I was out and about the last few days and made a return visit to Commercial Street in Springfield, MO. It is such a cool area to visit (at least in daylight), with interesting architecture, shops and food choices.

I went back to the tea store I visited several weeks back, which is called Chabom Teas & Spices. I thought I’d add more details from my second visit in this post.

It’s owned by the same folks who own Van Gogh’s Eeterie (a block or so east & across the street), which I mentioned in a previous post that I had eaten there. They also own another place in the same area called Café Cusco.

Chabom has a lot to look at. Along with the teas & spices they have some other things like some cool kitchen accessories, chocolate bars and even a few snacks. They have a tea bar so you can try out a cup before you buy, and the helpful, friendly staff will take good care of you.

Their selection of teas & spices is amazing and very thorough:

The last tea I got there was a rooibos, which I understand is technically not a true tea, but it’s delicious nonetheless and has incredible health benefits. I grabbed more of that, a sample of a different rooibos and a sample of their Irish breakfast tea as well as a tea basket for brewing. I can use it at home or traveling and won’t break.

After that I went next door to Ms. Gilmore’s Vintage Suitcase and Tea Room. Looking at the front window I saw something about food so of course I had to go in!

I opened the door and angels sang…

I snagged myself a splurge – a piece of ooey gooey butter cake – a St. Louis original. The piece I got was strawberry-topped and dusted with powdered sugar. The consistency is like a chewy, fudgy brownie, only it’s a yellow cake. It was so delicious and was very filling.

Everything they had looked decadent and tasty. I am sure I will be back in to try another treat. Friendly staff and great treats…what else do you need other than a second stomach, statins, and insulin?

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I got the claim filed for the hail damage on the trailer so now I have to get it in and find out how long it will take or even if it can be fixed as far as value. I don’t think it’s a total but I am not sure of the value of my trailer and I can’t find a value online; I even asked a couple of dealers and they had no idea! I’d hate to lose my trailer.

After this shakedown trip the mattress is going back in the trailer. I’m going to do that at least for now but it just may stay. The cushions were just not as comfy as that awesome mattress. I think it’s going to be fairly expensive to get all the cushions redone from scratch. The fabric is wearing out in a few spots and they all need new foam & batting.

I got some new parts for the air compressor so I can try putting some air through the water lines and see if something dislodges out of the one drain valve that won’t close properly.

Those new trailer tires are really nice. They are a major name brand, whereas the old ones were cheap imported ones. The new ones have a higher load range and the sidewalls are stiffer. The trailer pulls SO much better and it doesn’t sway anymore and I think they are a lot quieter. They might even help with gas mileage. Yeah they were more expensive but it wasn’t too much and the benefits were worth the upgrade.

If you’ve never had the pleasure and joy of pulling a trailer that’s starts to sway back & forth, to & fro, at 70 mph then you have no idea of the fun you could have! It’s pretty exciting when it starts and gets worse very fast. It will actually scare the hell right out of you.

I don’t usually haul very much water because of that sway, but when boondocking you have to carry water with you. I’m hoping that the tires help with that extra weight towards the rear of the trailer. Plus I believe each tire has a couple of extra plies so more piece of mind on forest roads.

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I picked up a new salt-free Spice Islands seasoning blend. It’s called Smoked Garlic but has several other good things in it. I diced up some baby potatoes and tossed with my rosemary olive oil then sprinkled them with this seasoning. After several minutes in the air fryer they came out crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth creamy inside. The seasoning is pretty good on them. I thought about a plate with some olive oil sprinkled with this for crusty bread dipping. I think that would be really good.

I finally got my induction burner. The box, it seems, is kinda big but I thought it was probably packing material. Nope…this thing is pretty big. It’s gotta be 14-16” across! Much larger than I anticipated. I can still take it in the trailer but might have to find a different place big enough to stow the box.

I have not used it yet but perused the Quick Start guide and this thing seems pretty cool. One thing that stood out is you can limit the power if you have limited power or might be using a generator. I guess it adjusts the output power accordingly with the input power. I have not used it yet but will probably give it a spin tomorrow. I’ve gotten my electric bills cut down considerably and this will certainly help a bit more.

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My knee is about back to normal now, and it’s a good thing…the grass needs cut again. It’s supposed to be decent weather this week so I can take care of that and a few more outdoor things. I have to expand the mowing a little larger so the dogs can find their ball. They’ve had trouble finding it so I have to mow a bigger piece in the back yard.

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That’s it for this post. See you next time.

Shawn