Trading Nancys

Yesterday was my last morning in Springfield before my long drive to Beatrice, Nebraska. I left one couchsurfing Nancy (Nancy Rose) for another Nancy (Nancy Wilson).A strange coincidence, but somehow seems just right for this rather serendipitous and magical trip I'm on.


Before leaving Springfield, I had the opportunity to talk with Nancy the 1st's friend, Sina, who was raised Pentecostal. She was very helpful in painting an even more complete picture of the religion and also of the lingering effect it has on someone who was raised in it and has since abandoned the faith. We had a wonderful, long, and lively talk before we had to part. It was a great send off.


A word on Nancy Rose. Nancy Rose was my first couchsurfing experience. I joined the site so that I could try to make this trip more affordable, and had no idea what to expect. I had a marvelous time with Nancy. She made me breakfast(sweet rice with yogurt and fresh, handpicked blueberries...yum!), showed me around, introduced me to friends, and made me feel completely welcome. We joked that I was a couchsurfing virgin when I came to her. Well, Nancy, it was a most wonderful deflowering. Thanks for being so gentle. :)


Anyway, she and I parted with a great, warm hug and then I was on my way, down the road again. Unfortunately, there are not a ton of exciting anecdotes from this part of the journey, and no pictures for two reasons: 1) again, solo photo documentation and solo driving don't mix very well, and 2) my phone's camera decided to be quite wonky. So, I will keep this shortish and sweetish so that your potentially short attention spans won't be tried to heavily from lack of visual stimulation.


A couple of observations:


1) The Return of the Corn
No, this is not a Midwestern B-movie, this is the reality of Western Missouri and Nebraska. Gone are the wooded hills and craggy rocks. Back are the endless flat fields of corn. A hilarious side note: of course I got lost on my way to Nancy Wilson's house. Anyone who knows me will know that this is not a unique beginning to a story for me. I have a terrible sense of direction (like Christopher Columbus-style terrible), sometimes so terrible that GPS can't even help me. In this case, it was the GPS's fault, because it took me to the wrong address. I called Nancy to try to get back on track and she asked where I was. "I don't know," I said, "but there's a lot of corn." To which she burst out laughing and I burst out laughing because, of course there was a lot of corn: there's nothing else. "Welcome to Nebraska," she said between guffaws.


2) Peculiar, Missouri
Nope, this is not a description, this is an actual place name. I had ample warning that I was coming up on Peculiar, Missouri. "Peculiar, Missouri: 6 miles," "Peculiar, Missouri: 1 mile." I watched it approach in eager anticipation. I even took photos of each of these announcements. Peculiarly, these photos didn't turn out. Coincidence? (probably). I didn't notice anything outright peculiar about the town, though (just looked like your average fast food joints and gas stations from the freeway), but who knows?


3) Nebraska...the Good Life
Or so the sign told me as I crossed the state border. Literally: "Nebraska...the good life." I also learned that it is the home of Arbor Day. I'm not sure what that means, but it kind of makes me want to come back for Arbor Day (anyone know when that is?), just to check out the festivities. I saw a sign not too far from this one for a town (the town name escapes me) that bragged that it was the "Home of the Annual Father's Day Chicken BBQ." It's these things that make Nebraska synonymous with "the good life."


Well, as I mentioned, I got very lost. But, after getting set straight, I finally made it to the home of Nancy, Kent, and Darren Wilson (thanks to Nancy's better-than-GPS directions, like "turn right at the horses, they should still be in the far corner of the yard"). Nancy the 2nd welcomed me with open arms and got me set up in my bedroom. The four of us then had dinner and shared stories. The Wilsons love to travel and have been a staggering number of places around the globe. After dinner, they showed me their digital slideshow from their trip to New Zealand,  which whet my appetite for my own travel cravings. After the slideshow and story time, we all parted ways. I headed back to my room, and settled in for the night. Before long, I was drooling on my pillow, totally exhausted after the long drive and the exciting adventures of the last few days.