look, i have ~"wizard of oz" issues~ with this place. those of you who know me irl, feel free to laugh at that now. i'll wait.
finished? ok, let's get back to our story.
it was another scorcher of a day. walking outside meant getting grit in your teeth from the wind and dust. i kinda' felt like a high plains drifter. but not really? because i don't think clint eastwood ever held a styrofoam cup of juice in his teeth while he opened his hotel door.
also because i was wearing jeans and a tshirt and not, like, a serape and cowboy boots. whatevs.
if you are not from the states (hello, overseas readers! love you!) you may not be aware of the sheer kitsch that is available for viewing in the plains states. my theory? if you don't have something to break up the monotony, it is BLOODY HIGHWAY ALL THE TIME. (i will not link to driver's ed vids that scarred me FOR LIFE. you are welcome.)
i think that explains this giant master copy of van gogh's "sunflowers". maybe. maybe there is NO explanation for it.
whatever its raison d'etre, GIANT VAN GOGH MASTER COPY I WAS THERE!
yes, i was wearing my hoodie in 100+ f weather. i like heat. *shrug* IT WAS NOT A SERAPE!
i have referred to the wind in these posts. it was a constant in the plains states and it had an edge to it. all heat and threat of fire. very. unsettling.
so we sought sanctuary at a cathedral in kansas.
no, really! cathedral of the plains! it is one of the 8 wonders of kansas? that is a thing? eh, i was definitely wondering what it was doing there.
some of you may recall (esp if i have made you take me to one. hi, shed! hi, groc!) that i am kinda' obsessed with cathedrals and abbeys. as i have recently crash coursed giant sacred spaces in euroland, it was pretty interesting to see the american take on things.
i don't think there is a giant tureen of holy water at notre dame.
what i learned from this visit is that the bits that i liked were all imported from europe. THIS SHOULD SUPRISE EXACTLY NONE OF YOU! plus this: the lack of centuries of smoke from candles makes things seem really....sterile.
i mean, there were candles. don't get me wrong. but i doubt that these had been burning since the 1200's, you know? because, HAHA! THE U.S. IS NOT THAT OLD!
i still loved them though.
did i mention that it was located on cathedral ave? (maybe st? maybe blvd?) how american is that?
tourist: excuse me. where is the cathedral?
local: on cathedral ave. you can't miss it. tallest thing for 100 miles.
anyway, more drivingdrivingdriving through the flatlands.
until we got to a mexican restaurant in some small town. this is the rent to own furniture store next door where i did the robot.
and here is our shiny, shiny booth where i drank an ok horchata and ate a pretty good little chalupa.
and, apparently, i blanked on what happened until we got to oklahoma because HAHA! my camera had nothing until this picture of me at an extended stay hotel. it was SUITE! badoomching!!
it was also in the same town as price tower which YES! WE WENT TO THE NEXT DAY!! but you will have to wait to hear about that tomorrow.
TOMORROW: oklahoma---> arkansas ---> TENNESSEE!! yeah, tomorrow is homecoming day, kids. i never knew that i would be so happy to see hernando de soto bridge again.
No comments:
Post a Comment