Weekend to Van Buren, MO

Our good friends, Mel and Trish, planned a weekend getaway ride to Van Buren, MO, located on the Current River in southeast Missouri. The weather was to be great (and dry, for a change) and the area provides some great motorcycle riding. We were to have five couples on the trip but the day before departure Carl and Marge had to cancel. Marge accidentally punted Carl’s bathroom scales and broke her foot.

Four couples met at Midland and Renner in Shawnee, KS on Saturday, May 22nd at 8:30 am. It was sunny and 72. We were ready to ride. DSCN0642a

Our route for the day was Hwy 71 south out of the KC area to Harrisonville, MO; Hwy 2 east to Windsor, MO; Hwy 52 east to Tuscumbia, MO; Hwy 17 south to Iberia, MO; Hwy 42 east to Vienna, MO; Hwy 63 south to Rolla, MO; Hwy 72 south to near Salem, MO; Hwy 32 east to Salem, MO; Hwy 19 south to Winona, MO; Hwy 60 east to Van Buren, MO and the Rose Cliff Lodge at the Landing.

We stopped for lunch at the Philly Cafe in Eldon, MO on Hwy 52. The food was great but the service really sucked. We got our orders at different times so some were finishing their meal when others were just receiving their food. Some orders were screwed up. On a positive note they gave us some extra food they had. FREEE FOOD!DSCN0646a

On Hwy 19 north of Eminence, MO we stopped alongside the road at a scenic overlook. A nice lady there took a picture of our group.DSCN0720aWhile stopped here I took note of Mel and Trish’s exotic seat cover. I’ve seen many sheepskin covers – white, off-white, and black. It looked like they skinned a few cats to make theirs.DSCN0725

The riding along Hwy 19 was scenic and very enjoyable. It really was a great day for riding. The high temperature was 86 and it was mostly sunny all day long.DSCN0657a

We arrived at the Landing (http://www.currentriverlanding.com/index.php) in Van Buren, MO at about 5:30 pm and checked into our rooms at the Rose Cliff Lodge. The rooms were very nice, comfortable, and clean. The Current River was flooded and well out of its banks. As a result, no floating was allowed on the river. It was only in the 80’s but the humidity was very high making it a wee bit uncomfortable to be outside. We had a delicious dinner at the Blue Heron Restaurant, also at the Landing.DSCN0737

On Sunday morning we rode into Van Buren and had a good breakfast at the Float Stream Restaurant located across the street from the county courthouse.DSCN0750a

Our route today was county road D north out of Van Buren to Hwy 21; Hwy 21 north to just past Centerville; Hwy 49 north to Cherryville; Hwy 19 north to Hwy 50; Hwy 50 west to the KC area.

We stopped at Zesto’s in Jefferson City, MO for lunch. After lunch we visited Jefferson City’s Central Dairy and had a delicious ice cream treat. V E R Y G O O D !DSCN0798a

Our last stop together was in Warrensburg, MO, where we refueled, took a break, and said our goodbyes. The temperature reached 87 today and it was very humid – but a great day.

It was a great weekend trip. Mel and Trish did a fantastic job planning the ride. We rode 345 miles on Saturday and 354 miles on Sunday. For pictures from this trip click on the following link.

http://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/VanBurenWeekend?feat=directlink

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