After a good night sleep, we headed west. It was steamy and hot when we got up in Platte City. We ate healthy -- sweet rolls. Driving west, we were headed to Lawrence, Kansas. We were planning on doing the volksmarch in Ft Leavenworth, KS, but the start time wasn't until 1 PM and we needed to be down the road by then. I had always thought of Kansas as being flat. I used to joke that you could stand in Kansas City and see Colorado. When I saw the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman movie "Far and Away", I thought that they had the Kansas terrain wrong. I was wrong. The land is not flat, but hilly, as depicted in the movie. By the way, it is not a bad movie and, though probably not filmed in Kansas, does look like it.
Lawrence, Kansas, was in the middle of the free versus slavery debate. It is the home of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The start point is at the Eldridge Hotel which has the most beautiful lobby. The lobby of the hotel is Gay Nineties 1890s style. I would have felt more at home if I had been in a 1900 dress than in shorts and a t-shirt. The walk is a residential walk for the first half. As in Independence, many homes were decorated for the coming holiday. The remainder is on the campus of UK. There were numerous signs telling "Roy" that they loved him. Not being a sports fan, I had no idea that their basketball coach Roy Williams was being courted by UNC, his alma mater. There are numerous statues of the Kansas Jayhawk
Again the weather was very hot and humid. This time I was armed with plenty of water and Gatorade, plus some rest. We did have one tragedy when Emilie dropped her camera, breaking it. I let her use my Olympus for the remainder of the walk and we also revisited sites where she had taken pictures in case the pictures in the camera were ruined.
Following the walk, we drove to Hays, Kansas. Hays was the site of Fort Hays and was a railroad and ranching center. The Best Western in Hays was at least vacuumed. Unfortunately, our room was on the second floor and with heavy suitcases our arms really got a workout. Second floor rooms were in the minority fortunately. We probably got carry-out for dinner. When your day consists of driving and volksmarching, there is not much interest in checking out the local Five Star restaurant. The next day is Colorado and the Kagans.