Yesterday was relatively tame and yet contained some wonderful moments and visions. We started off with a wonderful breakfast with friends Deb and Byron. After the meal they took us to their studio. Amazing artists (see Deb's work at - http://www.drileyprints.com/).
After hugs and kisses, we set off to explore a bit of St. Joseph, Missouri. Deb and Byron aimed us at
Then we went to Atchison, Kansas. It was yet another quaint little town; green and filled with many beautiful homes. This is the home where Amelia Earhart was born and lived with her grandparents. The exterior was wonderfully restored to it's original form. Inside was a combo of museum and AE shrine. Unfortunately, I'm afraid one too many local ladies had input in regard to decorating the rooms. Authenticity was lost in the process - it looks like Martha Stewart and Laura Ashley had a "Decorator
Along US-59 outside of Nortonville we decided to do a full on tourist move by making a wild stop and u-turn, to snoop around an abandoned farm. It was quite the disheveled wreck. Lots to see but little left behind. There were many out buildings. It was fun to imagine what it might have looked like during it's real life. The farmers must have had many animals. The barn was especially noteworthy. It was more sad than spooky. Got some interesting photos and two hitchhikers (a couple of evil ticks.....double ACK!!!)
After that side trip (oh wait, this whole journey is a side trip) we set off toward Wichita. Inextricably, we found ourselves on a toll highway, I-335. A unwanted part of this adventure was a bladder blitzkrieg by both Oddasee participants..... mile after mile with nary a rest area nor bush or tree in friggin' sight. For over an hour the quest continued to provide no relief (so to speak). Out of desperation we took the first exit we could find. This also required some impressive "control". Finally we came to a turn off toward the town of Admire. The town was virtually a ghost town. As we pulled into what was formerly the old main street we came upon a young teenager (surely disenfranchised and uninspired). He was blissfully listening to an I-Pod (even rural Kansas is not "Apple" free) and casually walking across the street completely unaware of the soon to be liquid strangers. Guess he really did not have any reason to worry about traffic. Well we had little choice but to find a "public restroom" behind an old auto repair shop. Aaaaaahhhhhh...........
After a bit of tail-gating lunch in Admire we once again hit the road. In the town of Cottonwood Falls we saw an absolutely gorgeous old courthouse.
It seems many of these small towns make great efforts to take care of their local architectural treasures and many of those just happen to be town/county halls and courthouses.
Eventually we made to it to crash and slumber in Wichita - another grand day on the Oddasee trail.
Love and Cornerstones,
Rodness and Susarella
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