Day 17 – July 5, 2019

Leaving from a motel is so easy. We get cleaned up, grab everything, and go.

We pulled into Marceline, Missouri to be greeted by the water tower.

It seems every small town in the Midwest has its own water tower.

Another mile down the road we found the Walt Disney Hometown Museum.

We arrived a few minutes before 10:00. But the volunteers who operate the museum were happy to let their first visitors of the day in early.

The ladies who greeted us were delighted that we are from Southern California. They excitedly told us about their museum and their small town.

The museum building was the town’s train station from 1913 until the 1970s. It was scheduled for demolition by the Santa Fe railroad. But thankfully town preservationists were able to obtain the property and completely revitalize it.

The museum is mostly concerned about the years Walt Disney and his family lived in Marceline.

For Walt, that was between the ages of 4 and 9. That may not sound like a long time, but once the family moved to Kansas City, Walt’s dad put him to work and those joyful days of his youth were long gone.

We ended up spending two hours in the museum. It was really terrific. The experience was only enhanced by the excellent volunteers.

The ladies pointed out all the places to go to experience Walt’s Marceline.

We walked the downtown which is reminiscent of Main Street, USA. We also walked the tracks of the old Midget Autopia which was donated by Walt Disney to the people of Marceline back in the 1960s. Although the attraction closed in 1977, it holds the distinction of being the only Disneyland ride to be operated outside Disneyland.

We also visited Walt Disney Elementary and the house the Disney family lived in during their time in Marceline.

We left Marceline with big smiles. This was a totally unplanned side trip and we are so glad we did it.

A couple hours and a big rain storm down the road, we pulled into Springfield, Illinois. Kathy found a convenient campground for $15 a night. It was hot and humid but I think I promised not to talk about that anymore.

The place was swarming with fireflies and Ashley was in heaven. At one point, she caught seven fireflies and put them in a water bottle.

She noticed that one was lit constantly. Ashley called that one Defect. The other six were free to go, but she played with Defect a little longer. After proclaiming her love for Defect, Ashley set him free.