Flat, Farms, and Family

We left Colorado at 9:00am mountain time and drove into Great Bend at 4:00 central time.
The distance between our house and the Kansas border is 1,267 miles. Kansas has not really changed much since we were there 15 years ago. It is still flat, flat, flat. Bill was able to take pictures from the car as I held on to the steering wheel. We saw a wide variety of different farms-old and falling apart to Victorian style. It is amazing the number of people who live so far away from other people. But I guess that's what farmers do!
Many of the towns are small and don't seem to have much "happening." It is amazing how many abandoned or neglected houses and buildings we have seen. Great Bend is considered to be a large town--but it feels like we are in a time warp. Anywhere from the beginning of the century to the 50's. And like everywhere else we've been--many buildings are empty.
The main road of Hoisington (where Bill's cousin Sheila lives) is paved with old bricks! (but not yellow). The houses are all old and have basements and front porches. It is fun to drive by and see the people sitting on their front porch.
I didn't realize how excited I could be over seeing a stoplight at an intersection. That means that the town we are entering is somewhat larger! Don't tell anyone-but Bill accidentally went through a red light. I guess it's because we haven't seen one lately. Fortunately no one saw him. He has been very good at abiding by speed limits even if the locals whiz by us. They must wonder about our license plate "2bquikr."
We are staying at a hotel at the convention center which is more like an average size Marriott. Our room opens to an indoor courtyard which permeates of chlorine due to the large inside pool that most of the hotels in Kansas seem to have.
We attended the rehearsal dinner with 60 of Sheila and Don's closest friends and relatives. Don cooked a great ham dinner buffet for everyone. Walmart provided more brownies than you've ever seen..maybe it will be the wedding cake for tomorrow (just kidding!) They are expecting 300 at the wedding tomorrow.
Doug and Sean have really grown since I last saw them 15 years ago! (Duh!)
It was fun getting reconnected with Cindy and Jim (Cindy is Sheila's sister--Bill's other cousin.) Cindy and Jim are both teachers so we had fun comparing Kansas vs. California. It sounds like there is bureaucracy no matter where you are. Cindy teaches art and Jim, her husband, teaches music and science. Their daughter Teryn is getting married next year in August to Neal who is a farmer and fencer.
Bill has been taking pictures but so far he hasn't had the time to figure out how to upload the pictures to the blog. (Where is Sonny (Bill's tech buddy) when you need him?) We'll post them as soon as he figures it out.
The clock says 9:30 pm but my body says 7:30. I don't particularly like time change--especially in the morning when the alarm says 7:00!
But I am really enjoying the road trip. We have loved Maui all these years but I think it was time for a change. We love seeing how other people live. It makes us appreciate--what we have.
Bill's cousin Mary just called. She just arrived in town and wants to go to dinner. (Since my body says its only 7:30 should I eat again? No I think we'll just go for a drink.)