quinnkdotme

Finally ensconced in a very dingy Comfort Inn outside of Wichita, I can honestly say I will be happy to leave Kansas in the morning.  With perhaps a little foreshadowing this morning when I discovered I was in Texas County, OK which was a bit confusing, I arrive in Kansas where there is a dearth of signage.  You don’t know you are actually in Kansas until 2 miles after crossing the state line.  You are lucky indeed if you can find signs that indicate the town you are entering, but you will find plenty of “No Jake Brakes” signs.  And my hotel was off an interstate that wasn’t posted until the exit ramp, followed by the exit for the hotel being called by a different name until… you guessed it, the exit ramp sign.  Add to that, people drive like maniacs here, and the trucks enjoy tailgating.  Not happy.

But there were signs and moments of the ridiculous and one moment of true beauty along the road today.

Left Albuquerque at 630AM, pretty sunrise and discovered that road trips are particularly useful for culling CD collections.  I discovered I no longer like Concrete Blonde.

Came upon Cline’s Corner sign ” Largest, cleanest restrooms on I-40…Worth the Wait!”  I decided to bypass, that was a lot of promise and I couldn’t bear to be disappointed.  I later came upon a sign for Billy the Kid and Ft. Sumner, evidently he’s buried there.  On the sign it promoted Rte 66 radio – which I turned on and strangely enough they were playing, “I fought the law, and the law won.”  I thought maybe it was a tourist pre-recorded station, and that this could be part of a loop.  No such creativity, next was an ad for a local church’s can drive and then the Eagles.  I am also perplexed by a sign for Broasted Chicken just outside Moriarty, NM.  I consider myself a foodie, but I’ve never heard of broasting… you?  And feeling country, 25 miles outside of Albuquerque and I have my first semi truck hauling hay bales!

Somewhere shortly after entering Texas, I come across the Nora Vista Community Center – an iconic brick building that is way cool…. I think I’m in love.

Just before leaving Texas, in Texhoma, I see Happy State Bank.  I want to be a customer there.

Into OK, and I-54 is a two lane highway, lots of stock yards…. ugh it smells.  Pass by the Livestock Auction Restaurant.  I decided to bypass… shocker.

Entering Guymon, OK (which I have no idea how to pronounce), there is a sign for Panhandle State University, whose motto is, “Education through knowledge.”  Clearly that is better than education through stupidity, but they couldn’t come up with anything more original than that?  Guymon has several points of interest for me:

1) My first sighting of the Sinclair Dinosaur (I’m on a road trip singing to myself… I have to enjoy the small things)

2) There is a drive-thru Donut Palace

3) Hunnys BBQ looks intriguing for lunch, until I come across the fluorescent sign stating that “Hunnys welcomes hunters!”  On second thought… no.

4) There is a giant – like 15 ft. high cowboy statue, and the cowboy has jazz hands.  Love it!

And now the evil empire of Kansas… I ponder irony while driving through Liberal, Kansas.  And strange but true, you have to drive through Hooker to get to Liberal.  And at Hooker … it gets worse… you turn right for Beaver.

I call my friend Ansley to tell her about this, and she asks me to tell her exactly where I am at that minute.  I tell her, ” I am somewhere between Hooker and Liberal.”  I guess that makes me moderate?

As I mentioned earlier, Kansas doesn’t give you a lot, but in Liberal, they tout the Dorothy Wizard of Oz House…. a recreated, i.e. not the real deal, house of Dorothy.  It appears licensing was an issue because the Dorothy on the billboard is not Judy Garland.  The young woman/”model” looks about 20 years too old and needs to invest in better ruby slippers.  Also in Liberal, a very strange, pretty creepy statue of a decrepid pioneer or native american girl.  And it features Pancake Blvd… which made no sense to me until I tried to look up on Wikipedia what’s up with the statue.  Turns out Liberal and Olney, England have a Pancake Day race… I don’t really know what Pancake Day is, but I guess if you are going to eat a short stack, a little running to burn off the calories couldn’t hurt. And last but not least, Krazy House – the Boot King of Kansas.

This blog tonight is way too long, but I will quickly admit to a moment of stunning beauty in Kansas… a prairie sunset.  The sky was such an intense orange, pink, it lit up the prairie in an amazing glow as the sun set behind me and the almost full moon rose in front of me.  The fields are harvested corn fields that were golden in the evening light and deer were seeking out kernels among the rows.  Other fields of cotton, where the plants were a deep ruddy brown sprinkled with the white cotton that was a muted pink.  A truly magic hour of sunset, and my pleasure was doubled by my road trip sound track… White Stripes.

I am headed to Clarinda, IA tomorrow to visit my friend Trish.  We have been talking and waiting and hoping for this visit for months.  Can’t wait!

As ever,

K. Quinn

And with 4 hours sleep and 12 hours of driving, it’s even harder to spell.

