Road Warrior Momma: Day 19

Day 19 – July 15, 2013

Oklahoma City, OK – Abilene, KS – Topeka, KS – Kansas City, MO

429 miles/ 6 hours, 15 minutes

Temperature – 61 degrees when we left OC, OK – 93 when we pulled into the hotel in KC

Courtyard, Blue Springs MO Room 202

We left Oklahoma City in a torrential down pour and continued to drive through hair-raising conditions for two hours, until we were north of Wichita. It was unfortunate, because I remember driving through Kansas two years ago and being enchanted by the lush green rolling hills, as far as the eyes could see. It had been gorgeous. Today it looked like the black and white scenes from the beginning of the Wizard of Oz. I took back roads after Wichita, northeast to Abilene, to avoid the slick interstate and the speeding semi-trucks. I’m glad I did because the farms we passed were beautiful.

In Abilene, we stopped at the Eisenhower Presidential Library. On first impression, it was a little shocking, because it was literally just off of the main drag through town, with a very simple, campaign-like sign welcoming us. Not a very impressive welcome for a man who was a 5 star general and President of the United States – for two terms! Personally, I think they were taking the small Midwestern town theme a bit too far. It probably didn’t help that we’d only visited the Bush libraries, which are opulent by comparison, just weeks before.

Eisenhower’s boyhood home is on the property and they built the library and museum around it. The home is in its original spot, built in the 1800’s. The Eisenhower Foundation purchased all the surrounding houses over the years for the library. The property houses the home, the museum, the research library and the gravesites. It was peaceful and very pretty. I was a little disappointed because the library was opened in the sixties, and although it is meticulously maintained, it really hasn’t been updated. The library features little more than glorified poster boards and a few display cases. Honestly, there wasn’t anything that stood out. I think the Eisenhower foundation needs to update it with modern technology and redo the introductory movie with a little bit of a post-production budget. Seriously, Kennedy was president for less than three years, right after Eisenhower, yet his library is light years ahead in terms of size, content and “wow factor.” As a result, I couldn’t get the kids engaged. It was sad.

We drove a little over an hour to Topeka, to see the Capitol. We were surprised to find it completely engulfed in scaffolding – undergoing a complete refurbishing. Bummer. That’s what happens when you plan your excursion the night before. Oh well – life on the road has to be flexible.

Another hour and a half to our hotel, a rather dilapidated property that produced the quote of the day (see below). We got in late and had a subpar dinner at Olive Garden (never again), although something very cool did happen there. I showed Bear the menu and he said he wanted Pizza. Hunter was pouting because they didn’t have French fries, so I dreaded the moment Bear realized he wouldn’t be getting fries. The waitress was taking our order and when she got to Bear, he actually told her what he wanted - unprompted by me! Then she asked him if he wanted broccoli or grapes, as a side. I held my breath. He answered, “Grapes.” Then checked in with me by looking me right in the eyes and smiling! Poor server was baffled by all our reactions! I may stay on the road forever, if Bear keeps up his behavior (but I’ll ship the other three home!). For the record, he ate the grapes. We’re back in the room, planning tomorrow and hoping for much better weather.

Quote of the day:

Camden: As he gazed out the window of our hotel room, “Oh for flying out loud, we don’t even have a beautiful view. I’m looking at our car!” I think the Camelback Inn spoiled him.