NYC or Bust #3

When we first planned our trip to NYC it was to broaden our horizons and become acquainted with other
groups of people in the United States. I think we have reached these goals.  We have broadened our horizons because we now know how to time an engine in a 1930 Model A Ford.  We have also become acquainted with the groups of people who stay in YMCA's.

On to Kansas City -

Our trip from Denver to Kansas City was without any memorable experiences.  However, Dick kept blacking out all morning.  Every half-hour or so he would leave us for a few minutes.  We supposed that he was completely dehydrated from taking the two elephant pills.  We encouraged him to eat and drink plenty and eventually he stopped lapsing into unconsciousness.

Kansas was flat, flat, flat.

When evening arrived we were in the middle of Kansas.  We stopped for gas and asked the station owner if we could use our sleeping bags and sleep on a small lawn adjacent to the station.  He took one look at us and said, "Absolutely not."  So we kept driving and eventually spent the night sleeping in a corn field.

The next day we reached Kansas City in the early evening and were quite disappointed   It was not very impressive. I had the opinion that Kansas City was a fairly large city.  Not so. We walked around for a short time and stood on the bank of the Missouri River.  There was a dense fog and we couldn't even see across the river.

We did, however find another YMCA and decided to spend the night there.  We found the rate was still $1.00 per night and we were generally so tired that even the bunk beds felt comfortable.

However, this particular YMCA building was unique in its architectural design.  It was located in two adjacent buildings that were about five stories tall.  When we checked in, we received instructions to the dormitory where we would sleep.  Those instructions were: "Take the elevator to the fifth floor, exit the elevator and follow the signs."  The signs led us out on the roof of the building to a small bridge that connected with the adjacent five story dormitory building.  There was no shower or rest rooms in the dormitory building so whenever these facilities were needed we had to walk across this narrow bridge back to the original building.  Remember this bridge was narrow and had only a safety rope on each side.

In addition, a spring had been attached to the door into the dormitory building. We learned that after you entered or exited through the door it was necessary to hold on to the door and close it gently.  If you didn't do this the door closed with a loud bang.  We soon found our bunk beds but before going to sleep I wanted to visit the rest room in the adjoining building.  When going out the door I forgot to hold on. The door closed with a loud bang and I could hear several curses from within.  Dick who was sleeping on the top bunk heard the fellow sleeping on the bottom bunk say: "I'm going to kill the next blankety-blank that slams that door.   Dear, concerned Dick slowly crawled out of his bed and came to warn me, "Don't slam that door," he said,  "or you're dead."

The following morning the fog had disappeared and we learned that we had stayed in Kansas City, Kansas.
We looked across the Missouri River and could see that Kansas City, Missouri was indeed a large city.  However, since we were anxious to reach our ultimate destination of NYC we pressed on.