We're Back!!

I have to apologize profusely to all our faithful readers. I know I have missed filling you in on two day's worth of excitement. But...I have excuses! First night...we were just too exhausted from everything that we had done, and fell asleep shortly after we crawled back from dinner. Second night...the power adapter for the laptop went south. Just like that (snap fingers) it quit. (Kind of like us the night before.) I had replaced it only two months ago because the original power adapter had burnt out. Anyway, that's the excuse...now here's the story!

On Tuesday morning in Memphis we arose bright and early. We had breakfast, packed up the car, and journeyed over to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. We spent several hours wandering through the museum reading about the heritage of soul, and listening to the music of some of the great (any some of the obscure) musician of the 40's through 60's.

The Stax Record Company on McLemore Ave & College St.

After we finished with the Stax Museum, we headed over

to Corky's Ribs & BBQ for lunch.

In this picture the place looks deserted, but believe me, when we came in at 2pm the restaurant was packed. The ribs were very good, I had mine Memphis style...dry rub. Karen had a smoked turkey sandwich. 

This is a view of the Mississippi River from a small park in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The travel books all said it has a spectacular view of the river. We spent about 30 minutes hunting for the park, taking wrong turns and deadends. Finally found it and yes it has a view...spectacular...maybe.

Same park, little higher elevation.

This is Maj. Louis Lorimer. Not the real guy (like stuffed and mounted), but carved from a stump. He had a fort and trading post near the park's location.

This is the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. It was opened in December 2003, between Cape Girardeau, MO and East Cape Girardeau, IL.

On Wednesday morning we drove about 40 miles north to Perryville, Mo. Perryville is home to a great many of my (John's) distant relatives. The connection is through my maternal grandmother, Magdalena Gotto. There are many Gotto's still in the area.

This is the Perryville Courthouse.

The following photos show the streets around the courthouse square.

We had the pleasure of visiting with some of the Gotto family. They are a gregarious, warm, and welcoming family. We were expecting to just talk for a short while on family connections, but we were invited for dinner (Cowboy tacos...don't worry Leslie, I won't tell anyone the secret recipe) and spent over eight hours with them. We hope to visit with them again some day. Or maybe we can get them to come out to Oregon.

From left to right: Pam, Leslie, Becky & Danny

Becky is Pam & Leslie's daughter.

Danny is Leslie's brother.

There is a lot of the family we were not able to meet, but we hope to have the opportunity in the future.

There are many other branches of my family in Perryville as well. The Schindler's are another name on my tree. There are many with that name in the area.

So, that brings us up to today, Thursday. We had breakfast with Danny Gotto at one of his favorite haunts, the Park-Et Restaurant. After saying our good-byes, we headed off to a couple of local cemeteries so I could get photos of headstones of long ago relatives. I must have snapped close to three hundred photos. There were a lot of names I knew in those cemeteries. It was very hot and humid walking through the cemeteries, and by the time I was done I looked as though someone had tossed a bucket of water on me. Having planned on the fact that I sweat a lot anyway, and it was so dang humid, I had left a towel and a dry shirt in the car. This at least made the ride to Springfield a little more pleasant.

We are now in Springfield. Tomorrow we will see a couple of Lincoln monuments and museums, and visit the state Capitol. We will meet with the reunion crowd late tomorrow afternoon. Should prove to be a good and interesting time.

Til we meet again, I remain, your "Spirited" correspondent.