As we drove from Indianapolis to Columbia Missouri, we gained an hour, saw some rain, and noticed that the nice, level green plain of the Midwest had become predominant. The drive was easy, except for modest congestion around St. Louis. Along the way, we stopped at a small Italian Cafe for lunch. Paula had minestrone soup and Tom had the market salad, both delicious.

Once in Colombia we drove directly to “”The District”, an area of eateries, many varied bars, eclectic shops, and fortunately for us, the Lakota coffeeshop where we both got coffee drinks. The temperature was a perfect 84 in a very light drizzle, which hindered us not at all. Owing to the presence of the University of Missouri, we saw lots of Tigers memorabilia and references.

We also got to walk on the lushly green campus of University of Missouri. The grounds had a huge variety of plant life, much of it donated and with plaques naming the tree, bush, etc. Paula loved this. There was a large project going on to replace antiquated plumbing and electrical tunnels under the quadrangle, which looked very complex and intricate. There was little statuary where we walked, and Paula got to surprise Thomas Jefferson as he was penning the Declaration of Independence. The statue was to honor him for having granted the land for the University when he was President.

Dinner this night was a simple one at TGI Fridays which happened to be very conveniently located right next to our hotel. Tomorrow we go to Hays, Kansas.