½ Tank #14

First off, sorry for the out of ordered posts...I'm just trying to organize a little better. It's obviously not going all that well. :)

We stopped in Kansas City, KS for gas despite being told that the Missouri side was much nicer. And from what we saw, that’s probably true. I had to pee really bad by the time we found a gas station, so while Hannah was filling the tank I ran inside to the bathroom. What I found made me sad. The bathroom had no lock on it. There was no toilet paper. There were no paper towels. I don’t think there was any soap either. And there were a few tough-looking guys working out in the store behind bullet-proof glass. But I REALLY had to go. So I stood and stared at what I had to work with for a couple minutes. And I just couldn’t do it. So I went back out to the car, told Hannah of my experience, and we set off to find better accommodations. We eventually came across another gas station that looked a bit safer, only to discover that there were no public restrooms. Luckily a guy inside the store let us know that around back there was a Laundromat with a bathroom. So we checked it out and WHOOHOO we found a bathroom. Both Hannah and I were amazed at how sheltered we felt while we were in that area. We were literally the only white people around, and we know that that doesn’t mean we were in danger necessarily, but living in Bellingham for the past five or so years certainly doesn’t expose you to much diversity, so we felt very out of place. I’m actually looking forward to more experiences like that (safe ones, of course) and hopefully even living somewhere with diversity.

Once we got back on the road I decided to nap for a bit because I was exhausted. Hannah apparently didn’t want me to, though, because she kept talking to me even after I was snuggled into my seatbelt. And then stupid Clint Eastwood and stupid Meryl Streep had to go and make stupid “Bridges of Madison County,” so we just had to stop and delay my nap even longer. Oh wait, let me explain. As I was falling asleep, Hannah gets all excited and asks me if Iowa is where the movie was set. I say I hated that movie and I don’t know. There are several signs though, so Hannah decides to exit the freeway so that she can see some bridges. It only takes a couple minutes to find one of the main ones, and I am shocked to see a few other cars there, along with a couple people trying to make a profit off all the gawkers. Hannah loved that she got a picture of the bridge, though, and loved despising Clint Eastwood for a bit. Seriously, he makes the worst movies. Ever. Okay, I’m done. Eventually we made it through Des Moines and I fell asleep for I don’t even know how long. And I woke up not feeling rested. Probably because I was sleeping in a car. :)

God bless, over and out.
~Marissa