Wichita

We had a fairly uneventful trip from St. Louis to Wichita. We woke up at 7:30 our time, (6:30 St. Louis') ate breakfast, and went for another swim. (Hush yourselves, swimming danger after eating is a myth. At least, I think.) We left the hotel around 10 and drove and drove and drove. Very easy drive...70 W, take a left in Kansas City. I drove through Kansas once before with my friend, Heidi, on a trip to Breckenridge, CO...Kansas was loooooong...at 35 mph through an ice storm. No problems like that today, though....

It was smooth sailing down the Kansas turnpike...really beautiful...until I heard my fuel light ding. Duh, forgot to fill up, but no worries, still had 35 miles or so to go. I kept my eyes peeled...lovely rolling, green hills, lots of cows, dropping mileage. And no exits, who knew? Once I had dropped below 10 miles, I began to come up with 2 or 3 contingency plans: coast as much as possible, wait on the side of the road for help, walk to the town with babes in tow, stop at a farm and depend on the kindness of strangers or the fistful of 20's I'd offer in desperation.


Oh, yeah...and pray...

I GPS'ed for gas stations...the nearest one was 6 miles to the exit and another 12 beyond the turnpike. Seemed my best bet, so I took the exit, rolled through the toll both with 2 miles of gas to go. As I paid, I asked the woman in the booth if there was a station closer. "No, honey. I'm in the middle of nowhere." She was nonplussed in my crisis; must see it often. 


I drove...and then "0....". Just keep driving, just keep driving.

I must have driven 14 or 15 miles with the "0" glaring at me and my heart pounding. But it was like Hannukah...He made the oil last...Hallelujah...another catastrophe averted. Thank you, Lord. My thirsty van got its fill at the BP.

We rolled in to Wichita an hour later and reunited with Sweet Daddy at his office and followed him to the hotel. We're gonna be just fine here...pull-out couch in our room, other families with kids, complimentary breakfasts and dinners available, free visits to the Y around the corner. Yes, just fine.

BTW - Go see my momma's page on caringbridge.org 's site. It is a great way for her to keep info about her treatment up to date, accurate and on her terms and for those of us who love her to remind her.