Athens of the South
Throughout this journey, there has been one segment of our route that has evoked a lot of opinions and even a few warnings from our friends, family, and at least one gas station attendant. It wasn’t the rugged Canadian alpine, the maddening gridlock Seattle traffic, or the highspeed trucking lanes through Wyoming that people were worried about; it was Kansas. Flat and unsuspecting Kansas. I had never been to the state and was skeptical that the home of Dorothy and Toto could really warrant such a warning. Nevertheless, as the Rocky Mountains slowly disappeared and we made our way through eastern Colorado, I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious to traverse this ill-reputed state.
About three hours into our drive across Kansas, I started to understand what the naysayers were talking about. The patchwork landscape of farms and windmills was never ending and almost hypnotizing. Pat and I decided to guard our mental sharpness by playing road trip classics like “the alphabet game” but time seemed to slow down and while this was not our highest mileage day or even our longest day in the truck, it seemed to last an eternity.
When we arrived in Kansas City, Missouri just before 8pm, we decided to head straight to the legendary Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue. We were only in Kansas City for a night and our only goal was to find the best barbeque and catch up on some sleep before hitting the road again the next day. I am happy to report we accomplished both missions and woke up refreshed and ready to hit the road early the next morning.
We set out across Missouri, passing by the University of Missouri (go tigers!) and the first hospital Pat’s mom worked at. Before leaving Missouri, we circled around the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and crossed the Mississippi River. We spent a quick minute in Illinois and Kentucky before crossing into Tennessee and making our way to Pat’s cousins Dennis and Stacy’s house just outside of Nashville for dinner.
We were greeted by Dennis and Stacy’s two young kids, Addilee and Paxton when we arrived, who had been eagerly awaiting Pat’s arrival all day. Dennis and Stacy immediately made me feel so welcomed to their family and Pat and I thoroughly enjoyed catching up and swapping stories over dinner. We were even treated to an impressive, impromptu puppet show from Addillee and Paxton to cap off the night.
The next day, Pat and I headed up to Bowling Green, Kentucky for a family lunch at his aunt Nancy’s house. I was warmly welcomed to the “Bowlds Clan” by Pat’s aunts Nancy and Martha, his uncles Earl and Warren, and his cousins Kevin, Amanda, Kristy, Amy, and Eric. His family reminded me so much of my own family back in Alaska (the “Humphrey Clan”) and made me realized that no-matter where life may take us, we will always have a strong and supportive family network close by.
After an afternoon full of lots of laughs, stories, and delicious food, we made our way back to Nashville to meet up with our friends Lena and Kyle, who have also been making the journey from Alaska to Virginia, and explore the city. That night we were treated to some great live music in Printer’s Alley, experienced the electric bar scene on Broadway, and may have crashed a few bachelorette parties by accident.
The next morning Pat and I played tourist (moving a little slowly from the prior evening’s activities), stopping at the Parthenon and the Grand Ole Opry before saying farewell to Nashville and preparing for the final legs of our journey. We spent the evening reflecting on how grateful we are for the friends and family we have been able to see on this trip and how lucky we are to be surrounded by such a loving and supportive network of people.
