Day 13: Lawrence, KS
Welcome
Yesterday we had a day off in Lawrence, Kansas, and celebrated Tristan’s New Zealand birthday.
We were sad to leave one of our favourite US time zones, Mountain Daylight Time, and everyone decided to passive-aggressively sleep until the early afternoon. Thus, Tristan’s New Zealand birthday wasn’t acknowledged until around 1pm when the bus lounge began to populate finally. I constructed a birthday breakfast for the man and then went on to feed myself with a toasted bagel, buttered and then smeared with avocado, and topped with sliced cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, and lime zest.
Blue Paradise was parked around the back of Hampton Inn Lawrence, and the air conditioners were fighting hard to keep out the nearly hundred-degree heat that licked at the glossy cerulean paintwork.
I took Tristan out for his birthday run, a decision that would have been sensible had we left four hours earlier but was slightly regrettable given the weather. We were in northeastern Kansas in a small college town that lies astride both Interstate 70 and the Kansas River, and we chose the better of those two geographical features as a destination for our run. A taxi that smelled like an ashtray picked us up and carried us through the heat, depositing us at the Lawrence River Trails where we found a well-signed trailhead with information and maps. We began into a wooded strip of riverbank which thankfully was well shaded but still held a thick, sweltering air. It was a lovely setting for a sweat, and we dripped profusely as we jogged through this picturesque woodland, taking regular breaks to hydrate and observe the wildlife – brave and curious deer, skittish fawns, and a solitary turkey.
At some point I navigated us in the wrong direction, and we had to come to a halt, exhausted and miles from the trailhead. After a consultation with the map, it was decided that we would leave the safety of the woods and cut across to a gravel road where hopefully we could call a taxi. It could have gone badly but it didn’t. After only ten minutes and one passing freight train we saw our saviour in the form of a dust cloud in the distance, a vehicle approaching through the gaps in the cornfields, bravely approaching the two strange men in the middle of nowhere. Our driver was perplexed but good natured about the experience, and she dropped us back at the bus with a cheerful goodbye.
Our birthday boy cooled off with a swim in the hotel pool and once he had cleaned up I made him his birthday fruit platter and took his birthday photo.
Tristan's birthday photo.
Soon it was time for our evening activity. We piled into a cab and drove to Lawrence’s main street where Liz had booked an escape room, a type of game where you get locked into a room and you have to escape. The room had a theme, a nineteenth century vibe with an old painting and a big wooden desk. It was called something like the curse of the hidden clue - and we discovered old instruments such as a telescope and a sextant, and even some haunted items like a skull and a magic rat. Tristan led the squad beautifully, delegating where he knew his teammates would excel but not afraid to chase down a clue with his own razor-sharp powers of deduction. It looked like things were going to end badly but with minutes to spare everything suddenly fell into place and we found the missing amulet or some kind of precious goblet or jewellery. We joined the 29% who had made it out unscathed, escaping with our lives and our dignity.
Dinner was enjoyed at a cosy brewpub just down the street from our former captors and then as the sunset cried its final notes we boarded another taxi for the ride back to the hotel.
Tristan got his final birthday wish when we all squished into our hotel room to watch the sport where groups of men attempt to build the skinniest car and get it to go the fastest around the racetrack. A secret cake was produced, and we sang our most beautiful rendition of his favourite birthday song before slathering him with gifts.
