We left DC early Monday morning following a wonderful goodbye party, a three hour brunch with some DC friends and a few more hours at a lovely wine bar (I used to be able to do this...what happened?!). After some drama, some tears, and some scrunching and crunching of everything left in Hannah's apt, we were off.
Through the Allegheny mountains. First stop...Pittsburgh. We make our way up to Mount Washinton - a perfect way to see the whole city. Amazing lookout and what a cool place to live.
We find a fun pub for lunch. It is raining. It is pouring. Not a time for strolling so we are back on the road. On to Cinncinati. Small city. Easy to get around. We're booked at the Garfield Suites. If any of you know me well, you will understand when I say, did I book this?! The strangest set up for a hotel I have ever seen. And there is only one bed. We request another room and we are put in the Ulysses S. Grant suite. Hilarious and hideous. We cannot stop giggling. A walk through the city brings us to the Contemporary Center for Art where they are having a Patti Smith show. So unexpected. Lovely theater disctrict. Off for some dinner at a Mexican place, Nada. Everybody is so NICE! What's up with that? Smiles and conversation. We are both exhausted and one drink puts us over the edge to sleep. Great beds so we sleep.
Day 2 - a Starbucks start and then on to Louisville. We have any easy drive there, about 2.5 hrs, and finding our way through city is easy. I immediately feel happy here. Compared to Cinncinati, Louisville feels alive and vibrant. Cinncinnati is depressed in many ways. You can feel the hardship towns like it are experiencing. Not Louisville. Everyone seems joyful. It is pretty and well tended. There is obviously the foodie world, and a cultural world keeping the city alive. Hannah has found us a perfect lunch place at Proof, which is the restaurant of the Museum Hotel, which also has a brilliant museum. We spend the afternoon here exploring the museum and strolling (feels great to walk). Then we go to the Louisville Slugger factory which is a hoot.
We go on the tour of the factory which is really quite fascinating. From Louisville, we are off to St. Louis, another not so tough drive, 3 hours. The landscape is changing. Hills and mountains are receding in favor of corn fields and flatlands. It is sunny and beautiful and we listen to podcast of Mark Maron and David Sedaris. We laugh a lot. Heading into St. Louis, the arch welcomes us. Makes one feel they are "home". We make our way to our hotel, The Moonrise on The Loop, Delmmar Boulevard near Wash U. I tried to book unusual setting and not just downtown hotels. That is exactly what I did. We are upgraded to the Buddy Ebsen suite. OMG. Hilarious. And...one bed. What's this about again?? However, it's a king and comfy so what the heck. Any chance I get to cuddle with my baby girl makes me happy. We decide to go to the Eclipse cafe on the roof which is lovely. It's martinis and dip and we are very relaxed. We talk into the night - mother and daughter sharing stories and dreams. A perfect evening.
Day 3 - Keurig coffee and repacking and we are off to Kansas City. A bit disappointed as we had planned to go to Springfield and meet with some cousins but alas, plans fell apart. Another time. We decide to drive straight through to Kansas City and enjoy the day there. Quick ride and we are there by lunch time. We are booked at the Intercontinental. Each hotel is so different from the last and we can tell the booking is based on what we thought our moods would be as we made our way across the country. The Intercontinental is much more upscale and for high maintenance folks Ike me. There is a pool. There is a gym. Room service. You get it. From there we walk through the Plaza which reminds us of East Hampton and have a lovey walk on a beautiful day to the Nelson Atkins Museum. We stop for a delish lunch at their cafe and then head to the contemporary art exhibits. Highly recommend this museum. The magnificent setting, the sculpture garden and the place in general is a destination. Loved it!! After spending the afternoon here, we head back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation. I to the pool, Hannah to the gym. A few hours of down time and we are refreshed. And then off to Arthur Bryant's for BBQ.
Other than the Plaza section of Kansas City, we feel that same sense of depression and emptiness in the city. Like Cinncinati, it feels ghost-Iike out by Arthur Bryant's. Everyone told us the lines would be horrible and yet there was no one there. Surprised us but then we didn't have to wait in a line and we got to eat yummy BBQ all night. People. So. Nice.
Day 4 - the challenge. We have been gearing up for this day. We decided not to detour and just drive straight through to Denver. Nine hours. Through Dorothy's world. A nice room service breakfast and we are off. Our back and forth of driving has worked really well and we try to figure out how we can make the drive end with Hannah driving into Denver. We decide to stop in Salina, Kansas for David as it is a great reference to The Hitchcock movie, Vertigo. We stop at Bogey's for milkshakes and sandwiches. It is raining off and on but not too bad and we move along. As everyone has told me to hydrate all the way into Denver to avoid altitude sickness, I am pounding back bottles of water so you can only imagine how many times we stop along the way.
We make our way across the Kansas landscape, all the while I am exclaiming, "now I get the Emerald City imagery." Vast cornfields that lead to far off graineries ceased in metal that shine in the summer sun. Amazing. Eventually, Kansas hands itself over to the Colorado plains and we begin to see herds of animals, mostly cows wandering amongst the golden land. It is stunning. And then we are suddenly in the midst of downtown Denver traffic. It is so immediate and jarring. We are here.
We find our lovely and weirdly interesting hotel, the Magnolia. We settle in and because I am fortunate enough to have a foodie daughter, we have been to some terrific restaurants here (Tag, The Squeaky Bean). Apartment hunting gets you around town and I've gotten a real sense of the city in a just a day. People. Are. So. Nice. It forces one to pause, engage and be present. Just what someone like me advocates for in my day to day life. Feels different here. I understand Hannah's desire to be here, just to be without pretension or competition. It is very relaxing.
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