Kansas by Picture...Part Deux.

Saturday, July 15th...

The 10 mile run with TNT went really well. It was more humid than an outdoor sauna in san diego. While running I longed to be on the lake front with the breeze flowing in...but all in all, Roe Park was a pretty sweet area (minus almost getting lost a few times). While confusing, the running path was nice and shaded with the exception of a few hundred yards. The only less than stellar part was the big ole mud pit we had to trek around...and of course, me...being as brilliant as I am, slipped and ended up with muddy shoes. Woohoo. Running in wet, muddy socks in super sucky humidity rocks, lemme tell ya. But dude...a 6am run?!? That's insane. Chicago meets at 7 and THAT's pushing it for me. So waking up by 4:50 was quite tough for this chick. But we get out there...meet up with Dice and I finally meet A. Maria and Kevin...they rock...take my word for it...and we're ready to start running. I didn't really take any photos while on the run (I know, Bad Barb!)...

Anyhoo...after the run, we head over to First Watch for some yummy breakfast eats. And Taylor was quite excited over the pancakes five times the size of her head...She got through most of it...











And talk about a sweet crew...Chicagoland and Kansas City RBFers...(Back) Kevin, me, A.Maria, KT (Front) Josh, Mike, Stephanie, and Taylor. (You might want to enlarge the picture...)

I'm excited because Steph is headed to Chicago in a few weeks to see Wicked! I promised her a lakefront run or two. FINALLY! Someone I can run with who is the same pace as me. Love ya, puke pal!!
And here she is, folks...the one and only Little Miss Runner Pants. She's an absolute riot. :)

The one. The only. Sabetha, Kansas.

Eventually we make our way to Sabetha, Kansas...a little town just south of Nebraska...in the middle of nowhere. No signal on our cell phones...no sign of life within 50 miles...it was like entering a totally different era...the town was so small, if you were to blink you'd miss it if you were driving through... :) The main drag consisted of a restaurant that doubled as a bar at night, the Sabetha Country Inn (where we stayed)...an Alco...Dairy Queen...Pizza Hut and a gas station. It was AWESOME.

Here's the welcome sign at the Sabetha Country Inn...I'm sure that Sabetha receives a lot of international tourism. :)

The wedding was beautiful and Mike and I had a wonderful time catching up with old friends. But I will admit...I was exhausted.

After the reception, everyone headed to Diecks steak house...the aforementioned restaurant that doubles as a bar at night. Since the rodeo was in town, the place was packed (and yes...you read that right...there was a rodeo...it was AWE.SOME.). I'll spare you the details...but I saw one 40-something year old woman flash her table (there's this thing called gravity...wear a bra!!)...too many drunk cowboys...and then I got told off by a local for taking his chair...which had been open for 30 minutes before I sat...and was sitting there for at least 20 before he decided he wanted to sit down again...let's just leave it at I got a leg of the chair kicked into my shin. No bueno. But apparently Sabetha has this unwritten rule that if you pass out in the bar with your shoes on, you're fair game to be written on. But if your shoes are off, then they can't touch you. It was definitely the highlight of the night. Poor guy...I wish I had been a fly on the wall the next morning when he first saw the damage.

But I'm glad to be back in Chicago...finally. After hour+ delays both directions, I am definitely wiped out.

I tried to get up and run this morning. I even remembered to set my alarm for 5am. But I couldn't drag myself away from the pillow. We've got a cubs game tonight, and clearly, a lot of catching up to do in my Mizunos.

Have a great day, everyone!!