Drive & Visit To Proctor's Farm

Leaving Tomahawk Campground we drove to I-70, took the I-270 bypass around St. Louis and then rejoined I-70 west of the city. The traffic flow was good with no significant congestion so it was a relaxed (for me) drive. There have been some cities that are “white knuckle” experiences. It was more of a chore driving around Nashville. Of course, the time of day has a lot to do with it.






St. Louis has a lot of fond memories for Jackie & me. We spent our honeymoon here with our friends Dick & Wilma. Dick & I (and others on this distribution) went to Western Military Academy in Alton Ill. During our honeymoon one of the things I did at Mr. Proctors (Dick’s Dad) suggestion was to apply to Washington University. So a few months we quit our jobs, moved from Cleveland. Our son was born in St. Louis on Feb,1964, I had graduated about two weeks before and gone to work for Pratt & Whitney. It was a race between getting the first pay check and the birth of our son.
Other pictures can be seen at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jackbarbic/ToAtProctorSFarm#


It was about 120 miles from the camp ground so we were soon follow their car from the highway to the farm.

Now, the farm is a center for recreation. Riding trails, horses, ATV’s, boat, etc. It is definitely a place to have fun. It is a very impressive. Dick & Wilma showed us around and threatened to put us on horses. Now the last time I was on a horse was back in Military School and I ended up being dragged into the barn by the ferocious beast. That’s the last time I was on a horse, and I intend to keep it that way. At my age I just don’t bounce as well as I did back then. I did take a picture of Jackie when Dick was talking about her on a horse, I think the look on her face says it all.

We rode some of the trails on ATV’s. It was a lot of fun and very informative. I found out that ATV’s have several advantages over horses: 1) ATV’s have an On / Off switch, 2) they go when you push on the throttle, 3) they stop when you push on the brake, 4) they stay stopped and 50 they do not have a mind of their own and never try to be leader of the herd…. So there!

Their house is fantastic. The barn is bigger than my house. The newest horse trailer has two sections. The living quarters would get a 5 star rating if they were in a hotel. The same can be said for the part of the trailer that is dedicated to the horses. Wilma called it the Taj matrailer,,,,, that may be an understatement.

When we were in military school Dick’s nickname was “Snake”. So it seemed fitting that a local black snake would keep coming up to and hanging around the deck. Jackie & Wilma were sitting there and along comes the snake. After looking in the glass doors, it climbed up the wall and hung out there. They said they named the snake “Barack” . Barack Proctor,,,has a good ring to it, doesn’t it?

Jackie was remembering the days in St. Louis and how much we liked the “PT” (pork tenderloin) sandwiches, to which Dick & Wilma suggested we go to “Maggie’s” for what they rightfully described as a huge PT sandwich. Maggie’s is on I-70 Exit 175, so if you are driving by and are hungry, that’s the place to stop. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera to lunch so I didn’t get a picture of the four of us or the sandwiches.

All too soon it was time to go. And so, we continued, now heading for St. Joseph, MO.   http://picasaweb.google.com/jackbarbic/ToAtProctorSFarm#