Roads with Henley: Day 5: MO >> KS >> CO

We woke before six...again. After getting ready, packing up, and getting the car all set up with nice n’ clean blankets, we walked to nearby neighborhood River Market. River Market boasts of being the perfect neighborhood with all its dining and shopping options and events. It has a year round farmers market and is sprawling and very popular on Saturdays when it is outside with other vendors. It looked to me like the best neighborhood of KC so I was glad to be staying in walking distance. Ya well, get this: doesn’t allow dogs. You’re tellin’ me that your city’s one attraction, an outdoor market doesn’t allow dogs?? Bastards!

Well we had to do something while we were here so we just wandered. We walked up through the financial district. It was very quiet being a Saturday except for a lot of construction as they build a street car system. We walked back towards the loft we stayed at and had breakfast at Happy Gillis. For the first time in my life I got the yogurt/granola/fruit option. I was a little disappointed in myself, but it was already so hot out I didn’t want to be eating a hot salmon benedict. It was really good for the yogurt/granola/fruit option.

I meant to drive to Westport before getting on the road, another noteworthy neighborhood I had heard, but I completely forgot once I got in the car. Time to drive across Kansas.

Pretty much what you’d expect. Flat. Farms. Corn. There’s exits with gas stations and maybe a McDonald’s or Subway, but otherwise...nothing. Not even Walmart. Scary. It reached 104 degrees, but it finally wasn’t raining! I kept looking for barbecue, but I guess it’s all too “real” around there -- no seafood options. Not even corn bread or collard greens, which I would like offered with blackened catfish and mac n‘ cheese, thanks.

I’ve made it to Colorado! I’m about a hundred miles in and it still looks exactly like Kansas. Womp womp. I’m staying at a rest stop sixty miles outside of Denver. It’s not as nice as the rest stop I stayed at the other night. It’s old and the bathrooms are gross and it’s not as busy. I like the busyness -- less creepy. In the morning I’ll go straight to Denver where I’ll be staying at an Airbnb for two nights. This whole trip pretty much started with wanting to go to Denver. I’ve been told it’s very me; that I will love it. I don’t have any doubts. I have maybe unreasonably high expectations of Colorado. Let's see!