Que, Si?

Stage III: Kansas City, MO/Lawrence, KS

Ahh yes, the halfway point of the trip. Chicago to Kansas City is roughly another 500 miles through the rest of Illinois and then the length of Missouri. One stop in Mexico, MO for gas and a McDonald's sundae/grilled chicken sandwich (the only McD's stop on the trip mind you...Subway, as I mentioned, was our provision of choice). Missouri provided Lauren and with our first glimpse of the mightly Mississippi River (seen below).

Sure, these are taken from a moving vehicle but all things considered, the quality is right there.

We arrived in downtown KC late Tuesday afternoon and I put in the call to a one James Hammen. We agreed that he would pick us up at the hotel and take us on a mini tour of the city (also known as the direct route to the restaurant) and eventually to dinner where Alex would meet us after class. Let it be known that upon entering Jimbo's blue Element, the iPod mounted on the dash was playing Zeppelin's Going to California. And it was apparently purely coincidental. This is the stuff that dreams are made of, my friends.

Shortly thereafter, we (me, Lauren, Hammen and Alex) would be sitting in Manny's Mexican Restaurant drinking Corona's, margueritas and sampling the diablo sauce that was reported to be very hot. It was not, but I did encounter an internal battle the next day due to excessive consumption of el diablo. Anyway, aside from getting cozy with el diablo at Manny's, I also learned of Hammen's blatant fear of tequila. I brought two shots of Patron back to the table at one point and I got the Hammen Heisman...he deferred to Alex. Just pointing this out is all.

So we wrapped up at Manny's and decided that Lauren and I needed to see Lawrence the next day. Breakfast in downtown Lawrence was a real treat, at Milton's Cafe. Really good stuff. I had a particular appreciation for the self-service coffee bar. all for $1. Nothing like small town prices, either. We loved Lawrence. It would have been a great place to go to college, as the town itself was really cool. Interesting shops (that we couldn't go into because it was ass early) and a Jimmy John's that apparently gives out free sub samples on occasion. Let it also be noted that throughout the outdoor breakfast we enjoyed, there sat a box of Jimmy John's loaves on a bench adjacent to our table. Just pointing that out. Here's us at Milton's.

So we concluded this leg of the trip with an escorted ride to KU (thanks Alex), where we would shop the bookstore for a long time. That place is huge, by the way and how one can choose a single t-shirt to purchase is beyond me. I eventually did, and Lauren found some sweet red shorts with 'Rock Chalk' across the ass. Very nice.

Thanks for Hammen and Alex for a great time in Kansas. Unfortunately Lawrence is the only good thing about Kansas, as you'll learn when I post about stage IV of the trip...Western Kansas to Vail, Colorado. Little place called Fort Hays, KS in the western part of the state...place I'll never forget.