North Maple Rag

My mom's best friend from high school lives in Hutchinson, Kansas and her daughter, who is the same age as me and used to be my pen pal, lives in Witchita. We met up with them in Haven and drove to Yoder for lunch at an Amish style restaurant. I think it's safe to say that most any meal made in an Amish community is going to be good. Anyway, my meal was fantastic and the pie that my mom and I shared at the end was, well, something better than fantastic.

After lunch, we decided to drive all the way home (about an addition 10 hours of driving). We stopped for snacks and magazines in Belleville, KS and bought some popcorn at a drugstore. Best. Popcorn. Ever. If you ever get near Belleville, it's totally worth driving downtown to the only drugstore and picking some up. It was white cheddar and caramel and I just can't lavish enough praise on it.

Anyway, Kansas is pretty in the same way that all of the plains states are pretty. My mom and I breathed sighs of relief back in Texas when the prairie opened up before us. Most prairie people I know have the same reaction whenever they return to the plains and first seen an open expanse of farm or ranch land. For me, it's all about the sky. Other places have lots of sky, but on the prairie you feel like you can see all of it.