We're goin to Kansas City!

Hey (hay) from the Wandering Berkmans! (There’s a lot of hay in Kansas!)

It was sadder than we thought leaving our home of 21 years, 8 Helen Road in Clinton, NJ,  on Sunday.  Lots of great family memories there. Not going to lie-- a few tears were shed.

It's Thursday and we’ve finally arrived in Colorado- 8 states in 5 days.  Take that, Lewis and Clark!

Here’s the highlight roll-

-Pittsburgh dinner at Cristos greek restaurant downtown where Dimitri described the family pix decorating the restaurant the family has had for 40 years.  Grandpa's homemade wine made the Jackie O display that much more entertaining

--La Prima Espresso Company, also in Pburgh, where a group of older Italian men spend every morning playing cards at a standing table and drink espresso

--Randyland!  the Pburgh artist who repurposes junk into a wondrous outdoor museum.  Meeting Randy himself and his cat was a highlight.  Randy is also an expert on innovative selfies, a technique I will be stealing

-- singing along to a classic rock guitar duo with the locals in the Indiana bar Kazablanka (no sign of Rick)

-- Funderburks Gas and Diner in Pocahontas, Illinois serves up the best breakfast we've ever had at a gas station stop.  Long necks just a dollar

-- singing “I’m goin to Kansas City....” the whole 8 hrs we spent in KS, much to everyone's annoyance

-- sweet Jan at our KS hotel waxing poetic about the local Thanksgiving delicacy of noodles over mashed potatoes but cringing when Don says he prefers ketchup on his mashed 

--Kansas Highway 70 sightings we wanted to stop for but couldn’t:

Oz (as is Wizard of) Winery, Greyhound (the dogs) Museum, Washington Carver's birthplace, Eisenhower Library, Russell Stover factory, town of Solomon, a bazillion wind farms, numerous white Jesus billboards

--stopping for an Impossible Burger at a Burger King in KS where we're greeted by the friendliest employee ever who later asks us at our table if all is well and if we'd like anything else.  At a Burger King.  Stacy is a restaurant angel.  Oh and we did a little yoga by the front door when we left (it was a long drive!)

-- listening to the impeachment hearings on the radio for 2 days straight

-- our CO airbnb host is interestingly obsessed with 007.  We fear our place is bugged.  We're not in Kansas anymore (had to say it)

Tomorrow, a visit to Boulder CO (we're told it's crunchy)  and then off to NM on Saturday.

Thanks for joining us!

Don and Monica

pennsylvania, colorado