the tour de missouri

in an effort to conserve gasoline, for the benefit of both the environment and my checking account, i am combining a number of fun summer activities and venturing forth on a tour of the great state of missouri.

A: the start [lee's summit]

B: salem camp reunion [high hill]

• i have a million memories of growing up at salem church. i love that place. while i don't know if i could actually pick a favorite memory, i know what would be pretty darn close to the top of the list...camp. i lived for camp. literally. one year i made a countdown when there were still like eighty five days to go. i cried every year when i got home because i wanted it to last forever. i didn't realize it at the time, but salem did camp in a special way. everyone went together, and i mean everyone. if you were six months old, you went. if you were thirteen, you went. if you were forty-seven, you went. if you were eighty-two, you went. everyone, all together, all week long. and it was awesome. i didn't even know that was unique until i was halfway through high school. so in honor of the church's 125th anniversary this year, they're bringing camp back. i'm actually getting pretty excited about it.

C: mom's house [st. charles]

• sometimes i like being at home for no particular reason. while i don't have a specific agenda, i am looking forward to spending a day with some friends i've known almost forever. also, i'm pretty confident i will be drafted into spending more than a few hours at church helping with vbs preparations. i might even get a little ambitious and try to paint a few closets at my mom's house in an effort to check something off my list.

D: float trip [richland]

• need i say more? we're celebrating my friend erica's birthday by floating down the gasconade river. this makes me exceedingly happy. i can think of no better way to celebrate anything.

E: the grob's house [lake of the ozarks]

• i like to consider this my personal resort. there are comfortable accommodations, the hammock is delightful, i am fed home cooked meals approximately every two hours and boat rides are included. the best part is they don't even charge me! i'm meeting missy and sophie there and we have a long list of things to do: lounge around, eat, play games, color, eat, ride on the boat, watch the bbc version of pride and prejudice [another item from the list] and then we'll probably eat.

F: the finish [lee's summit]