Just Taking in the Sites Along the Way

In the tiny town of St. Mary, Missouri there is a gigantic antique Mall that we have visited before on one of our trips.  They converted an old grade school into a mall with over 600 dealers.  Last time we was there I bought a beautiful handmade quilt for a very reasonable price.  Didn't buy much this time...guess I have everything I need.

It seemed like...all the way through Missouri we would see these beautiful blooming crab apple trees.  The were everywhere,

even along the interstate.

All these old buildings and farms will be totally gone in a matter of years and wiped from history (unless someone has put them in the town's archives).  It's sad to think that future generations will not see these small farms dotting the horizons of the United States.  More of the past disappering. When I take a picture of these old farms...it gives me a feeling of preserving them a little while longer...somehow.

Passed through Mark Twain's town of  Hannibal, Missouri, neat old river town. 

You can almost see Tom and Huck walking the streets of Hannibal, finding unexpected trouble they always seemed to get themselves into.

The downtown has some great architecture

of the 1800's to enjoy.

Talk about "Small Town American."  Mt. Pleasant, Iowa fits right into that category!  We asked an older man in an antique store near the downtown area if there was a place to eat at, going out of town.  He said he rarely gets out of town.  We drove there and found that there were  lots of places to eat and motels to spend the night at.  Wonder if that old guy in the old part of town knows that there is a whole new part of town in the 21st century,

less than 2 miles down the road?

This town does have a great museum of old farm machinery.  They also hold a "Thresheree" in the summer for those interested in agriculture.  If you find yourself in Mt. Pleasant and want to visit these sites....just stop in at the antique store and ask the old man for directions.  He'll know where it is because it is on the old side of town :-)

The old side of town does have it's beauty, even though it doesn't have the new restaurants and motels.  You won't find these gorgeous blooming trees on the new side of town.  I guess the old guy has his reasons for not leaving his side of town... maybe this is one.