Fall Break - Part 1

A few years ago, after moving to Indiana, we followed the advice on the license plates that read, "Wander Indiana." That roaming made us somewhat familiar with our new state of residence. Recently we realized that we knew the geography of the country to the east, southeast, north, northeast and a little south but had skipped over going near-west (young man that we weren't) and had hopped over to the west coast, missing a large portion of the country in-between.

Upon further discussion, we realized that we had seen more foreign capitals than we had the capitals of our own 50 states. Memory served that we had been in the large metropolitan area of many states but not so the political centers. To remedy this lapse in our education we headed to the closest capital west, Jefferson City, Missouri.

There was no agenda just a slow meandering west around St. Louis and into the heartland of Missouri where the leaves were at their Fall-color finest.

Jefferson City, a city of 43,000on the Missouri River, was named after Thomas Jefferson. The Osage Indians met the pioneers as the pioneers were heading west. We all know how that turned out for the Osage.

Some pretty important people have come from Jefferson City: football and baseball players, Nobel Laureates, poets. Seven colleges and universities have branches there.

Our stay included two-nights at the circular hotel downtown. Choosing the up-charge, we had a view of the capital. And the state parking deck. The police station and the jail. Because the hotel was not square, all the rooms were shaped like parallelograms. A lamp was required to navigate the angles with shins intact.The restaurant at the top of the hotel, accessible by key-card only, was quite nice. I don't know how far the calamari had to travel to get to the mid-west but it was delicious.


We were excited to find a community theater that had a performance while we were there and ordered tickets over the internet by simply typing in our name and the number 2. No pre-payment required. The Stained Glass Theatre of Mid-Missouri is, as you might have guessed, a Christian-based group. The play being offered while we were there was, "Slowly I turned, step by step, inch by inch..." set in the courtyard of a "small, flourishing Koffee Shoppe, which is cloistered among other businesses along a cobbled stone lane in a small villa in Little Italy, USA." The 150 seats were mostly filled. The director proudly introduced herself before Act 1.We didn't see her again. And then the emoting began. Over the top gestures, shrill voices, it was a sight to behold and hear. We stayed for all three acts because, well...it was the only thing to do in Jefferson City that evening. Great potential with the theater itself; some work needed to be done with the troupe. And yet, the crowd loved it. Were they all relatives, I wondered?

The next day we spent at the capital, a lovely building and grounds that appropriately reflect and honor the people of the state of Missouri. Around the perimeter of the capital are memorials to all those Missourians who served in wars, even the War Between the States, which split families apart as sons chose different sides of the battle. Inside there were murals and photos and hands-on exhibits for kids...and husbands. One alcove presented the history of women from Missouri who had become famous: actors, aviators, educators, writers. I thought the alcove was a little far away from the rotunda but was pleased that these women had been honored.
 

And in every direction ran warrens of long marble hallways with ten-foot doors leading off into offices of the inter sanctum of state government.

It reminded me that my own father's photo hangs in the state house in Columbus, Ohio, albeit a group shot of the pages working in the senate. Still there he is, a fresh-faced teenager with big plans for his life.

Jefferson City was a good start to our meandering through Missouri. And that's what I think about it.