The Most Precious of The World's Wonders

I was stuck in my one bedroom apartment in a brand new city during a country wide pandemic, COVID. For months this went on (still going on) with no traveling, eating out, or a way to meet people in my new city.

While hundreds of thousands were becoming ill, losing their jobs, and some even mourning losses of loved ones. It seemed my challenges of being stuck in my apartment didn't really feel worthy of a complaint. And although I recognize how fortunate I am to have my health, job, and stability I still felt that every day that went by my home shrunk a bit more.

Every day that went by not just me but my dog became more restless. It felt like our walls were creeping in and the air was seeping out.

I needed to get out.

One morning I got a phone call, The caller said that the most precious of the world's wonders would be arriving in the United States in the next couple weeks. As soon as I heard that me and my dog began plotting our path to go and see it.

We have had 15+ hour drives before when moving but this one be our first long distance road trip. I really wasn't sure how'd he, or for that matter, I would do but we submitted our work remote request, packed our bags, and left our home with no real plan of when we would return or where we would go each day. I just knew that we need to head north and of course we set the GPS to no highways.

Another friend called me mentioning that her friend decided that due to the cost of rescheduling that her friend was still going to have her wedding despite COVID-19. With that, she invited me to stay with her while she was in Dallas which was about 4 hours north.

I found a dog ranch for The Governor while I spent the night dancing in a wedding reception full of masked strangers. There's something eerie about conversing, laughing, and dancing with new friends but if I saw them today without their mask I simply wouldn't be able to recognize them. Although some did remove masks for their photos (as we did below).

After months without being able to be with other people, it felt great to be able to socialize.

I picked the Governor up in the morning and continued North. We stopped for the night in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Everyone asked why on earth I would be going to Tulsa. There was only one reason and that was to see the center of the universe. That's right, the center of the universe is in Oklahoma. And this is me and the Governor standing in the center of it.

This site gets its name because this spot is an acoustic anomaly. When standing in this spot whatever you say is echoed back to you similar to a echo chamber. But what's unique is the echo is MUCH louder than your original volume and further more someone standing outside of the center wouldn't even be able to hear it.

BUT

This is not what I was set out to see so I continued on. You guessed it, North.

The next morning we set out for Cawker City, Kansas. As it turns out when you click avoid highways and you are driving through rural Oklahoma into rural Kansas you also don't see many stops for food.

I drove for 2 hours before being able to stop for lunch in Howard, Kansas - Population 700

This was a unique place that felt like it was stuck in time. Everyone was wearing jeans and a button up despite the near 100 degree weather. Traditional greetings like honey and sweetheart are the norm. But what was most surprising was there we no masks, no posters of COVID, everyone was still out and about, there was not a single sign of COVID or concerns around COVID.

I truly felt like I stepped back 6 months - everything felt normal again.

It was here in Howard that I found Toots, quite possibly the only place to eat in this city. Toots has been here for the last 50 years and serves up crinkle cut fries, great burgers and one hell of a blueberry apricot pie. Damn Toots, I miss you already.

But I had to continue on a few more hours to Cawker City, KS as there was something there I wanted to see. Cawker City - Pop. 463

I found it, the largest ball of twine in the world...

Honestly, it exceeded my expectations.

8,083,640 foot of twine

Weighing 20,078 pounds

Total circumference 43 feet and growing

That's right, visitors can continue adding twine to the ball but the twine has to meet inspection to ensure its not confused with string. Amazing.

BUT

This was not what the trip was about so I had to continue. I stayed the night but the next day I was going to see something pretty cool, of course not as cool but still pretty cool.

I woke up the next morning and set on to Boys Town, Nebraska. Pop. 595

I intended to see the world's largest ball of stamps but due to COVID they had to close.

The nearby gift shop, museum, and restaurant was also closed. Presumably due to the Ball of Stamps being closed.

This is where the night gets a little hairy...

See we didn't book hotels in advance because we were not really sure where we were going to go

And as it turns out towns of less than 1,000 people don't really have many options for accommodations

Unless of course you wanted to stay here...

We were tired from driving all day, it was dark already, but we needed a place to stay. So we drove an hour to the closest town with a hotel. This town had two options.

Another scary Bates motel - murder house looking motel or a Super 8. I thought hell it's just a night no biggie I can stay in a Super 8. They charged me $100 for one night... insane

The receptionist gave me my key card which was covered in grease for his dirty hands.

We walk down the hall to our room and noticed every single room is vacant with the door wedged open.

My room was closed but upon entering i'm hit with a powerful odor. I heard something coming from the bathroom where I found the bathtub water running, the walls are caked with dirt? mold? and this was the only hotel that the Governor didn't immediately (or ever) jump in the bed.

We picked our bags back up, checked out and in the late night began a drive to Omaha, Nebraska 3 hours away.

We stay on the top floor of a Hilton overlooking the city for near the same price we paid the the Super 8.

Omaha was not a part of the plan but we did kick around downtown introducing Governor to the buffalo spread through the city.

After the buffalo sighting, we headed for Iowa to see... you guessed it

The World's Largest...

Concrete Garden Gnome

The Garden Gnome stood in a beautiful garden right outside of the University of Iowa.

BUT

This was not what we were set out to see.

We continued on...

This time to St. Paul, Minnesota

Here we were supposed to find bars and dancing nestled into a natural cave right outside of the city but of course it was closed due to COVID - despite them saying it was open online...

Again we kicked around the city before moving over to Wisconsin. And I know what you are thinking - I can't go any more north so the most precious wonder must be here right?

Well, first we drove to Sparta, Wisconsin. I found a individual online that makes fiberglass statues of everything from characters, animals, logos, really anything and he sells these all over the country. Well, every time he makes one of these he has to make a mold first.

So I drove hours out of the way to knock on his door, hope he was home, and hope he would be ok with me and my dog wandering around his property to see these molds.

Turns out he was ok with it and he was very willing to talk and tell me about his business.

We walked through acres and acres of these molds where we saw everything from Dr. Seuss to Big Boy and everything in between.

Crazy cool.

I ended up driving a few more hours to Milwaukee to check out the downtown when I received the phone call.

The phone rang and on the other end "it's here" - The wonder finally arrived in the U.S.

I had overshot, I was too far north.

We hopped back in the car and headed south east.

We drove straight through Illinois and entered Indiana, my stomping grounds.

I slept in Indianapolis knowing that tomorrow my life would be changing forever.

I brought food to my brothers house, where there he was, holding the most precious wonder in the entire world.

My newborn niece, Baby Lennox.

I have never seen a more precious baby.

The instant I held her it made the

40 hours

3,000 miles driven

Many hotel nights

(one way)

worth it.

I can't wait to do it all over again this Christmas.

Welcome to the world baby Lennox.