I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore...

The morning began with a coffee with Carol and Pumpkin. Pumpkin is Carol's teddy bear disguised as a dog. 

We got an early start for our VERY long drive to Colorado. We drove through Kansas City to see it during the day and saw this beautiful performing arts center. 

Due to the fact that Kansas City is in 2 states, we crossed over into Kansas very quickly*.

An hour or two down the road we saw a billboard for the Oz Museum. We came to the unanimous decision that we had to take the 20 mile detour to see it. 

It was small but had many cool things inside. Jensen played the Coroner Munchkin in her 5th grade play so she was very excited to see the knickknacks and history. Jess was very excited because she gets excited very easily. 

We stopped in Manhattan, the Little Apple, for lunch. Jensen had a breakfast pizza (a pizza topped with breakfast items; an idea that fascinated the Kiwi) and Jess had a chicken wrap. It was an adorable town and home of Kansas State. 

Yes, it was a long drive, but it was also a beautiful one. The state of Kansas is much prettier than people lead you to believe. 

Some time ago Jess saw the movie Michael. Ever since, she had dreamed of seeing the largest ball of twine. 

Jess was so excited she had to climb on top of it. 

Jensen was so excited she drove out of town at 35mph in a 25mph zone and was pulled over by a police officer. Luckily, he was kind enough to let her off with a warning :)

Four or five or six hours later we arrived in Colorful Colorado. 

The drive to Castle Rock was beautiful. 

5 miles from our destination, the main highway was shut down. Jensen had to improvise with the GPS to find us an alternate route. The new path was down a dirt road and through many neighborhoods. Ultimately, Jensen succeeded and found the house of Sharon and Rick! 

Soon after arrival, Rick made us a insanely delicious dinner, the first home cooked, real meal we have had. We drank a bit of wine around the fire and told great stories. It's amazing how much you have to talk about when you have never met. 

We cannot wait to see Colorado in the daylight tomorrow! 

*Sadly, we missed the Welcome to Kansas sign from Missouri. In order to get that shot, we had to drive from Kansas to Colorado, back to Kansas, then back to Colorado, adding to our already long trip.