Road trip

We loaded the boys in the car on Saturday morning and took off for Springfield, Missouri for the Barack Obama rally.

Springfield holds special fondness for Dan because he went to college there at Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State). Any excuse he has to go back is welcome.

Since I've been consumed by the presidential election, I thought it would be really great to get to hear Barack speak. The rally was held at a high school football stadium. The doors were to open at 6 p.m. and Barack was to speak at 9 p.m.

We got into town at 2 p.m. and ate a late lunch and checked into our hotel room. We went to the stadium at 4 p.m. and got in line. By that point there was at least 1,000-2,000 people in line. At the end of the night, they estimated the crowd at 40,000 and the line stretched for miles.

The boys did remarkably well with the long wait. Thank God for their Nintendo DS games!

Luckily the weather was awesome--much like Halloween night here in Wichita.

Here was the line at one point.



Casey checking out the long line.

Almost four hours after getting in line, we finally got to the parking lot of the stadium. To say there was security is an understatement. No bags were allowed in, and everyone had to turn on their cameras and cell phones to prove they were real.

The line at one of many metal detectors.

Once inside the stadium, we made the strategic decision to go down onto the field instead of sitting in the bleachers. We actually got as close as 8-10 rows from the stage, which proved to be a great vantage point.

The crowd waiting for the show to begin.

First we were treated to the Democratic line-up for this year's election. Those running for governor and other offices in Missouri got to make their pitches for Obama (and themselves).

At around 9:30 p.m. a roar went through the crowd--apparently the motorcade had arrived.

First up was Michelle Obama who introduced her husband.

Michelle speaks to the crowd.

Then Barack took the stage. He spoke for about an hour and really got the crowd fired up. When he walked onto the stage, Dan and I held Brett and Casey up so they could see him. They've been learning about the election in school and we told them this would be a speech they would remember for a long time.

A photo from the local paper.

Brett waiting to see Barack.

I managed to get quite a few good photos even from where we were standing in the massive crowd.

Barack making his case.

I liked this photo with all the signs.
Barack is in the middle of the photo.



Another photo from the local newspaper.

We left the rally at about 11:30 p.m. after spending a considerable amount of time trying to get out of the stadium. It was a really memorable night.

On Sunday, we got up and went to Bass Pro Shop, an outdoor store in Springfield that draws visitors from all over the country. It's a must for us when we visit Springfield.

Bass Pro Shop.



Casey and a stuffed friend.



Dan and the boys looking at a display of live turtles.



The boys and a bear.

We then went to visit one of Dan's high school friends who is a drug enforcement agent. We watched most of the Chiefs game and had chili. When we got ready to leave, he let the boys look at some of his work gear. They got a real kick out of that.

Casey modeling a bulletproof vest.



Brett modeling the full get-up
complete with battering ram.