Sunday, June 27, 2010

Day 21 and 22: Fayette, MO to Sweet Springs, MO

Saturday, June 19th; and Sunday, June 20th

Happy Father’s Day from Sweet Springs, MO

We arrived in Sweet Springs yesterday after spending several hours hiding from the storm. Lightning flashed in the distance just as we were about to leave the lunch stop. The storm, which reminded most of us of the movie Independence Day, was over our heads in a matter of minutes. The farmers who owned the driveway where we had lunch let us take shelter in their garage. They stuck around to talk to us and laughed when we took pictures with their gigantic tractor. We talked, napped, and relaxed until about 3:30, when the weather cleared up enough for us to leave.

Terence, Charlie, and I (Team Hello Kitty) were the last to roll into the Rodeway Inn, where we’re staying for two days. We had some intense rolling hills, especially in the last 15 miles, and we were pretty tired by the time we got in. The storm had taken out the power in most of Sweet Springs, so our original dinner plans, pizza from Casey’s, fell through. However, the United Methodist Church generously whipped up some pasta and salad for us.

We gave a presentation there this morning, followed by some hymns and a prayer, and even more food. The hospitality of everyone we’ve met thus far has been unbelievable—I had no idea how generous and welcoming people would be.

Today, we’ve been doing laundry, watching TV, and cleaning bikes. It’s our first day off in a not-so-big city, so we’ve actually had the chance to catch up on things that we haven’t had much time to do.

It’s the end of the first leg, which means we’re done with a third of the trip. It feels like we’ve been on the road forever, and yet it seems like we were dipping our tires into the Inner Harbor just yesterday. We have our second pow-wow tonight, and we’re leaving for Kansas City, MO early in the morning tomorrow. I’m looking forward to what the second and third legs of the trip have in store for us.

-Erica Lai

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