Miniature Adventures may lead to Big Treasures

When Steve and I were dating while attending TSU, we would sometimes escape the doldrums of studies in a small-town on a Saturday by getting in a car with a full tank, and declaring which direction to head, and how long we'd be gone (usually from lunch until dinner, since those were times of socialization).

One day, we decided to head North, but not to Iowa, so we then headed West on small country roads. I marveled at how the rolling hills and deep-cut small creeks with grass on their banks reminded me of the hills of England, and with an early-spring chill it almost could have been. We didn't want to go too far, though, so we began heading back South.

Little did we know, however, that on highway 5, was a little town that welcomed us with a large sign that said "Welcome to the First Main Street U.S.A." The first? That was quite a claim, and one that warranted investigation.

Moments after passing the sign, was another one, with Mickey Mouse ears. Soon, we were in Marceline, MO, the town where Walt Disney grew up. There was an air of familiarity to the town, and I soon learned why. We parked along Main Street (every sign having those Mickey ears), and got out to stretch our legs. Nearly every store front had some sign about Disney, either his childhood here, or what he went on to build elsewhere. And there it was, a sign that told us that the Main Street of Disneyworld was modeled on this very city.

Although very clean and well-kept, the city seemed rather empty this day, save but a very large golden Labrador that seemed to want to adopt us, and began leading us down the street to the Florist shop. I pet the dog as Steve went in and asked questions, learning that as most small towns, Marceline doesn't have many stores open on Saturdays, and even they were calling it a day. The dog belonged to one of the owners, and was well-behaved, they said, so they didn't mind letting him roam and let the children of the town pet him, as he always knew when to head back (or lead strangers to the shop). An old train depot in town held a Disney museum, but it was closed, so we explored the small city park in the middle of town, that had a couple of old caboose cars on display. After awhile, we knew it was time to leave, and we bid farewell to Marceline and its kind townsfolk, and headed back to the everyday.

Since that day, we've had many other chance adventures, and it's become almost a tradition of ours to now and then throw plans to the wind, pick a direction, and discover where the roads will take us, and perhaps discover another "Marceline."