Day Two continued...We Still Like Ike

After paying our respects to Ike and Mamie and holding in our laughter at the poor guy who dropped his lens cap we hit the gift shop.  I purchased a few I Like Ike items and a Victory garden coffee cup.  I'm sure those will make an appearance on this blog in the future.

Our time with Ike ended around two o'clock.  We hit the road in hopes of making it to Wamego, Kansas to see the Oz Museum.  Our timing was perfect.  We rolled down main street with a few hours to spare.  We wandered through the museum, which is basically the private collection of an Oz fanatic.  It included thousands of items related to the book and movie.  I took a lot of pictures of the exhibits, mostly to convince my brother that he needs to visit Wamego.

When we were done in the museum we walked down main street (all of three blocks in length) and stopped in at the Oz Winery.  It carries wine called Run Toto Run and Witch in a Ditch!  The town will be a sight to see someday.  It's really taking on the Wizard of Oz theme.  They are raising money for a larger museum by selling yellow bricks to pave the yellow brick road.  There are other shops along main street that lend themselves to the theme too.  The Oz Winery and Toto's Taco'z for example.  And the town is gearing up for Oztoberfest in a couple of weeks.  That may be worth the drive out there!

Since we visited on a Sunday not many places were open.  We decided to eat before making the rest of the day's drive into Kansas City.  The one place we found to eat was on the outskirts of town and it was quite a gem.

The Kreem Kup Restaurant is Wamego's popular family owned "drive-in."  The inside had an orange and brown motif going on and probably hadn't been updated since it opened 58 years ago.  It was well maintained though and it was clean inside.  I ate a corn dog and Brent had some type of pizza flavored sandwich that you could only really find at a place like that.  It hit the spot and then we hit the road.

In no time at all we'd cruised over our only toll road, the Kansas turnpike, and crested a hill to see the massive city of Kansas City.  It was way bigger than I expected it to be, especially after seeing small town after small town.  I was thinking something like Denver but a bigger skyline, but as we drove through it to get to Independence it just kept going and going.  So many buildings were stained with the black soot of its industrial years.  Probably stained since the early 1900s, it made the whole place look dreary even though the bright setting sun was doing its best to make the city glow. 

Just a few minutes outside of Kansas City we made it to Independence, Missouri.  Our original plan was to stay at a Westin in Kansas City, but we decided on the fly to find another bed and breakfast in Independence.  So the trusty iPhone tracked down the Three Trails Inn.  Tucked in a neighborhood just blocks from the Truman Museum and Library, downtown Independence, and the Truman Home, it was a perfect choice!!  Our host, Benny was waiting on the front porch when we arrived.  He took us on a tour and gave us our choice of rooms.  We stayed in the Santa Fe room, named for one of the three trails pioneers could take once they arrived in Independence.

  

Once we hauled our luggage upstairs, we went downstairs to enjoy the peace and quiet of the front porch just as we did in Abilene.  We got to listen to the neighbor butcher his grass and chop up sticks.  When he was done the hum of the insects took over the night.  We definitely don't get that loud buzz at home.  We flipped through some Truman brochures and finally called it a night.