Look Where We Went!
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s home at Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri. A dream come true for me. We had the most magical time.
I have loads to catch up on and no time to do it now, but I had pretty much the same reaction my good friend Karen Edmisten did just a few days earlier: a lump in my throat and a big ole grin on my face. Pa’s fiddle! Laura’s desk where she wrote all her books! Almanzo’s pink dishes! That big old cookstove he bought her! And oh and oh and oh!
The folks in the bookstore and museum were wonderfully kind to us, and we so enjoyed meeting them. I have much more to tell. Another time. For now, just a few pictures. And another big ole goofy grin.
Chasing butterflies in Laura’s yard. Which totally gives me goosebumps to write!
Heather says:
Oh, my. Those butterflies may be descendents of butterflies that Laura watched flitting by her window while writing her books. Such an amazing experience. Do you actually get to touch the stuff, or is it all behind glass? I’m so jealous 🙂
On August 12, 2010 at 4:57 am
JoAnna Parente says:
So happy for you! and jealous, of course! I hope to go there *one* day…
On August 12, 2010 at 4:58 am
Karen Edmisten says:
Love, love, love the pictures. That last one says it all! 🙂
On August 12, 2010 at 4:59 am
JoAnn PB says:
LOVELY! What a dream come true!
On August 12, 2010 at 5:24 am
MelanieB says:
Bella says, of Rilla, “Hey, I’m four too! I have a stripey shirt just like hers!”
On August 12, 2010 at 5:29 am
Penny in VT says:
Yay! I’m SO happy for you!
A friend of mine just sent me a bunch of stuff from the bookstore there – someday I’ll get there myself…. but until then I’ll just be thrilled for you!
On August 12, 2010 at 6:18 am
Ellie says:
Oh!!oh my! Wow. Clearly, I’ve lost my ability to articulate!! It’s a journey I’d love make myself one day. Wow. When my mother was a little girl — I’m not sure how old, but Laura died when my mother was in her teens — my mother met her at a book signing, she got Little House in the Big Woods signed. Imagine. (forgive ant typos, I’m yet wedded to the phone, can’t yet sit st the computer).
On August 12, 2010 at 7:13 am
KC says:
That’s so awesome! I’m glad you were able to make that detour.
On August 12, 2010 at 7:56 am
April says:
How wonderful! We’re stopping there on our way home from Minnesota in September. I’m very excited.
On August 12, 2010 at 8:10 am
Hannah says:
Wow!!
And I bet the folks in the bookstore were excited to meet YOU, too!!
On August 12, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Marcia says:
So glad you made it! We enjoyed our trip there nearly 8 years ago!
On August 12, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Claire says:
Awesome! I was such a fan of her books,and would absolutely love to visit her house (although I highly doubt that I’ll ever make it to Missouri…)
On August 13, 2010 at 1:46 am
kmom says:
We made the trip a few years back when the kids were the right age, but really it was for me! De Smet, SD is wonderful too and a day full of fun. Walnut Grove, MN was also fun. There is also a spot south of Windom, MN that has a sign saying that Ma and Pa Ingalls wintered there and gives a date although I can’t remember what it was. That is just a bit of prairie. Someday I’d like to get to the Little House in the Big Woods too!
On August 13, 2010 at 6:30 pm
DnSmum says:
Melissa,
We’ve travelled to Rocky Ridge Farm, the family home in DeSmet, and the site of the home near Indepedence, KS. Each time it was exciting and a fulfillment of a childhood wish!
What I couldn’t get over was how low Laura’s counters were in her Rocky Ridge home. Yes, I had known for years that she was “half pint” but never fully grasped how short she was until seeing those counters!
On August 16, 2010 at 9:40 am
Rachel says:
We got to visit there a few years ago, and I felt the same way. I really teared up when we got into the room with her writing desk, and Pa’s fiddle gave me goosebumps. And to see things that Laura crocheted! And I was surprised at how contemporary her kitchen stove was, I think of her as living so, so long ago, but she didn’t even have a woodburning stove. And it made me chuckle to see the hearth and chimney in the livingroom. I loved reading the story about how she wanted every part of their home, wood, stone, etc to be from their own land, but by the time he got to the fireplace Almanzo just wanted to use a load of brick and be done with it. For the first and only time in their marriage she resorted to tears to get her way. To be there and see all that just made her so real!
On August 17, 2010 at 5:06 am
Bethany C says:
Melissa,
I cannot tell you how happy I am to have found your blog! My three year old and I just finished reading The Martha Years together, and we have enjoyed them tremendously. She asks me to sing “Loch Lomond” to her at least once a day, and we talk about Bonnie Prince Charlie a LOT these days. Thank you so much for writing those beautiful books. I learned as much from them as she did!
Also, I squealed (quietly, because I have a sleeping baby beside me) with delight to see “Melissa Wiley,” who has been a faceless but admired author for me over the past few months, with her own children– a homeschooler, and with a baby in a sling! We are beginning our homeschooling journey in earnest over the next year, and I know your blog is going to be an amazing resource for me.
On August 18, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Joann Estis says:
So glad you finally got there. It’s a magical place for us as well.
On August 19, 2010 at 5:33 am
Book Club Girl says:
What wonderful pictures! I am so happy for you all and am now envisioning my own journey there when my babies are older!
On August 19, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Susan Gaissert says:
Congratulations! I have the same dream, and I know I’ll get there one day. I’m glad you made it.
On August 21, 2010 at 3:32 am
kateri yanke says:
you must think”no not another comment!!!!!!!”.
well here goes: i loved the last pic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
also i’m listing a few blogs (and one web)i think you should visit:
wild flowers and marbles
munchkins on the path
tales from the bonny blue house
gray family circus
to georgia from wisconsin
created to mother
love letter to my kids
party of 9
and the one amazing web:
oremus
and this list goes to all.
peace
kateri yanke
On September 6, 2010 at 7:14 am