I made it to Albuquerque by 630PM… after spending too much time and money in Flagstaff.  Yesterday’s packing adventure was accomplished thanks to packing tetris genus Ansley who managed to get most of my stuff in the car and still have a little room for me.  Unfortunately, we packed my winter coat, gloves, hat, etc. somewhere in the middle.  And about 15 minutes into my trip, I realized balancing my purse on my shoulder wasn’t really going to work for the entire trip.  So I sought out supplies and a luggage rack case in Flagstaff.  $92 later, I am equipped with bag on top of car which has freed up the front passenger seat considerably of a suitcase, two trash bags of clothes, and another bag of random items; a hat and pair of gloves that are reminiscent of 31 Flavors (brown and pink); an ice scraper – as there is snow along along the route – figured I might need one tomorrow morning; and a steering wheel cover, because at about 10AM my steering wheel started desintegrating due to my Kung Fu grip.

I also learned a few new things during my time in Flagstaff:

1) Circle K employees don’t know how to count:

Example a: My change due was $17.23.  She counted back my change, “One, two, three, five, six…” and managed to get to $18.23.  I didn’t say anything because having skipped the number 4, I actually did receive the correct change.

Example b: The printed directions to return back to the interstate, that were created by a Circle K someone, clearly state to turn right out of the driveway and right at the 2nd light.  Well right at the 2nd light takes you to the Marriot Courtyard, but a right at the 3rd light does indeed take you back on to the interstate.

2) Speaking of counting, the AZ department of transportation also appears to be numerically challenged.  The mileage for Winslow started at 98 miles, then 12 miles later it was down to 40 miles, but the mileage for Albuquerque was only down by 12 miles.  Bummer.

3) Ministry is not good road trip music, but ABBA’s greatest hits most definitely is.

4) It’s not particularly wise to try and eat a Laughing Cow cheese wedge with your multigrain crackers while trying to steer your overloaded SUV past a “wide load” semi.

And, because after 8 hours of driving and singing to myself, I found the following signs amusing and thought I would share….

Stewart’s Rock Shop…. the sign actually looks like over time it has been revised to indicate what, according to Stew, will be the biggest audience draw… clearly back in the day it was rocks, then he painted above it…”Automated Dinosaurs” and because that isn’t really drawing in the kiddies anymore, above that squished at the top of the board that is Stew’s sign, it says, “Feed the Ostrich.”  Given that ostriches are flock animals, it naturally concerned me that they have one lowly ostrich freezing his butt off in the December snows of Arizona – that’s one bitter bird.  I figured it was worth a stop.  Thankfully, prior to turning off, I saw that the sign on the building said, “Feed the ostriches,” and indeed there was a flock.  I say, “thankfully,” because after the shopping debacle in Flagstaff, I really just wanted to keep on driving.

The other signs I enjoyed were the gas stations masquerading as cultural centers, The Hopi Travel Center brought to you by Chevron,  The Navajo Travel Center brought to you by Shell, and The Zuni Travel Plateau – I wasn’t really clear on that one – might have been Conoco?  I doubt there is much cultural learning – although you might be able to snag some fry bread with your purchase of 2 t-shirts for $10.99.

Deliriously tired, and wonderfully sated with New Mexico chile dinner… I am going to bed.  Onward to ever exotic Wichita, KS tomorrow.

And by the way, my authentic Mexican dinner last night… delicious… best enchiladas in my life.

As ever,

K. Quinn

There are moments in my life… increasingly occurring lately…. where I couldn’t be less glamorous or more moronic.  The last 24 hours is certainly proving this point.

Since Wednesday, I have been sleeping on an air mattress with a sleeping bag.  The bag has been zipped up and every night I wake up sweating and miserable. So last night, genius – I kept the sleeping bag unzipped.  I was so cold, that I slept scrunched up and now my neck is killing me!

Frantically cramming left over belongings into my storage space, I have raced back to the apartment to clean my fridge.  I went Mommie Dearest on the fridge… you could lick any shelf and survive should you want to, and there are NO WIRE HANGERS!

Went to lunch with great friend… he will probably read this so I have to say it… although he is a really, truly a great friend and wonderful human being… a little skewed on the political front…. anyway, once I got home I need to change back into dirty, moving t-shirt.  My apartment is empty and the window blinds aren’t great, and I’m multi-tasking – so I take off my sweater and am wandering around my apartment topless.  And let me just say – all  those movies where women are getting ready for work, brushing their teeth naked or vacuuming in lingerie…. it doesn’t happen, but today I run around my apartment topless trying to remember where I left my crummy t-shirt… and I realize the gardner is staring at me.  Ahhh, Fellini.

I have more storage runs to make, car to pack, dinner with a Mexican family (no, really I do) and, Bree – I might even make dinner for a Nigerian family before I leave.

As ever,

K. Quinn

I am sure many blogs begin with a…what am I doing/I don’t know what I’m doing, etc.  Well, as evidenced by my lack of anything remotely stylish or savvy on this page, I am learning as I go along.  And somewhat appropriate as a theme, as I am leaving Los Angeles for who knows how long in approximately 39 hours!  What on earth am I doing?

I will keep you posted… and hopefully gain a little more skill on the posting front.

As ever, K. Quinn