Columbia, MO, April 25 -- Yup, you read it right. I’m currently in Missouri, right about the middle of the state. Jeff needs to be back to deal with some issues that came up unexpectedly. I also have an issue that just popped up that I can deal with more effectively if I’m home. So we will try to take the most direct route and make the best time we can.
We left Lexington this morning just before 9 and headed west. By about 5, some 470 miles later, we arrived here for the night and were delighted to find free wifi. Actually, having fought wind most of the way, we were delighted to find anywhere to park for the night!
The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington was a pleasant surprise. It was a quiet, relaxed place with large paved parking places surrounded by acres of soft green grass neatly mowed. Up the road is the polo field which is a huge open flat area where dogs are often allowed to run free. Actually we’ve seen dogs running free alot here, even if they’re supposed to be leashed. There are almost as many dogs as horses around here. Down the hill from the polo field is the steeplechase field with all the jumps set up. And everywhere that gorgeous green grass. But that was when we arrived. By the time we left this morning it had gotten a tad busier.
Yesterday is the first day of the Rolex Three-day Event that is a prequalifier for the US Olympic equestrian teams. There are competitors here from Australia, Canada and Great Britain, as well. In two years they host the World Equestrian Games here -- the first time ever the games have been held outside of Europe.
We wandered over there yesterday afternoon for awhile and watched some of the Dressage competition, though we had no tickets so mostly watched from a distance. Charlie got two free samples of Purina dog food that he actually LIKED! I’ll have to see where I can find that kind of food -- I’ve never seen it in pet stores or grocery stores. He also got a red bandanna that said Purina Mills and had their famous checkerboard squares.
Wednesday we had gone to the Park (we’re in the campground that is right next to it and connected to it so we got a discount) and paid to visit the exhibits and especially the Museum of the Horse. Lots of very interesting, fascinating information. For instance, did you know that Paul Revere was one of three riders who was trying to warn the Colonist militia of the approaching British soldiers? And he and one of the other riders were apprehended by the Brits before they completed their warnings; one other rider was successful and he shall apparently be lost to history because . . . who knows? Maybe because Longfellow didn’t write about him. We figured Paul Revere had a better PR person. Lots of other fascinating nuggets of information like that.
I spent some time on Tuesday with my daughter’s friend (and my friend too), Tina. She is attending the University of Kentucky to get her PhD in gerontology. We drove out to Keeneland Racetrack where we tried on $200 hats and explored the Bluegrass Parkway and the Bourbon Trail, though we never actually found a distillery that was open. We stopped and had an obligatory mint julep. Kind of like boiled peanuts: one is plenty to last your whole lifetime. On that same subject, Jeff and I bought a very small bottle of Southern Comfort and it’s definitely better than straight bourbon or a mint julep, but quite strong. Tina and Patrick came over for a visit on Wednesday night and we made s’mores around the campfire.
We are planning to connect to 80 north of Kansas City but it’s still very cold and snowy in Wyoming -- right now they are predicting accumulations of snow in SE Wyoming -- and the mountain areas so we may just take 70 into Colorado and then decide whether to head south to 40 and go across the mountains of New Mexico or head north to 80, or maybe even cross at 70. We’ll have to keep a close eye on weather forecasts. We don’t WANT to go south because that means we have to travel through California on the way back and frankly I can’t afford to buy diesel there. It’s bad enough here where I paid $4.17 a gallon today and spent more than $270 on fuel just today, though we have a pretty full tank to head out tomorrow.
The other option is cutting across to I-40 but that puts us in Arkansas, Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle -- tornado alley. So that’s even less appealing than snow. At least with snow we can park until the weather warms enough. But with tornadoes we might not have many options. They can get you while you’re parked as easily as not. We could still find tornadoes in Kansas and Missouri -- fortunately we only had wind and rain today -- but probably not as likely as farther south. So we’ll be trying to make good time returning to the northwest but everything will be subject to weather conditions.
If all works well I should be back in the Pacific Northwest by maybe next weekend, possibly sooner. While this means cutting the trip short by a month or even two, it’s okay. I’ve seen most of what I wanted to see, though I still haven’t seen northern New Mexico and still hoped to visit my friends in the Las Vegas area but that can wait for another time, I think. At least they’re much closer than Florida.
Then the work starts and I have to try to sell the Mo and figure out where I’m going to live and if I’m going to find a job or work on my book and try to get that published. Lots to still think about. One step at a time, just like heading home is one state, one city, one mile at a time.
travelinlady
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