Bill and Eileen's Travels: Casey Illinois and Saint Louis

After leaving Bear Run Campground we went to Olive Branch Campground near Lebanon, Ohio. This campground was away from the highway and very nice. The owner had recently sold a campground in Florida and was bringing this campground up to par. It was well maintained and very nice. It was Friday night and a lot of people were coming in for the weekend. Nice people, nice campground. Olive Branch Campground near Lebanon, Ohio.

We left Olive Branch on Saturday morning and boogied to Casey, Illinois. A KOA campground. I recently had seen a piece on CBS about this little town along Interstate 70. A local businessman had created a project to erect a number of large structures in an effort to bring people to the town. I personally really enjoy these roadside America things so I dragged Eileen along. The KOA campground here is the only one and it is in need of some improvements. The people however were very friendly and helped us with directions and restaurant recommendations.

It was 1:00 by the time we got set up so we decided to head to the recommended restaurant. Wow what a great place. Richards Farm Family Restaurant. It's a unique country place with excellent food. If you are on I70 and are going to pass through Casey you should make it a point to stop for lunch or dinner. Don't plan on staying here though unless you have an RV. No motels.

The town offers an interesting number of things to see. The World's largest golf tee, the World's largest wind chime, and a super big chair were my favorites. The objects are spread around town and it looks like they are located near areas that they want you to shop. It was a lot of fun. We got to go up in an enormous mailbox and I personally rang the World's largest wind chime. Pretty cool. After a couple of hours touring the city we went back to the bus, changed clothes and went to a Catholic church 15 miles away, in Greenup, Il. A very satisfying day.

Today we boogied to Saint Louis. We were concerned about the riots here but decided to come anyway. The campground adjoins a casino and is on the Illinois site of the Mississippi. We missed the turn off and after 20 minutes of riding around, crossing the river twice, taking four different interstate highways we finally found the campground. We have a view of the arch from the RV and that will be the highlight of this visit. When we checked in the clerk indicated that the casino was closed but she couldn't tell us why. We found out from one of our neighbors that there had been a shooting at the casino at 2:45 am and they had closed it for investigation. Needless to say we decided that the stars were trying to tell us something so we have decided to do laundry today and get the hell out of Dodge in the am. So my picture of the Arch out of my window is all the touring we are going to be doing in good old St Louie. Maybe next time. Tomorrow we head for Springfield Mo.
Life is Good. Tonight we sleep with one eye open. Enjoy the pictures of the biggest objects. It was fun.