Our (Unexpected) Adventurous Trip to Des Moines

Well, the start of our trip to Des Moines was a bit different than we anticipated. We were headed up there for Brannon's cousin Brian's wedding (with Harvey) and left Friday midday. There was a pre-wedding party that night, then the wedding, cocktail hour, dinner and reception tomorrow. Quite the eventful weekend. We left on time (barely) and then right past Clinton, MO (about 1.5 hours from Springfield) Harvey started running...funny. He started sputtering and jolting - not exactly what you want towards the beginning of a longer trip. We ended up turning around about 20 minutes outside of Clinton and headed back to town - better to be in a town with some potential resources and repair shops instead of stuck on the side of the road.

We ended up pulling over into Wilder RV in Clinton, initially to see if they could look at it and give us their opinion on what it was (which they were completely booked so they had no time to do that day). After debating our options with our very limited time schedule, we ended up deciding to try to find a rental car. The small town of Clinton had 2 places to rent cars - but they only had 2-3 vehicles each and they were all already in use. But then my dad mentioned that Warrensburg was up the road about 45 minutes and he thought they had an Enterprise Rent-a-Car. He also mentioned that their slogan is something like "We'll pick you up," so they might be willing to come to Clinton to get us. I found it, called just in the knick of time before they closed, and they sent a driver to come pick us up (I would highly recommend them!). They took us back to Warrensburg where our rental car was waiting. It could've been SO much worse than it was!

Let's just recap...

- We weren't stranded overnight somewhere or on the side of the road.

- Harvey let us know he was sick when we were close to a city, and at just the right time before businesses started to close.

- We were able to find a rental company that was somewhat nearby, open, had an available car, AND could come pick us up where we were. 

- The nice people at Wilder RV were kind enough to let us leave Harvey there parked inside their gates. So we had peace of mind that he wouldn't be broken into or towed while we were gone.

- We were able to find a good deal on a hotel room for 2 nights last minute on July 4th weekend. 

- And we still made it for part of the pre-wedding party Friday night. 

Even though this situation could be looked at in a negative light, we were counting our blessings. And had a good laugh once we were on the road again...after we rewarded ourselves with some ice cream cones.

We rewarded ourselves with ice cream cones once we were in our rental car. Potentially stressful situation avoided!

So we made it to Des Moines for the party that night, then the wedding and events on Saturday. My nephew Taegan was my little shadow for most of the day (and he's quite the little dancer!).

Me and my little buddy Taegan.

Talking with Brannon's folks at the dinner/reception hall.

We had a good time reconnecting with the family there, and wish Brian and Anna all the best as they start their marriage!