Schoolhouse

We found a lovely old building to explore on the way into Pittsburg. An old schoolhouse or church I think.

An overturned piano in the corner.

Visitor!

I'm already enjoying having my lovely Liz around for a few days!

Great Timing

It's Shark Week and I'm here for it! Glory hallelujah!

Crawford County Fair

Yee-haw! My mom submitted some of her knitting so we took a trip. We'll go back in a few days to see if she won any ribbons.

Driving Home

Kansas Sunset

Joplin, MO

Joplin, MO

Check out those poor trees. It was sad to see all the tornado damage.

By the light of the torch there is no ugly woman. Ha!

Time with my parents.

Day 10

Oklahoma City to Pittsburg, KS. 253 miles. Time for a break.

Surprising the Folks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pWqa0tTMMY

Sent from my iPod

Praise the Lord.

The end is in sight!

A great new friend.

The Vespa didn't get to enjoy the fan like I did.

I needed a break so badly. Then I saw this on the road and it was like angels sang.

Cash country!

Not a great photo but this was the 118 degree moment.

Chandler, OK. So hot it was hard to even stop. But some really cool old buildings.

I surprised my parents and did the trek to Pittsburg today! This is me in the garage, and I am so happy to be done with today's drive. I'll post more later from Day 10. There's only one word to describe today: hot hot hot hot hot hot hot.

Hot.

Shout OUTS!

Shout Out to my Amarillo host family last night - thanks for all the fruit you sent me with this morning! To Vanessa, whose parents' house I'm staying in: you have been amazing helping me figure all this out. And to the two guys I met in the parking lot somewhere in Oklahoma. They asked me if I wanted a beer (I said HECK no), and they asked me where I was going. I said Georgia, and the driver said, Ohhh, with all them hillbillies. (Mind you, the driver was chubby, shirt-less, and had some pretty interesting front teeth). He said, I'm one of them hillbillies. Look-ee here (and he sticks his arm out the window)...and on his arm is tatooed, Country Boy. I told him I thought it was a great tattoo, but I now really wish I would have remembered to take a photo of it. Anyway, they were hilarious and probably the highlight of the lonnng, hot, neck-hurting afternoon.

No shout-outs to Time Zone Changes, because I was unprepared for the one in NM (so I was an hour late to meet the family I was staying with), and I was also unprepared for the one last night. It was brutal waking up so early this morning, and I still got out later than I meant to. And no shout-out to the girl in Amarillo who gave me an attitude when I asked her to turn the air on (and wouldn't), so I had to pay 75 cents for some air. Boo.

Day Nine

Yep, that's nine toes.

Amarillo, TX to Oklahoma City, OK. 289 miles. Done.

And let me say, I'm so glad it's done. I got to the house of a friend of Simon's...and they're gone on vacation so I relaxed, swam in their pool, and enjoyed the air-con immensely. A stop in Tulsa tomorrow night, then home to Pittsburg for a week! I'm so looking forward to a break from the heat (because I will hide out inside all week watching movies and hanging out with my Lizzie who's coming to visit!).

In Wheeler, TX, I finally found what was good about TX.

I was invited by these fine folks for some free food. They were lovely, and gave me an ice cold Coke and we talked about life and laughed at their great dogs. It was the best lunch break I've had in a while.

Thank you guys!

Look at that cute dog!!

Buddy and Little Sister. I thought Buddy was going to eat me but luckily he was a non-person-eating sort of dog.

Some Oklahoma. Sort of boring, but nicer than north Texas.

Weeeellll, hello there Oklahoma. You're looking mighty fine.

I saw this sign at a gas station bathroom, where for some reason it made me laugh out loud.

Maybe too much sun today?

It's ok to be in OK!

And then the temperature soared to 113 on my Vespa thermometer. We were both feeling a bit like the desert had returned. I hardly took any photos because I tried to get to Okla. City before I died. I had a monster headache most of the time, and though it was so much more beautiful than Texas (sorry, but true), it was so hot I wanted it to end too.

And it was wiiiiin-dy. There were more than a few times when the wind hit me so hard from the side that it pushed me way over in the lane. It was super tiring fighting the wind and sun the whole time.

Right before I rode my last 100 mile stretch I accidentally poured gasoline in my helmet. I couldn't even believe it. I ran the whole helmet under water for at least ten minutes and used hand soap but I was still smelling gasoline the whole time. Argh.

Picnic, anyone?

Not sure why anyone would voluntarily stop here.