Westward Ho!

Last year when I learned my great-niece was getting married in Oregon in August, I thought it would be great to drive out, see some sights along the way, and visit friends in the Northwest. My sister Lucy, grandmother to the bride, agreed to travel with me for the trip out. So we are underway!

Sunday afternoon I drove to her home in Indianapolis, about a three-hour drive, and spent the night. Monday morning we hit the road at about 7:30, heading west on I-70 toward Kansas City. Our sister Becky kindly came outside and took a shot of us as we prepared to leave.

Our drive was uneventful. Near the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers we saw many fields still flooded from the heavy spring and early summer rains. We drove through one fairly heavy storm, but it was over quickly and the sky turned blue. When we weren't talking, we listened to an audio recording of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days. We had seen the movie, but neither of us had actually read the book. We are enjoying it!

We stopped for lunch at a rest stop along the highway. I had packed a cooler and a bag of lunch items. We had our chicken/cheese/lettuce wraps, sweet potato chips, V-8, and cherries for dessert. It was hot, but we found a shaded picnic table and it was very pleasant.

We had a reservation at a Hyatt Place near Kansas City, Kansas. We arrived, put our luggage on a cart and went inside. When I tried to check in, they said, oh, you're at the other Hyatt Place, not this one. It must happen a lot, as they gave me a printed copy of directions to the correct one, which turned out to be only about a mile and a half away. We settled in and were looking forward to a swim. Lucy went down to check and their pool was under maintenance and not available. She asked if we could go back to the other Hyatt and use theirs instead. Oh, no, they have different owners. But after her sob story of how badly we needed to swim (after all, we are seniors and have physical therapy needs that only water can provide), they called the other hotel and it was agreed. When we arrived back at the first hotel, the kind man who had helped us load up seemed surprised to see us again. When we said we were the senior swimmers, he laughed and said, of course! We had a wonderful swim and headed out for dinner directly from there.

Evidently Joe's Kansas City Barbecue is world-famous and we wanted to try it. As we were standing staring at the menu board, a kind gentleman said "Get the Z-Man." Brisket, smoked provolone cheese, and onion rings on a kaiser roll. We got a side each and shared: barbecued beans and Kansas Caviar, a great veggie mixture. It was all delicious and filling and I can recommend it if you are ever in this area. 

Tomorrow we head on to eastern Colorado.