Wabash BBQ - Chillicothe, Illinois

OK…Let me ask you a question.

Would you take an all day road trip to save $1,100??

WE would.

And WE DID.

You see…I have needed a new cook top for some time now. My old Jenn-Air has lasted for more than 30 years and it has served me well…but it is becoming quite unpredictable in it’s old age. (Sort of like me!)

And you know me. I’m ALWAYS on the hunt for a bargain.

So I’ve been trolling the Sears Outlet website online to find another down draft cook top…and last Wednesday I struck gold! I found a $1,600 Jenn-Air radiant downdraft cook top…for $473 dollars! The only slight drawback?? It was at a Sears store in St. Joseph Missouri!

I called the store and connected with Salesperson Rhonda in the Appliance Department. She was awesome. She even texted me photos of the cook top so we could be sure of it’s condition and color. Unfortunately, Sears will NOT ship any items found on their Outlet website. Period. WILL NOT. So…after a lengthy discussion with Hubby…we decided it was worth a day trip to save that much cash! Besides…St. Joseph is close enough to Kansas City that I felt quite certain we could find some good BBQ for lunch. (That’s me…always thinking about my next meal!)

So we set off last Friday morning, and instead of using the freeway, we chose to take the back roads and highways through the small towns of Iowa, and then on into Missouri. Our only setback was a road closed for a bridge repair that caused us to backtrack for several miles on some gravel roads, and my only regret was not getting a picture of the rickety little wooden bridge we were forced to cross. I felt like a pioneer in search of the Promised Land!

We LOVE exploring small towns that are off the beaten path…

And the architecture of some of the old buildings is amazing…

Check out the Court House in Bloomfield, Iowa…It reminded me of “Back To The Future”…

By the time lunchtime rolled around, we found ourselves in Chillicothe, Missouri.

And since my heart was set on BBQ, I Googled some suggestions and found Wabash BBQ…
www.wabashbbq.com

Their Chillicothe location is in the old train station…

The interior of the building was beautifully renovated and preserved, and the smell of smoking meats greeted us as soon as we opened the door.

As with most Midwest restaurants, we figured the portion size of their meals would be HUGE, so we split this brisket and pulled pork sandwich and fries…and we each added a small salad so we didn’t feel QUITE so guilty for those fries!

The food was delicious, and our server was courteous and helpful when I asked for her recommendation for our lunch choices…

So after a quick lunch, we were back on the road…

By mid-afternoon we had reached our destination…SEARS in St. Joseph!

And WHAT was in store for us? A BIG cook top! SO BIG, in fact, we had to put it in the back seat! (Thank Heavens for a convertible!)

And Hubby was NOT angry…Just squinting to keep the misty rain out of his eyes. And he was quick to put the top back up as soon as possible!

So we set off for home after our successful thirty minute shopping trip…

When dinnertime arrived, we found ourselves back in Bloomfield Iowa…and I found a cute little diner on the Town Square called CJ’s Family Restaurant.

Once again, we split a meal…this time an Iowa pork tenderloin…

We skipped dessert, even though my hubby is VERY fond of PIE….and they had many to choose from…

Our server was pleasant and very efficient. We arrived very close to closing time, so the place was nearly empty, but she took good care of us.

After our quick dinner, we realized there might still be enough light to make it to Eldon, Iowa (just a few miles away) to see the American Gothic House…so off we went.

The misty rain cut our visit short…but darkness was fast approaching anyway…

And as we got closer and closer to our home…the gloomy, misty rain clouds began to lift, and a beautiful sunset could be seen on the edge of the horizon…

It was a LONG day spent in the car…but Hubby and I always look forward to spending time exploring new destinations together.

And saving $1,100 wasn’t a bad deal either!

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