Kumback

Day 1 of the drive was hardest. I planned to be on the road by 11ish, but the movers were more than three hours late, and they were short a loader. I ended up leaving them to finish the job without me and got on the road around 2. My mood wasn't improved by dozens of miles of construction on I-35 in Minnesota, making my first 90 minutes of the drive a slow, maddening crawl. I put pedal to the metal once I got out of that mess, made up some time through Iowa, and got into Kansas City late, but still at a civilized enough hour for dinner.

The cats meowed throughout the drive but were otherwise well-behaved. They settled into a dated and bad-smelling 'pet friendly' room at the Kansas City airport Microtel. I was resigned to this being the cost of bringing pets on the road, but the other hotels on the trip were much better.

Day 2 was long, but more relaxing. Kansas was flat and green, Oklahoma was flat and red (with the occasional oil well decorating a grazing pasture), and Texas was flat and dry. Amarillo was unremarkable, though the Holiday Inn upgraded the cats and I to a suite. The cats appreciated that.

The best part of the day was a lunch stop at the Kumback Lunch in Perry, Oklahoma. I had the best chicken-fried steak of my life there (a dish I usually detest), and I got to see some local color. The fellow in the overalls (with his wife) had a lovely exchange with the restaurant owner. She bought his lunch, asked after his dog, got him a bag of scraps for the dog, then walked him to his pickup truck. Just a little slice of small-town life.

I also tried one of the famous drinks at Sonic. Way too sweet. I don't get the appeal.