Day 2: Drier, But chilly.

I got on the road at 8 this morning, slightly later than I wanted, but early enough that I had a good amount of time to get to my destination for the day. It was dry, but the wind continued to come out of the North kept the little bit of sun from actually being warm. One can hope tomorrow will be a better go. As I moved deeper into Missouri and across Kansas, the fields just kept being waterlogged. Not just flooded or muddy, just morasses of mud and water. Food costs are going to skyrocket this summer.

I was amused at the name of this gas station/fireworks store in Missouri. I thought of one of my friends from Maryland, and his propensity to make things go FWOOM.

I Finally made it to Wilson, Kansas. (The one in the middle not the one in the south east corner. No shit, I swear there are two.) It’s mostly a ghost town (or so it seemed at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon.) It has interesting buildings in the “post stone” style. (Quarried Limestone blocks, from local sources)

I wandered around a bit, the town was fairly empty in a Children of the Corn kind of way. If you don’t hear from me after this, that is what happened.

They are preserving their original opera house, which was damaged in a fire in 2009. It appears they are going to rebuild the structure as sort of an outdoor amphitheater.

I took a peek down into the basement area and saw a new Friend.

I don’t think it was the trusting sort. I wandered a bit farther and saw the world’s largest Czech Painted Egg. Wilson claims to be the capitol of Czechs in Kansas. I wasn’t aware there was debate.

Walking back, I made another friend. I encountered this guy a few times while walking around town.

I also encountered a few abandoned time machines. (Relics of the past!!)

I found the old jail. It was built in the same style as the opera house.

It also appears that even buildings that *don’t* appear to be built using this technique, are actually built that way.

I wandered back to the Hotel for Dinner (They said their Chicken Fried Steak was almost famous. It *was* pretty good.)

Today I also decided it was ok to have dessert. So I had their Bread Pudding. It was delicious. (I wish we had someplace close to home that made it this well. I’d be 500 pounds, easily.)

I’m staying at the Midland Railroad Hotel, which dates from the 1890s. The hotel feels like a classic traveler’s hotel, with a downstairs parlor, dining facilities, and a gorgeous interior.