The World’s Biggest Windchime (and Other Casey, IL Hotspots)

Believe it or not, I’m not traveling right now. This is the final entry from my Kansas City trip. I’ve just been so busy since getting home that I’m only now—three weeks later—able to finish it up….

On Saturday morning, we met the gang for breakfast in the Drury Inn common area. Knowing that we had no real plans, Theresa suggested that we take a side trip to Leavenworth, Kansas and to Weston, Missouri. “It’s a good way to kill a few hours,” she offered, “and I challenge you to find the Lewis and Clark statue in Leavenworth.” You know me; I like a challenge, and the two towns were only about 30 minutes away.

Theresa noted several times in our brief conversation that she finds the layers of security at Fort Leavenworth to be fascinating. We didn’t see much to fascinate us. We also didn’t find downtown Leavenworth to be particularly noteworthy, but a friend of Gill later commented on what a nice little town it is, so I think we must have been in the wrong area. We gave it short shrift, I guess. We moved on to Weston pretty quickly.

Unlike the parts of Leavenworth that we saw, Weston was a real treat. It’s a tiny town that punches far above its weight. We happened to arrive on one of their “Second Saturday” celebrations—this one dubbed “Polish Pottery Day”—to an accordion band, fun shops, Polish food (no, I didn’t eat any), street vendors, and lots of people from the town and the surrounding area enjoying a very hot Saturday.

Mark bought some plum tarragon and strawberry rhubarb jams and a few gifts, and I bought a “grandfather” shirt from the Irish import store. We grabbed a nice lunch at the American Bowman restaurant, which is more of an Irish pub than the name makes it sound. It actually looks pretty genuine rather than being made to look like a pub. The room we ate in had no electric lights that I could see and had mullioned windows set high above the floor. It’s family style tables were well-used. I could really see the “Cyclops” episode from Ulysses being filmed there. (Of course, the Midwestern accents would have to be dubbed out, and that Japanese family wouldn’t fit the scene. Or maybe they’d make the scene more interesting.) We got back to our hotel with just enough time to take a deep breath, clean up, and head to the wedding.

We opted to drive to the venue rather than take the bus that Theresa and Gil had arranged. Recognizing that we’re rapidly becoming old fogies, we thought it would be prudent to keep our options open for returning to the hotel. It turned out to be a good thing. Theresa called me just as we were pulling out to say that the person who was supposed to pick up water for the bar forgot to do so. Could we stop and pick up six packs of bottled water? (By the end of the reception, fewer than 10 bottles were left.) Diane had the same idea as us, but unfortunately, she had it too late to ride over with us. She did, however, hitch a ride back to the hotel with us.

Jillian and Matt’s wedding was outdoors and lovely, though it was so hot that the groom and groomsmen all opted to go without jackets. We sat on top of a hill in a beautiful, wind-swept setting crowned by a rehabbed farm house and an event space built to resemble a barn. With the sinking sun behind us, the bride and groom spoke their vows, the officiant prayed, the readers read, and the music played, and by the time the 45-minute ceremony ended, the back of my shirt from shoulder to shoulder and collar to waist had changed from light blue to dark with sweat.

Gill has planned hundreds of events in through is various hospitality jobs, so it was pefectly logical that he would arrange the reception. He did a fine job. It was upscale without being snooty, comfortable without being slouchy. He’s also a huge music fan and assembled the DJ’s playlist. I do, however, have to question some of his song choices. “Hot for Teacher” at a wedding reception? “Brickhouse”? (Just teasing about your choices, Gill. The music was great!)

A quick brunch with the wedding posse on Sunday and we were off to St. Louis to visit Sue. We had a nice, easy dinner with her on Sunday night and then retired for our day Monday, which is when I took most of my photos during the trip.

Sue had an itinerary all ready for us Monday. It was one of her rare days off, and she was excited to spend it with us. Casting a shadow over the day, though was that two nights earlier, a madman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Sue is Director of Campus Ministry at St. Louis University and felt a little trepidation at being away from her office during what was sure to be a stressful day for her staff, who would be a touch point for students distraught over the blatantly homophobic attack. Keeping an eye on her cell phone, she graciously gave us her entire day, and we spent most of it at the St. Louis Botanical Gardens. It wasn’t our intent to spend so much time there, but we were having such a good time. And frankly, they’re the best botanical gardens I’ve ever seen. Lots of pictures follow (and lots more are on my home server).

To get out of the heat a bit, Sue took us to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. It’s an unbelievably beautiful space. The floors are a gorgeous mix of marbles and granites, and just about every building surface above the floors is iced with detailed tile mosaics or wrapped in more stone. It’s kind of dumbfounding to think about the weight of the stone and also the number of hours that went into designing, making, and placing each of what must be hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of tiny mosaic tiles.

I didn’t feel right taking pictures in the cathedral, so I’ve provided the link above so you can see some of it. I’m also borrowing a few of Mark’s pictures. The quality is not great because he was using a camera phone and because the cathedral lighting is pretty reverential, but I think they help to put you in the space more than the professional photos on the cathedral’s website.

Viewed as a work of art, I feel awed by the space, but as with any sacred building, I also feel the tension between the amount of money that is spent on building and maintaining the space and the amount of tangible good that money could do in a world filled with poverty, disease, and war. It’s kin to the tension that I feel when considering art funding, which I sometimes do as a member of a public art committee. I feel passionately about the arts, but at the same time, I know that there are people living on the river bank not three blocks from my house and wondering where their next meal will come from. I know that schools aren’t getting enough money and that some kids can’t afford to go to college and that refugees are struggling to survive throughout the world. I can’t help but wonder if the money we spend on the arts (and sports and entertainment) is money misspent or spent unethically. It’s a tension I struggle with all the time and have yet to resolve. (I’ll stop preaching now.)

After our tour of the cathedral, Sue drove us around town a bit. We stopped in one of her favorite bookstores, Left-Bank Books, where I picked up a couple things (of course) and then stopped at an urban cafe with a “farm-to-table” feel called Rooster for a delicious, simple meal. By the end of dinner, we were exhausted. We said goodbye to Sue and called it a day. On Tuesday morning, we headed for home after a quick stop to see the arch. (The arch plaza is undergoing a major renovation, so we didn’t stay long or ride to the top. We’ll be this way again, and we’ll take in the view then.)

Now to explain the title of this post. On the way out to Kansas City, I noticed an advertisement for the world’s largest wind chime, but I saw the sign too late to stop. Because we did this trip by car instead of plane specifically so we could see a bit more of the country, we decided to stop and take a look. It turns out that Casey, Illinois is really into making and displaying oversized everyday items. One of their town slogans is “Big things in a Small Town,” and they have not only the world’s largest wind chime but also the world’s largest children’s rocking chair, the world’s largest crochet hook, the world’s largest golf tee, the world’s largest knitting needles, the world’s largest pitchfork, the world’s largest wooden shoes, the world’s largest mailbox, and a host of maybe-not-the-largest-but-damn-big things. The wind chime and rocking chair were about as much bigness as we could handle in one trip.

I’m not sure what’s up with the Star of David and Christian fish motifs on the wind chime. And that’s not a UFO above the rocking chair; a plane was flying over.

The trip was one of our better vacations, and I’m really glad we drove. I read Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley while I was in Florida, and that has inspired me to see more along the way in my travels and worry a little less about just getting there. It’s a change of mindset for me, and those of you who know me well know that I don’t change my mindset easily. This change, however, seems to be paying off. Our next road trip will be to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee this August. Look for a few posts on that.