Washington, MO rest

Hello all from sunny Washington, MO,

Well, the past four days have been incredible. Judge and Mrs. Hoven have been doing an excellent job fattening me up and showing me the sights and sounds of Washington, MO.

Joe at the landing in Washington, MO

On 8/5, Mrs. Hoven took me into town to see the art studio of Gary Lucy. Gary is a famous painter of all things Missouri River and he had been following along on the blog. Gary took the time to show me his studio as well as his current pieces and then we talked for awhile about the river and ocean adventures. Here is the link to his sight, www.garylucy.com. Check out the art work, it is really fantastic and you can see artistic renditions of many of the areas that I have passed by.

Most of the rest of Wednesday was spent unloading all of my gear; sorting things I need from what I don't need. I have removed the following items from my gear: -15 degree sleeping bag, all cold weather clothing, maps of the Missouri, books I have read and excess warm weather clothing. In their place I have added a very lightweight sleeping bag, a mosquito net, a new pair of shorts and a new shirt.

Joe's set up in the lawn of Judge and Mrs. Hoven in Washington, MO

On Thursday, Mrs. Hoven and I went into St. Louis where I met her parents, Rosemary and Bill Jones. Mr. Jones is himself a river traveler, he motored a boat with his friend Wayne Smith down the Meremac River to the Gulf of Mexico. He fondly recounted his trip and certainly made me excited for the upcoming section of river!

Today, Friday, is promising to be a very great day. Mel Jones, one of my grandfather's college friends will be stopping by to check out the kayak and eat some lunch. In addition, my college room mates, Dave Hoven and Joel Irby drove straight through the night from Boulder, CO to come say hi. I talked with them briefly this morning before they crashed for a bit but we are really excited for a fun weekend in Washington.

Clockwise from Left: Dave Hoven, Judge Hoven, Joe, Joel Irby (photos courtesy of Judge and Mrs. Hoven and Niels Van den Boogert)

This morning, Mrs. Hoven dropped me off at the Washington County Fair where I had an interview with Diane Jones of KLPW 1220Am radio to talk about Parkinson's as well as my journey. The interview was great and the fair grounds looked fun; I can't wait until Steve Miller Band plays on Saturday night!

Well folks, back to adding more music to my .mp3 player.

Joe