Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Buck and I knew we needed a break--it's been a non-stop wheeeeeeeeee since May?? We decided to book an inexpensive getaway a reasonable distance away and ended up in . . . Kansas :) That's the first place most people think of for vacation, right? And how!

Several years ago, when we were trying to get drivers ed hours logged, I mapped a bunch of day- to overnight trips that the kids could reasonably drive to. I've still got these destinations saved in a folder on my phone. To my surprise, The Oz Museum, turned out to be pretty close to the little vacation rental Buck and I booked. Our goal was to mostly stay put--read (which I haven't done since March), maybe put together a puzzle (which I haven't done since February?, well, I guess I helped some with the murrrderrr one in Utah in May), Buck brought football cards to organize, we both brought our Bible studies, he brought speakers to play gospel songs, and we worked hard at not doing anything--just a quiet reset with maybe one adventure out per day.

The first day--we had to at least go get some food :) Our little 1800s schoolhouse sat at the crossroads of a couple of cornfields. There was an apple tree in the yard, but probably not sufficient to get us through four days' stay. We dropped off our bags then drove less than 30 minutes into Manhattan--the little apple. Apparently it is a college town, and college starts soon! Most of the roads around the college were torn up (which seemed like really bad timing), so approaching our intended destination became a bit of a challenge. However, we managed to find a way, find a parking spot, and find a bookshop--ooh! (I think we had dinner first, but I didn't take any pictures of that :)

After the bookshop (I did get one book, it's a modern retelling of Jane Eyre--when I actually get a chance to read it, I will let you know how it is), we stopped into the neighboring donut shop. May I add our timing was excellent. Donuts just went to BOGO status, so Buck filled a box! We had breakfast for the next couple of days set :) The tilework was so pretty--I love a good penny tile floor! And the chandeliers were made of bicycle tire spokes, you can see that in Buck's halo ;)

Well, I didn't get as much of this written as I thought I had! Since the dogs are literally breathing all over me (gross!) I will summarize. The Oz Museum was surprisingly cool! Lots of interesting exhibits and historic memorabilia. We learned some behind the scenes things, and could even have sat and watched the entire film in the little theater housed within. I thought it was neat that there was a giant storybook open in front of the screen to show how the story came from the pages of the book! Which, I happened to be reading a sort of historical fiction, non-fiction version of called Finding Dorothy. I don't know that I would read it again, but it was interesting to make the connections of Frank Baum's life and the bits and pieces he incorporated into OZ that made it so personal and special to their family.

Back outside the museum  ... we only had to cross the road to follow the yellow brick road! But first we went into a cute coffee shop, a military surplus store (where we found the pitcher that matches our wedding dishes, of all things, mixed in among countless accoutrements from military history), a couple of antique shops, and a supposedly famous western wear store where I got my first pair of Hey Dudes (which are not western at all, but pink :) We also spent $5 in bank fees to get cash to get change to get a pressed penny at The Oz Museum (after eating tacos named after the dog in the movie--which guess what--was actually a girl dog named Terry!)

What was at the end of the yellow brick road, you may wonder? A bakery of course! (we bought breakfast for the next day). Also a city park with a nice playground, aquatic center, antique Dutch mill, and historic museum. We ended up staying far longer than I expected we would in this cute little town, and we didn't even get to the ice cream shop (or bbq--that one smelled so good!)

The next day . . . we hopped back in the car (which was now quite dirty from the dusty roads) and headed back to Manhattan to explore the Midwest Dream Car Collection. What a lot of neat vehicles they have tucked away in that place! Buck kept sending G$ pictures and I think impressing him! I liked all the shiny things and wanted to take the cream cheese mint mobile home :) Also, sending the pic of the DeLorean to my brother got a record-setting second text response in the same year!! The other was on his birthday--whoa!!

After a car wash, a Scooters smoothie that tasted like peach coffee (thumbs down), and dessert acquisition from a local grocery store, Buck and I headed back to the schoolhouse for the evening. And then I reached into the cupboard for the last cup to make a chai, and there was a SPIDER in it that was as big as the inside of the cup. It was chilling. I was not chilling at that point. I started crying and said we needed to go home (this wasn't the first critter we'd encountered, but certainly the most startling). The owners of the Airbnb share a yard with it, so they were like, "Come out and feed apples to the horses, and I will come over and spray." They were super sweet, and even gave us a jug of freshly made cider (which was delicious!) We got to see their chickens and play with their kittens and meet their little girl (who was just getting over the chicken pox her brother still has). They invited us to church the next morning, but we were needing to get home for the fantasy football draft you've already read about :) So, all in all, I'm *thankful* the spider scared me out of the house, so we could meet and interact with the sweet young family who own the place. They certainly utilize the space to honor God in their decor, literature, and hymnal access. Pretty cool!

We had charcuterie for supper and watched the tail end of a series we'd started at home. The TV is at the top of the very steep staircase/ladder, so we proceeded with much caution on the descent. Overall, it was a fun, much-needed getaway to a unique and interesting location. God allowed us a practice run at taking a mini vacation together. The kids took good care of the dogs at home and the house looked great when we arrived! It smelled funny, but that was due to some laundry that needed to be washed. I threw it out instead :) I never know how to conclude these little tales . . . there are a bunch of details I planned to include, but I think this is the fourth time I've worked on this blog post. Plus my prayer hour sign-up starts in six minutes, so time to wrap it up. The End. Lol :)