We rate the whole Friesen-Kulp-Kempf-Rodriquez family Air B&Bs with ten stars. Father Friesen (Kelbabe) sent us off this morning with scrambled eggs with ham, cheese, toast, and fresh coffee. It was still dark and wet when we left. On our twelve hour marathon drive to Manhattan, we chose to travel farm roads, county roads, state roads, and interstates in that order. As a result we spent a great deal of time meandering through Ohio farmlands, home to competitive lawn mowing and very tall stands of dry corn. Then we stepped across Indiana and traveled under the shadows of the many windmills standing in the fields. Illinois proved to be flat, but clean and straightforward. Missouri started the rolling hills. Nestled in each crest of hill was a tidy farm. However, we passed through a few very small Missouri towns. The towns were tired, worn, and looked to provide just the merest measure of hard scrabble for opportunity. By the time we crossed into Kansas, the Flint Hills dominated. We rolled through, dodging the glint from the Western sun. We had little time for taking pictures, since one side effect of traveling farm roads is the extra attention driving narrow roads requires. It's harvest time, and very often during the day we encountered a farm vehicle moving on the paved road at a farmer's pace. No worries. We're in no hurry, and we're retired. But seriously, I was reminded what a great place America is. As we cruised past homes and farms that showed obvious pride, industry, and perseverance I couldn't help but think out there are some really fine people, people we'd be happy to call neighbor, and even friend. When we travel, I often think, "Everyone out here is just working the dream." It's encouraging, and it's really uplifting to spend a couple weeks mostly unhooked from the tiny screen that often occupies a portion of my day. It's hard to surf social media from behind the wheel. We thought, too, today, that this trip to see family has been so worth it. After all, life is so much better shared. We highly recommend it mostly because it reminds us that life is good, especially today.
Go West you two.
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