We had a big breakfast buffet this morning...
Only on vacation can you have gummy bears and m&m's with your bacon and watermelon for breakfast...
It was a super long day in the car, so Scott tried the Extra Strength 5 hour energy. I swear he did not stop talking for all 5 hours! I really do want our driver to be awake, but oh my word. It was almost more than we could take!
No offense to anyone from Kansas, but dang does it stink here! Literally. Cow factories are gross! If I lived here and saw these on a daily basis, I would be a vegetarian.
It's not exactly "pretty" either. This was hands down the worst pit stop of the entire trip, at this Kansas rest stop. I think ours in Texas are way too over the top, but come on...toilet paper and toilets that flush are not extravagant. Step it up Kansas.
Had a great lunch in Dodge City at Tres Amigos, so I took a picture of the Tres Amigas!
Six years ago we drove through Greensburg, Kansas only a month after an E6 tornado ripped through it. It was 1.7 miles wide, wider than the entire town of 1,500 people. It was crazy. We'd never seen anything like it. So, since we were going to pass within a mile of it, we wanted to stop and see what the town was like today.
The town was declared a disaster and received federal funds & FEMA assistance to rebuild. When they rebuilt, they went entirely "green." Clif bar, Stonyfield Farms, Ben & Jerry's provided grant money to help them. Everything is new, shiny and very energy efficient. However, there are still signs of the damage that occurred...
There were several home sites that were never rebuilt. The population of the town went from 1500 to 700 today.
Greensburg's big claim to fame, is that it has the world's largest hand dug well! So, you know we had to stop! It was really cool. They have built a museum around it that tells the history of the town, including the tornado.
The well is massive! It has stone walls and and a crazy spiral staircase that goes all the way down to the water.
The kids really enjoyed reading about the tornado, and how the town has rebuilt itself. This was all of our favorite....This figurine of the Last Supper was kept on a family's dining room table. After the tornado their home was so damaged that they simply had bulldozers come in and clean up the debris. The crew found the figurine just like this...
Love the message they added to it! What an awesome reminder for all of us.
They had all kinds of pictures from the visit that President Bush made in the days following...
As I stood looking at picture after picture like this of President Bush, it struck me how much I miss pictures like this of our President. We don't see much "leading with love" from our current Commander in Chief and it's a shame.
Not long after Greensburg, we made it to Oklahoma...
The kids were most distressed that someone had shot the sign!
Not sure how to explain small town redneck boredom to them just yet.
We didn't get to the hotel until almost 10 p.m. We are staying only one night in Oklahoma City.
A few years ago Scott had a conference here and I took the kids to the OKC zoo. They loved it and to this day say that it is their favorite zoo. So, tomorrow morning we promised them we would go before we headed home! We are also planning to take them to the Federal Building Memorial on our way out of the city. They are also excited to see Moore on the road home. Especially since they saw today how a town picks itself back up and rebuilds.
Then, we are putting the pedal to the metal and looking for that Lone Star Flag that welcomes us back to Texas!!
Blessings from Oklahoma,
Leslie
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