You know . . . like the song from the White Stripes? No? Ok... As far as I can remember, I had never been to Kansas before. I have come close on a few occasions -- most recently about 9 years ago when I drove my car from Wisconsin to California. I almost clipped the edge, but got to experience Oklahoma instead. This new job has brought me to many new places. As snarky and sarcastic as I am known to be, these places do fascinate me -- even if it's the sheer shock that anyone even lives there. For the record, Wichita is not one of those places. I didn't see much of it, but it is the 49th largest U.S. city by population according to the hotel's guidebook. The view from the Drury Inn wasn't too bad. I could see the river and some Christmas decorations lit up below me. As a flight crew member, we get a discount at the hotel's restaurant, but I ventured outside hoping to at least take in my surroundings and try something different. Anything I walked by was either abandoned or closed. This was less than ideal. In fact, I didn't even see another person. I must expand my search area next time. I will be here for New Years Eve, so I'll have to do more research.
We didn't have to leave the following day until 1045am, so I had plenty of time to grab some breakfast. This seems to be a rare occasion for me lately. I usually have to catch an airport shuttle around 5:55am and breakfast begins at 6:00am. Such a tease. Little did I know then, that our departure from Wichita with 30 mile per hour wind gusts would be the best weather I would encounter all day.
