Kansas- Day 2 - to Lawrence August 2, 2016

My alarm went off at 8, after only about 6 hours of sleep.However, I had no choice, as my husband had a business call at 11 and a meeting at 11:30 in Lawrence, Kansas, so we had to get moving.

Hampton always has a pretty good spread for breakfast.  We both had one of the pre-made omelette so, which had  bits of pepper in them, and bagel toppers, which had cheese and bacon bits. Not bad. Not knowing when I'd find chocolate again today, I had a pastry with chocolate drizzle.

 When we checked out at 9:23, the clerk offered us water, which I gladly accepted. I've brought my collapsible water bottle, but you can never have too much water. At 9:27, we were on the road and I was happy to see we were not in the thick of rush hour. When we crossed the Missouri River, we were in Kansas and immediately saw corn, but they are the Wheat State.

At 10, we picked up a toll ticket and when we got off the highway in Lawrence 12 minutes later, we paid $2. At 10:20 (odometer 9230), we arrived at the Springhill Suites. Of course, our room was not ready, but she promised to call.

At 10:35, we drove off to explore a bit on our way to the University of Kansas (KU) campus. Our campus map was not as detailed as one might like, but we finally found lot 72 and parked just before 11 (9235). As we walked to the music building, my husband got his call from the provost, which he handled as we got into the building. That completed, he was waiting at 11:18 for his meeting with the board of the International Clarinet Association, while I went off to a bench we'd passed. I passed the time playing a game on my iPad.
My husband took these two pictures of campus from the Oread Hotel at a breakfast meeting on Day 3, but I'm putting them here to make my life easier.

 We don't have signs like these at home:

At 12:40, we were back at the car and found it very difficult to navigate our way back to our part of town. Thus, I was driving, when my phone rang just before 1. I handed it to my husband to answer and it was the hotel. At 1:02 (9239), we were parked back at the Springhill Suites. 

When we got to our room, my husband was unhappy to see that once again a suite at Springhill Suites does not mean two rooms. There is a small wall separating the seating area from the king-sized bed.

We do have a Kansas River view, as do all the rooms.

 It took a couple of days for us to discover the microwave hiding behind the door with the horizontal handle.

 We headed out at 1:35 for lunch. We decided to walk a couple of blocks to Free State Brewing Company on Massachusetts Street, which we reached at 1:43. They do indeed brew there and you can see some of the kettles. It was hard to choose a beer, but my choice turned out to be delightful- Hibiscus Rose Berliner Weisse. So light and did not taste at all like alcohol, plus a gorgeous color. My husband got a hoppier Ad Astra Ale. He got the 14 ounce, while I got 10.

I ordered the arty-sounding Golden Beet and Goat Cheese Sandwich, which was toasted and so light. The salad with bleu cheese vinaigrette that came with it was nice, too.

My husband's meal was bigger- Chicken and Crawfish Gumbo, which he really enjoyed.

I had room, so I tried the Caramel Pots de Creme, which had a pudding consistency and a toasty caramel flavor. Nice!

At 2:45, we left to walk along Massachusetts St., which has a lot of different shops, few of which are chains. We stopped in the old hardware store that also sells brewing and wine-making materials, the Antique Mall and Kansas Sampler, where I got a KU sticker and a pin.

My knees and back started to really complain and I was grateful, when we got back to the room at 3:45.

My husband needed to practice, but I was soaked from the heat and humidity and took a shower. Afterwards, I laid down at 4:30 for a short nap. My husband woke me at 6:10 to get ready to go to a barbecue we'd been invited to.

Of course, when we left the building at 6:40, he ran into a clarinetist he knew. So, we didn't get on the road until 6:50. Our drive took us to a more suburban area and a lovely development of large homes. We arrived at 7:04 (9245). They'd gotten barbecued turkey, beef and ribs and sides and everyone helped themselves. More and more people appeared, some famous, most not, but my husband knew most of them and had a great time chatting. He's host next year and many are interested in that. I was touched, when a clarinetist from Belgium took the time to come over and chat with me briefly, saying he'd seen me with my husband earlier in the day and not had the chance to say hi. I was surprised that  he remembered me. (I had seen him in Belgium last September.) I mostly sat and listened to others, especially, when my husband went out to the deck to talk to some folks there. I did find myself chatting with a famous clarinetist who just retired, about her recent wedding in California, her old home in Hollywood, her upcoming cruise on the Danube, etc. I think, I reassured her about not getting seasick on that and showed her my SeaBands.

We left at 8:59 and we're back here by 9:15 (9251). Not a bad day. Now, I have to get to bed, because  I have to get up at 7, so that I can eat before dropping my husband at a breakfast meeting before I hit the road for Oklahoma City.