Kansas City Here We Come

The land is still very FLAT with hundreds of wind turbines as we head toward Abilene, Kansas.

We arrived in Abilene and the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, and his childhood home.

 

Even though the Eisenhower family lived on the wrong side of the tracks, the house was a nice farm house.

The small living room for Dwight D. Eisenhower  and his 6 brothers.

 The Eisenhower museum's display of some of the WWII weapons.

Both Republicans and Democrats said, "We Like Ike."

We ate a yummy chicken noodle soup at the Hitching Post Cafe.  This was truly a local cafe.

This an example of a car lot advertisement that demonstrates the bad weather this area can get during the Spring months.

Riding along I70 east, we rode past Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.











     We hate to admit it but today was a rather boring ride.   We left Hays, Kansas in winds that had lessened from the night before.  The landscape continued to be very flat and very populated with hundreds of wind turbines.  There were numerous drilling rigs along our way.  We are still not sure what they are drilling for on these farms.  The closer we got to the eastern part of the state, the landscape became greener with more small hills and more trees.  On our way to Independence, Missouri we saw billboards directing us to the Oz Museum.  Unfortunately, the yellow brick road to Oz was way too far away.
     We arrived in Abilene, Kansas to visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, his childhood home and the final resting place of Ike, Mamie and their firstborn child who died at the age of 4.  The museum was filled with interesting WWII memorabilia and many items used during the war against Germany and Japan.  It was interesting to see a tank, a cadillac staff car, weapons,  uniforms and a parachute dummy designed to fool the enemy.  The museum also had Ike's golf clubs and the score card when playing Ben Hogan.  Ike shot an 84 and Hogan shot a 68. The White House was highlighted with many beautiful gifts from foreign dignitaries as well as emphasis on Mamie's bangs hairstyle.  The library had an exhibit of Holocaust Art. The sculptures, sketches and paintings that concentration camp prisoners risked creating was an attempt to document their experiences as well as remember their former lives.  One of the next stops for this exhibit is the United Nations.
     We ate a delicious homemade chicken noodle soup (reminded us of chicken pastry) with the locals at the Hitching Post Cafe in old downtown Abilene.  We passed the Kaufman Stadium, home to the Kansas City Royals on our way to Independence, Missouri for the evening.  We stayed at a Drury Inn & Suites Hotel for the first time which has a free dinner every evening with free alcohol beverages, free fountain soft drinks and free popcorn all the time.  This a new hotel and our most economical so far with great benefits.  And yes, we did enjoy some wine!  We will visit the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library tomorrow.
     Boy, we sure miss the scenery of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah!  We now have driven over 4,000 miles.  It won't be long before we are back in North Carolina.