Wednesday, 10. September 2008.
When I wake up the sun's already out. I guess it's 7 am or something. I haven't slept much, but I feel much better.
I go to the restroom and wash my face. Since I'm at a rest stop, they have wireless internet here and I get my newly bought computer out to check my mail. I also send a couple of couch requests through Couchsurfing for a place to crash in Lawrence, Kansas, as I figure I may get that far tonight. It's about 13-14 hours drive from where I'm at.
I would have never heard of Lawrence, Kansas if it weren't for the book Salad Days by Charles Romalotti. Charles used to be in a Punk band (Fluorescent Condoms - I totally remember that band from a piece in Maximumrocknroll somewhere in the late 80's) and wrote this half-autobiographical book about a group of friends that forms a band in Lawrence, Kansas and their adventures. I took a few books on distro over here and of course kept one for myself. I don't think I've ever finished it, but the book piqued my curiosity about this place - Lawrence, Kansas.
So I get on the road as there's no time to waste. It's going to be a long, long ride and Kansas is not the most scenic place in the world to keep myself awake. But in turn Colorado is.

Western Colorado, just before the weather started turning bad.

I've travelled through Colorado several times and it's well etched in my memory. I particularly like the western side of the Rocky Mountains. The roads winds around and intermingles with the Eagle river. It goes underneath mountain slopes, crosses the flat areas then enters the woods and little by little proceeds across the Rockies.
The ride is nice and the weather is nice for a good part of the morning. By the time I hit Denver around lunchtime it's raining. I pump some gas and go to Target to get some groceries. I get myself some precooked risotto and it tastes OK even cold. Beggars can't be choosers, can they?
So I hit the road again and cross the remaining part of Colorado.
During the ride I get a call from Becca from Lawrence. She got my request on Couchsurfing and called in to see if I still need a couch. Of course I do. I tell her what time I should be in Lawrence and she figures out she'll still be at work at that time. But she gives me directions to her place and tells me to get into her place and just wait for her there. She's telling me to get in through the back door cos she'll leave it open so I can make myself comfortable at her place.
I'm amazed. That's putting a lot of trust into someone you haven't even met. I wonder if she's some psycho or something but her voice sounds nice and reassuring so I figure she must just be a really nice and trustful person.
In the early afternoon I cross the Colorado/Kansas border. I drive up until 4:30 pm and then park on the side of the road near a couple of silos and take a nap.

I think this picture gives you a good idea what Kansas is like. But where's Dorothy?

An hour later I wake up and already feel better. I hit the I-70 again and drive straight to Lawrence, stopping once again for gas.
I must have crossed the time zone from Colorado to Kansas because it's an hour later than my car's clock tells me. In fact, it's close to midnight when I get to Lawrence.
It's rainy and wet and dark too, so I don't really see much of the city, but it looks quite safe. At least that's the impression I get.
My Tom Tom helps me find Becca's place. I call her once again just to tell her I'm here and I'm willing to wait for her in front of her house, but she insists I should just go ahead and get myself comfortable in her place.
So I go in. The door is indeed unlocked and I get into a huge but completely empty room. I figure that's probably where I'm staying, so I put my things down on the floor.
There's not much furniture in the apartment anyway, but the rest of the apartment is more furnished. It looks as if someone has just moved in pretty recently. I decide to wait in that first room. I don't think it's nice to wander around somebody's apartment while that person's absent, also considering that I've never even met that person.
But some 15 minutes later Becca comes home. She's a smiley happy girl in her twenties, with a puppy in her lap. The puppy is destined to become a guide dog for a disabled person and Becca is only having it until it's grown up.
We try to talk while the puppy is keeping us busy with its attempts to pee on the carpet. Becca manages to get it out in time and tells me more about this program. She says a year is probably as long as she could commit to a pet, so this kind of program works perfectly for her.
She shows me my room which is nothing like the room I first came into. There's a proper queen size bed with linen and pillows and it feels like Sheraton after a couple of days of sleeping in the car. I fall asleep right away.