SUSAN: We started our day in McCook, Nebraska. Jim needed to get in his daily walk and he knew we needed to cover a lot of miles in order to get to Omaha and then all the way home so he decided to walk before the 7 am breakfast was available in the hotel. The breakfast was not much so I literally didn’t eat anything.
JAMES: First stop this morning (and every morning) was to the bakery. A quick internet search, we found a highly rated one back in the downtown area on Norris, the Main Street that we spent all of our time on the previous night. It was called Senherts Bakery and Bieroc. What is a bieroc you ask? Google tells us that a bieroc is “A savory yeast dough pocket sandwich stuffed with a filling of seasoned ground beef, shredded cabbage, and onions”. Had I known at the time, I might have grabbed one. As it was, I was seduced by the wide selection of sweet treats. I opted for a chocolate Mexican biscuit thing and an old fashioned donut for each of us. I really liked the place. It was well run and efficient. The people who ran it seemed organized and efficient and more than anything, they had things that you don’t see in most delis- dozens of breakfast and lunch options as well as an extensive list of coffee, boba, macha and soft drinks. Glad we stopped. Fortified with sugar, we set off on a long day of driving.
We drove for about four hours on Highway 6 through several small towns and through hilly farm country. We pulled into David’s place about 1:30. We got the grand tour of the “Ponderosa”, where he has been abiding for 20 years. It’s a creative conglomeration of junk, living accommodations and freelance lawn constructions and a cluster of homes and buildings on about 6 acres of land. It’s a great location in a semi-rural part of Omaha across the street from a massive park and just 1/2 mile from the Missouri River. The main part of the house is literally stuffed with knickknacks from the owner, who resides in Florida and is rarely there. David has at times lived in the Treehouse, a domicile loosely attached to the main house. It is constructed mainly from a couple of old walk-in cooler. It’s partial museum, partial garage and partial apartment. The shit is piles several feet high in many locations. There is in fact a classic Triumph automobile buried under decades of effluvium. You wouldn’t know it was there if someone didn’t tell you. The apartment is livable with an enormous glass window that overlooks the backyard and park beyond. There is a door that leads out onto the roof of the garage below. David tells the story of how a friend brought their dog over. The roof is slanted. The dog started to slide and couldn’t stop. The next second they were out of sight. Many stories of roommates and neighbors and their varied and sometimes unlawful pursuits. He seems to be living in a version of Ozark. Never seems to be a dull moment.
SUSAN: David showed us around the ‘Ponderosa.’ Jim had never seen it before and it is an interesting set up. David is particularly proud of all the brick work and landscaping he did with Freddie over the years. After the tour we went to lunch at a local bar/burger joint called ‘The Cabin”. I had a patty melt and onion rings. It was pretty good food. After lunch David took us for a short hike through the park that is across the busy John Pershing Road. It is along the Missouri River. It was a nice way to get our legs moving before the long drive home.
We left David’s around 4 pm. It was a 388 mile drive home! Jim started out driving and we took state and county roads through western Iowa. It was slower but much more scenic. There were lots of soft rolling hills, dramatic skies and numerous wind turbines. Jim had to occasionally stop to take a photo.
We stopped in Webster City for gas and decided to eat a little dinner. We had some left over potato salad and beans from Margo and Tim’s and Jim had a nut butter sandwich with honey. It was about 6 pm and we had 200 miles to go. I took over driving.
JAMES: Hopped on the interstate for the home stretch. It was apparent that we could drive into some pretty threatening weather. The skies were dark and ominous. We could see rain falling in the distance and then we were in the middle of it. It rained like the end of time for about 10 minutes and then it was over. Later, when we got home, we found out that it had been a major hail event in our area, an 1-1/2 of hail and lots of roof and car damage. Got home about 10. It was a great adventure, our first real road trip since 2021 and COVID. It was good to be home.
TRIP TOTAL= 2718.6 miles!