Day 5 - Tony's in Houston, TX

The only reason I stayed in Hutchinson was so I could visit the Underground Salt Museum the next morning, and I am glad I did!!  Reservations were recommended, and I didn't have one, so the first tour I was able to get on with was the 9:45.  We had to wear hard hats and emergency breathing things, because we went 650 feet under ground to visit a mine!!!  That's farther down than the St. Louis Arch is tall!!  We went down in groups of 20 in caged elevators, and it didn't take long to get cool and PITCH BLACK.  Well, we had a wus in our group who asked the tour leader to turn on her head lamp.  Ugh.  Once we got off the elevator, we were able to move at our own pace.  It was really interesting.  There are cars down there, that had to be taken down in pieces and then reassembled once they were taken off the elevator!!  Once down there, the salt ruined the paint, so they were re-painted every year in crazy colors.  Bought my first t-shirt here!!  It says "DUH - 650 ft. Down Under Hutch".  Got postcards, too, and...SAW a keychain that would make a fabulous Christmas ornament.  Picked it up and handled it.  It was a hard hat with a light, so I checked the light...and then I guess I PUT IT DOWN AND WALKED OUT WITHOUT IT!!!  I realized it as I was leaving the parking lot.  I almost went back in, but the elevator was on a schedule, and I would have had to wait for the next group.  I'm going to look for it online.  I'm sure I'll end up paying double for it, once shipping charges are included, but I have to have it.

There were several different tour options, but since I wanted to be in Houston that night and I wasn't able to get on the earliest tours, I took the self-guided option, rushed through the exhibits, and was the first person who was ready to leave the mine, so I got to ride UP the elevator with just an employee.  We talked and talked, and when it got pitch black, I made all sorts of crazy faces, just because I could.

The black band across my chest is the emergency breathing apparatus

Self portrait.  The keychain/Christmas ornament was a teeny tiny version of this hard hat!

It's rare that you're invited to touch things in a museum

Town in Kansas, also the last name of my nephew's best friend.

Check out the back of this truck!!!  How funny is that?  Somewhere in KS.

 So I drive and drive and drive.  I started out with the top down, but came across several combines in OK that were sending WALLS of dust across the highway, so I had to pull over and put the top up.  By the time I thought I'd passed my last combine, I was in TX and it was hot, and my top hasn't been down since.  (Just reread that...I'm talking about my CAR TOP, people.  Get your mind out of the gutter.)

I felt bad that I was traveling through Oklahoma and not doing anything.  I would have liked to have seen the memorial to the Oklahoma City bombing victims, but I hadn't planned well and so didn't have time.  Just when I thought my only OK experiences would be stopping for gas, I saw a billboard for the Toy and Action Figure Museum.  Aww yeah.  Pull off into this cute little town and find the museum.  Admission was six bucks!!  Yeah, I didn't need an Oklahoma experience that bad.  I did go in the lobby, though, to get postcards, and it looked like somewhere that people who are into that sort of thing would like.

Paul's Valley, Oklahoma

 Rush hour traffic in Dallas.  The GPS sent me right through downtown.  At one point, on the other side of the highway, there was a car, facing the wrong way...AND UPSIDE DOWN!  How does that happen?  I don't miss traffic at all.

I stopped for gas and ran to the restroom, and the automated hand dryer was CRAZY.  You can't really tell, but it was just blowing the skin on my hands into all sorts of weird positions.

My partner on this trip, Dapper Jack.  Poor guy has really taken a beating.

The moon looked MUCH bigger when not looking through my phone.

Passenger seat.

Notes that I jot as I think about them, otherwise I'll forget.

Made it to Tony's* a little after 10.  His kids met me in the yard.  His daughter was using crutches, just to make me ask, "What happened to you?!"  The son is now a teenager and gave me a hug and helped me carry in my bags.  We sat on the porch for a little bit and got caught up, but not too long because I was tired.  They have a gorgeous house, and I slept like a log in the guest bedroom.

*Tony is one of my best friends.  I know, I know, you can't have more than one BEST friend, but I do.  We met when he transferred to WTJH in 9th grade.  In 10th grade we went to Homecoming together (omg THAT's a story), he taught me how to drive a stick, we were officers in Key Club together...