When You Care Enough...

...To Send the Very Best
The Hallmark Visitor Center is wonderful! The way that this (still) privately held, family run, $3.5 billion company nurtures creativity does a lot to explain its enduring success and appeal. They really seem to understand their customers and how their products meet people's needs.



This is part of a large display of Christmas trees, each made by the employees as a gift to the founder, J.C. Hall each year through his death in 1982. Many, many of the ornaments led to card lines, Keepsake ornaments, and other products.



Our favorite Hallmark characters--many of you have received a Hoops and YoYo greeting from us ;-)



...To Eat the Very Best
You'll drive through neighborhoods of condemned homes and afternoon street-side arrests to chase down the best BBQ in the world. We visited two places today--got a "sandwich" at each one. (The quotation marks are to indicate that these aren't traditional sandwiches. They're more like 1/2 loaf of Wonder bread piled high and soaked through with various kinds of BBQ meat.)

We didn't get a photo of Arthur Bryant's, although it's clearly famous and very crowded. The take-out sandwich we got (pulled pork) was wrapped in butcher paper and weighed easily several pounds. I felt as if I was carrying a football. Bought a bottle of the famous sauce (which was truly delicious) for making our own culinary creations as we travel onward.

Here at LCs, I had to run across a 4-lane highway to get BBQ, since the pie-shaped parking lot was not gonna hold the Navion. Boy, was it worth it. Notice the smoke? The meat-smoker is smack dab in the middle of the restaurant, holding the most succulent meats I've ever seen. Our burnt end sandwich was a perfect blend of crunchy and juicy, black and red, chewy and tender.



In neither of these places did I feel emboldened to use the camera, though....

Tonight, we are at an RV park (sigh) in Carthage, MO. Had to do laundry, but are most disappointed. After almost $10 in quarters (and not a one left), 2/3 of the clothes are still wet. The interior of our home looks pretty sad. Every door knob, hook, and hanger has been pressed into service. I'd take a picture, except Lisa has made me promise not to go near the precariously hung clothes line behind the cab seats. So I won't. Off to Hot Springs, Arkansas--a new state for our RV map!--tomorrow.