Life in Kansas City

Well, the others have left and gone, and I'm here for my time as a nomad.

Needless to say, the prayer room is awesome. I haven't had a car so I'd walk or get rides from people. My hotel however is another thing. Internet that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. No coffeemaker, no dishes and it's way out here is the Southeast ghetto near Grandview where the only places I see to buy groceries in the near area are 7/11 and an outlet store with outdated products. And sometimes I ended up fasting coffee, more by inconvenience than choice.

But I had to get out so then yesterday I took a bus that only leaves early in morning and comes back around 5. The weather was somewhat better and I managed to get a good handle on the layout of the city and went a few places. Crown Center was a basic mall where I got a frozen custard and checked out a Waldenbooks which was closing out with 60% discounts. And I checked out Liberty Memorial which was covered in snow. After lots of trudging through snow I finally found the WW1 museum inside. Urban station had some cool stuff like an Irish exhibit, a huge model train set, and some kind a can stacking show. Also checked out shops on Broadway and had lunch at a very spicy Indian buffet. This area seemed rather Portland like and I'm glad to have had a chance to see the city.

The people here are more or less friendly, some more than others. Did that black lady bus driver just call me baby? And did that waitress at the restaurant call me honey? You don't see that too often in Portland. What can I say, the ladies love me here.

But I do know one thing, that living out here makes me appreciate the little things in life, a decent cup of coffee in the morning, a working internet, a drink of crisp Oregon water, the freedom of a car, etc.

This weekend I rented a car. So now I can go on roadtrips. We'll see what adventures are in store.