DAY EIGHT - Tupelo, MS to St. Louis, MO

Hello honorary Fireballers!

We’re hanging in there getting these blogs out because we want to share all the details as they happen. We pack so much into a day and go so many places that the days are beginning to run together.

This will have to be a less detailed blog on some topics, since we have to leave the hotel at 7am to rendezvous with the police escort at downtown St. Louis during morning rush-hour. I'm not sure how that's going to be work, but we'll soon find out.

This morning we set up the cars in front of the Tupelo City Hall and listened to the Mayor say some inspirational words. He then rode in an old pink cadillac with the police escort to send us on our journey out-of-town.

Everyone jockied for position as we got underway trying to figure out which direction to go to find our bonus clues and mission destination. We joined up with our friends, Joe & Gary in the white Lamborghini, and Paul & Tim in the Back-to-the-Future car, with a few other cars that came and went along the way.

We completed a few of the Bonus rounds, including taking a picture in front of Elvis’ Graceland mansion and a house called the Graceland 2. We always wish we had more time to spend at the places we visit, but that will give us inspiration to come back later.

We landed in Paragould, Mississippi, for lunch (and my Personal timed Mission to find a bathroom). It has been listed as the 3rd best place to raise a family, and seemed to be a nice, friendly town (with plenty of bathrooms--hey, leave me alone, these things can be important sometimes). After talking with people about our cars and handing out lots of posters, we got our next mission envelope and ate quickly so we could be on our way.

The directions were simply to head to St. Louis, Missouri, with the option of completing some Bonuses along the way. As our strategy has unfolded, it appears that going out of our way for the Bonus points makes us later for the Finish Line, which reduces our points. So we decided today just to skip the Bonus Points and head straight for our final destination in St. Louis. OK, “straight” may not be entirely accurate since we took a number of wrong turns along the way. In the morning, it started when we and the Back-to-the-Future car blew past an exit where everyone else turned off. Later, all 3 of us managed at different times to take wrong turns somewhere along the way, which took some scrambling to catch up with the others.

Getting lost and trying to catch up creates a dilemma. We want to get back to traveling with our friends, but it requires a little of that speeding thing, which we all want to do but are trying to be good. During one of these separations, we found out my Beltronics radar detector was working pretty well, but we did have one good scare. The Lambo was leading the way and we passed a cop on the other side of the highway, after which he immediately flipped on his lights and set out at high speed down the road. It suddently seemed important to fill up with gas and pass out more posters at the next exit. A lady there mentioned that there was a speed trap down the road with “two full-grown bears.” So we let our radar detectors chirp away for a bit before setting back out again. So far, so good.

This gas station stop also worked out well since I had a vindicating experience. Remember the rule that the red Corvette always goes in the middle when the 3 of us travel together? That way people at least have to pass by her on the way from checking out the Lambo to the BTTF car. Well, a young man walked over and started asking all kinds of questions about the ‘vette, and the more I shared, the more excited he got. I told him there was also a Lamborghini he could look at, but he waved his hand, said “I love your Corvette,” and didn’t show any interest in going over (sorry, Joe). So I think I can be OK with not insisting on the middle position any more—she can hold her own just fine.

Susie has been an awesome navigator, and I’ve suggested we hire her out for a price. She may appreciate that suggestion after another day or two confined in a small space with me.

The one thing we’re both over is packing and unpacking the car. And how exactly does it get so trashed out in a day? Susie and I both are constantly saying “where’s my phone,” or something along those lines. Lately it’s been more like “where’s my ______ phone?” But we have the coolest way of transporting the baggage overflow. A semi-truck participating in the rally is also carrying our extra bags, for a price that’s so worth it. I don’t know how the folks with tiny storage space do it (sorry again, Joe).

I’m running out of steam, so I’ll move to the highlights. Basically, after 5 relatively uneventful hours driving to St. Louis, we rendezvoued at the Bentley/Lamborghini dealership. I happily walked around taking pictures of Lamborghini’s, Maserati’s, Ferrari’s and Bentley’s—cars I’ve dreamed about since I was 6. And then a stunning event occurred. Our friend Joe, who had been looking closely at a gorgeous one-of-a-kind Lamborghini, walked over to a salesman and started signing papers—he bought it on the spot! I stood there with my jaw hanging down to the floor, drooling I’m sure. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, but I can’t get my head wrapped around it. I’m so happy for him, wondering about what his wife will think (the marriage counselor in me), and hoping he’ll just give me a ride some day. Honestly, Joe, congratulations!

To top that, which is a considerable accomplishment, a Father of one of the missing children in the Rally came to talk to us at the dealership. He wanted to share his experiences and thank us for what we’re doing to recover these children, including his own. In reality, I think we need to thank him. He flew out to meet us and was an incredible inspiration. It made all of us want to get 1000 more posters and pass them out everywhere. I know we all continue to hope and pray that we will find some kids from this event.

The evening wrapped up when we got lost on the way to the hotel (it fit with the theme of the day), a bunch of us paid some guys to detail our cars in the hotel parking lot (great idea, Fireball Run), and I had a wonderful, informative conversation with a race driver and instructor, Carmine, who also owns a Z06 (along with a really cool Charger).

I’m sure there’s more, but I’m running on fumes. Hope everyone is doing well, and stay tuned!

Cassandra & Susie

P.S. – For those of you who were wondering why some “J’s” were hanging out at the end of a few sentences in the last blog, it’s because the computer turned all smiley faces into “J’s.” I can’t quite see the connection, but when you’re reading just substitute a smiley race if there’s a “J” dangling on its own somewhere.