Meandering

What can I say about Missouri? The state evokes varied responses from people I know. "Misery" is one pronounciation I have heard around my office. Those who want certain kinds of recreational activities found in large cities of the densely populated eastern seaboard from Washington, D.C. to Boston, would likely have to make some adjustments living in rural Missouri.

Sometimes I think I am wasted on Washington D.C. There are things teenagers in Tightwad, Missouri would die for which I regularly bypass in my daily routine. During summer I like to head out after work for a long bike through downtown Washington. I take a book with me and sit out for a good read/nap on a bench in the shade of a tree at times oblivious to all the hubbub of the city and its many attractions... and its many distractions. Here's where I try to be aware of living in the city. Too many people let the city drown out some of the more imortant things circulating round in our minds. My drive through Missouri as well as other parts of my trip provided me with a nice opportunity to turn off the varied rush of stimuli which is a part of living in a city. I turn off the radio and extend my attention far enough down the road to allow for a large portion of my mind to be still.

...But "Meandering" was not chosen to title this portion of my month not only because I let my words meander a bit, but also because I began this day to meander my route off the interstate highways. Having more time at my disposal than what I needed to make it to Topeka as I had scheduled, I decided to both bypass a toll interstate spanning between Kansas City and Topeka and see some of Lawrence, Kansas and the surrounding countryside which I had missed seeing during my last trip to the state.

The highpoint of this detour was Clinton Lake. I spotted it on my U.S. road atlas which showed a road passing along its dam which I thought would be nice to drive along. Bodies of water seem to be one of the things I find myself missing about no longer living in Louisiana.

This day of driving as on a couple of others before my trip was over, I set as a goal stopping and eating at a body of water. I found a park actually at the base of the dam ("Outlet Park" I think it was called) and pulled in to stop in the continuing drizzle for the last portions of my lunch on which I had begun to nibble during my drive. It was a peaceful, quiet time in the blustery drizzly wind watching and listening to not only the drizzle and wind, but also the birds who didn't seem to mind terribly about the weather.

I would pass over the dam twice more before the trip was out. With my Topeka friend, Vel and his friend who happened to live in Lawrence, we paid the lake a visit around sunset before having dinner one less drizzly evening.



As much as I enjoyed my stops at Clinton Lake it was only the first of many as I continued with my meandering by abandoning the interstate highway system for U.S. Highways, but I've just got to tell you about the fish I ate in Topeka.