Past St. Louis and Heading East....Slowly

I've spent the last week in Kansas. Yes folks, a WEEK in KANSAS!

And I loved it! The life style is easy and manageable. Everything you really need is close by and you can get there driving down roads with very little traffic. Home is comfortable. Southeastern Kansas has hills and rivers running through it. The towns are vibrant and clean and not crowded. There are small universities and colleges, city parks, and community events. People know each other. It feels safe. It’s nice.

The towns are either holding their own or growing. Beautification projects are underway. New businesses are opening. They don’t seem to be sinking with the economic woes that most other places are agonizing over. Although, of course, they have changed over the years, and unemployment exists, they seem to roll with the punches and move on. People retire in these towns. They entertain themselves. The livin' is easy!

But it’s not ideal. They get the worse of winter and the worse of summer weather. Right now, 96 degrees and almost 100% humidity. It's feels much worse than Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Their winters are really cold. And there is no ocean, no beach, or mountain in sight and one must travel a long way to find those natural attractions. And let us not forget the threat of tornadoes.

I have always thought of Kansas as being in the middle of nowhere. And while that thought still persists, I really liked Kansas and I can see the appeal for those who live there. I would consider it.

Another of my high school girlfriends lives in Kansas and we spent most of our time sitting on the front porch doing what we do best. We talked. We sipped wine and we talked about our feelings, the kind of conversation that most men would prefer to avoid. We laughed and we cried a little.

Connie showed me some of the sights in Arkansas City, the cute boutiques and antique shops, the Land Rush Museum and the Flint Hills. We had lunch in a five table country restaurant in a five building town where a delicious chicken salad costs $4.50! We had dinner at a restaurant by the golf course where her husband spent much of his time. While sitting outside in one of the city parks one evening, we watched an improv show put on by college students.

From Arkansas City I drove three hours to Pittsburg, Kansas and enjoyed another evening with a friend, which involved another tour though a another nice little town. There was more porch sitting and intimate conversation. There was more wine too. I got to spend another night in another comfortable home in Kansas.

All in all, my experience with Kansas was excellent. Well, except for the flat hot lonely western part and that one other issue. I kept getting lost in Kansas. Without mountains or a large body of water for reference, I couldn’t seem to get my direction. Signage is poor. If I missed the ONE sign telling me to turn, I was in trouble. I saw many parts of Kansas twice. Not that I wanted to. But to get where I wanted to go, I must of turned around more than a dozen times, retracing my steps, looking for the road I should be on. I pulled over often to consult my maps, got lost even before leaving town, and should have had a compass. But I didn’t. And yes, I know what you are thinking. “What happened to the GPS?” I shoulda hooked it up, figured it out, turned it on. I didn’t. I haven’t.

Yesterday I drove through the Ozarks which was quite lovely. This part of the Ozarks had a landscape that was bigger than hills, but smaller than real mountains. It had character and lakes and wineries. It was green with real woods like the ones I remember playing in in northern Ohio.

I did an up close with the St. Louis Arch. I spent the night in a regular motel and am about to go get some of their continental breakfast and coffee. Then back on the road. I am heading to Cincinnati and will be spending time with a friend from back "home." We plan to have fun in Cincy. I heard they are celebrating Final Friday or something like that.

The road trip is going well. I am on the third leg. Days go by very fast. I am not lonely on my long drives. Responsibilities are few. I am NOT ready to go home.