After a day of dreadful driving, all 623 miles of it, I arrived at wonderful KCK aka Kansas City Kansas. Because apparently there is a Kansas City Missouri which is of course more bourgeoisie and a lot more like a metropolitan center.
But oh man, America is so plain, and by plain I mean the Great Plains. With its never-ending rolling greens, it is as if the entire western Kansas is a huge open golf course with bison prancing around. Other than that, well you have no where to hide from the harsh winds, which moves so fast people have thought to put wind turbans up and take advantage of that. It moved the larger trucks left and right and left a new driver like me sweaty with angst.
However, once I hit Topeka and Lawrence, the scene shifted. There was actually trees, I know OMG. And the climate became more humid and wet. Marsh lands and river became more prevalent as well. The drive made me appreciate even more the tenacity and drive of those people who had moved from the east coast to the west coast per-continental railroad. Not only do they have to deal with the crushing wind and boredom of the great plains, but the Rockies in Colorado, and then also the arid lands of Utah and Nevada before finally reaching California. No wonder some of them stopped and just settled along the way.
Other than the Jesus sign over 10 miles, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary in Kansas. Oh wait, there is. My first Asian family sighting since I left home five days ago was in Hays, Kansas. All American city of Hays, Kansas. I was filling my gas, and there it was in a Kansas plated SUV, a full-flesh Asian family. It made my entire trip that much better.
Alas, I would like to thank my friend for being from Kansas, it was so wonderful to see her and let her show me a different side of Kansas City, not to mention the BBQ at Oklahoma Joe’s. Definitely worthy of the title “Best I’ve Ever Had”. It was just so energizing to see someone I knew after thousands of lonely miles, I love her for that and I really appreciate the time spent.
If I have to ever drive across the country again, which I probably do driving back home, I would do it alone. Its so much loneliness, I started talking to my Tepig. My hopes that intense sharing on social media would cure the loneliness, but nope sorry it doesn’t work like that. No matter how many likes you get and how many comments, it’s still just you in car across the beautiful terrain from sea to shining sea.