Day Eight

Great night’s sleep in the lot across the street from the Phoenix. Hayden said that one of the chief complaints of Kansas City is that they tore down1 a ton of historic buildings in exchange for massive surface parking lots.

Bad for the civic structure of KC, good for a skoolie passing through town.

Took advantage of my downtown parking and explored the city on foot. Had a coffee and a breakfast sandwich in a pleasant cafe inside the main branch of the Kansas City Public Library. Halfway through All We Need of Hell, my second Harry Crews novel of the trip.

Came back to the bus after some AM ambulation and decided to go for my first run of the trip. 62 and sunny out. Changed into my shorts and running shoes, and set out for the riverfront. Finished 5k along a supremely scenic path, a down and back that took me under a couple of big bridges, and past the world’s first privately financed stadium purpose-built exclusively for a professional women’s soccer team2. Listened to Casiopea the whole time. Great run3.

Passed by River Market Antiques on my walk back to the bus. Stopped in, and oh man am I glad I stopped in. Four floors of vendors, packed to the gills with reasonably-priced treasures. I was drawn to a horse wind chime. Strong-looking steed, toting 12 chimes underneath.

Fits perfectly in the mantle above the bed, at the very back of the bus. A great copilot at my 6, jingling behind me to let me know things are still cool when I go over a big bump. And when things get too bumpy, dude just tumbles harmlessly onto the bed. Good horse4.

Took off from KC close to sundown. A full moon hanging high in the sky illuminated this stretch of the night drive. Dinner was a Big Mac and a 16 oz black coffee from a big truck stop. Needed some mindless chatter to accompany me the 2.5 hours to the next destination. Thank you Bill Simmons, for your 3-part NBA Over/Under season preview. Hours of absolutely inconsequential riffing. I’ll take it.

Pulled up to the Lazy Day Campground close to 11:00, got too stoned when I got here, passed out after writing half this passage, and finishing it up now before I hit the road.

Next stop, Nashville.

  1. Mudflood IV, more likely. ↩︎
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPKC_Stadium
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  3. Cold-ass shower afterwards, though. Still haven’t quite figured out the hot water heater. ↩︎
  4. The best horse is an inanimate horse, imo. Got very little use for the real thing. ↩︎

MO