519, 222.00 at the moment we were standing there. Tomorrow's value will be different, depending on gold prices.

The real reason we were in Kansas City was to see the National World War One Museum. We've been to a lot of Museums over the years, and this one may very well be the finest we've ever seen. We had the added pleasure of sharing it with the L. family of Excelsior Springs, MO.

We are real museum buffs. If you ever go to one with us, plan on being there a while. We look at everything!!

They brought out the big guns when they built this place.

It was Ben's idea to visit this particular museum. WW I is his favorite period in military history. Ordinarily I would have him jump in here to comment, but he's on the phone with Tiffany.

I (Thomas), however, am not on the phone with my future wife, so I can write the caption for my photo. One of my absolute favorite movies is Sergeant York with Gary Cooper. At the museum, they had a temporary display of the Oscar that Gary Cooper received for his performance in the production. I had to get a picture with that piece of history. And yes... some would say this is a picture of Oscar and the Grouch.

We took a break and had lunch in the RV. You can stuff a lot of people in the RV when they are little.

Once rested, it was back to the museum. Remember the tall spire in photo #4? It has an elevator in it. There is a great view to be had when you are 217 feet in the air.

The mighty view is equaled by a mighty wind. Laura's hair doesn't lie.

I stayed behind in order to get an unusual photo of the family. Matthew and Ben were distracted and unavailable for the shot.

Let's zoom in a little.

And a little more.

Can anyone tell me why we took this photo?

This is the base of the spire.

After a full day of museum crawling, we went back to the L. family home for a wonderful meal of chicken enchiladas with Spanish rice and salad, and equally wonderful fellowship.

WW I was so long ago that it is easy to strip away the human element from what occurred there. Please always remember that valiant soldiers surrendered their lives, their future, their personal dreams, plans and ambitions for the greater good of our nation and the world. They were real people and here are just a few of their names. They are gone, but what they accomplished endures. Be grateful.

Hec @ MO