Leaving Forest City--Time to Start the Trek toward Home

After spending Thursday night in the WIT campsite, Bob and I got an early start south. Our next major stop would be Siloam Springs, Arkansas to visit his parents. Our first night we stopped in Osceola, Iowa at Lakeside Casino. We were going to camp in the casino campground, but it was being paved....we didn't want to take Sol through the fresh tar.  Bob talked with the valet  and he told us we could park in the northwest side of the parking lot with no problem, so we did. After we got settled, it was off to find a place to buy groceries and fill the car with gas. Of course, we made a visit to the casino and played some slots to pass some time. Once again, we came out winners (we didn't lose the money we went in with, but we didn't hit the jackpot either!).

Friday morning, I called a Harvest Host provider and found our spot for that night. So off we went in Sol, headed to Rayville, Missouri, not far from Kansas City. We chose to stay at Van Till Family Farm Winery. When you look at the map, you will see that Rayville is way out in the country. It was quite a drive getting there, but well worth it! The owner had us park near a part of the vineyard close to the tasting room. While we were there, no one drove down the road next to us.

On the other side of Sol was a small pond.

We got settled, then went to look around the shop and restaurant. The tasting room was packed and there was a special event in the room next door. The wood fired oven was blazing in the restaurant and pizza was being served. We decided to wait until later in the evening to have one of the wood fired pizzas. Once we decided we were hungry for pizza, we found out the place is a popular spot for locals on the nights pizza is served (Fridays and Saturdays).

 While we were waiting to be called, we walked around the walled garden which is complete with a fire pit in one area and a conversation pit in another. Sorry, no pictures of either as both areas were occupied.

During the summer months, the restaurant is housed beneath the white tent you see in this picture. All things considered, Van Till Family Farm Winery was an excellent place to spend the night.

Sunday morning we were on the road again. We thought that Sunday would be a good day to travel through Kansas City, but we were wrong. As we drove through the area on the interstate, we were once again reminded of why we don't like big cities----TRAFFIC AND CRAZY DRIVERS EVERYWHERE! We both breathed a huge sigh of relief once we were on US 69 and headed away from the mayhem!