Day Six - Hays, KS to Maryville, MO

Had a short jaunt from Hays to Kansas City on I-70 today, before turning north on I-29 towards Maryville and my cousin's house. Today, my mission was to try and find a charm for my charm bracelet. I try and collect at least one from every trip I take. They're fairly portable memory keepers - though I'm about due to start a new bracelet. It's getting too heavy to wear. I found one in Wamego, KS at the ‘Wizard of Oz Museum” shaped in the familiar image of the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Dorothy and Cowardly Lion wandering down the yellow brick road. But I digress... Now that the radio is functioning again - the hills are alive with the sound of music, though we soon won’t be in Kansas anymore. (Ok, so I’m mixing my movie quotes…) And what pretty hills they are too!

We made better progress than we expected to, and pulled into my cousin's house around 4pm. (Including a 1 hr detour after we left the hotel, and I realized I'd left my pillow behind!) He was on the nearby college campus leading a bible study, but his wife was home, and welcomed us with open arms. Joseph, the newest addition to the family, had been having a rough day, and having people willing to make funny faces and hold him meant that Jess could get dinner finished up and take a break. At four months, Joey’s main accomplishment for the day was discovering how to get only his thumb into his mouth – and not just his entire fist. He’s generally a happy baby, and in between fussy moments was more than happy to smile, laugh and stare at whatever bright, shiny objects were available. I’m quite glad that he doesn’t have the motor skills to grab at my glasses yet. They’re not quite the same once they’ve been used as a chew toy!

Dad spent the evening changing the oil in my car and replacing the brake drums on my rear wheels. He also got a do-it-yourself fixit manual for me for the car, so we can start investigating why the A/C is having issues. Tearing that apart will probably mean disconnecting the radio (again), but I’m fairly certain I can unlock it again this time without having to call the dealer. As long as the back tires were off, Dad decided to rotate my tires and swap everything around, as well – which I wasn’t expecting, but appreciated. (I’m sure you wanted to know ALL about my car’s maintenance record!)