2016 Minnesota Vacation - Day 2

We slept-in this morning since we were both worn out from yesterday's drive from Houston. I did get up early to let the dog out, and then I had a bite of the free breakfast the hotel offered, but then I went back to bed for a few hours. I felt a lot better today, even though I do still have my head cold.

We departed Ardmore at 11:20am and headed north on I-35 towards Oklahoma City. We stopped for lunch at Arby's and I had a turkey sandwich, Lawrence had a Beef & Cheddar, and the dog got bites of both, of course. Close to Downtown OKC, we once again hit construction with a heavy backup.

The weather was beautiful all day with clear skies and lots of sun, but boy was it hot! We hit 101 today in northern Oklahoma, and it stayed in the 90's all day until we got close to Iowa when it dropped to the upper 80's. You could definitely tell we were headed north.

In Kansas, I was surprised by two things today. First, their gas was only $1.81 per gallon. Second, I saw a new casino in the state. I know Kansas is a very conservative state like Texas, so I didn't think they allowed casino gambling, just like Texas. Interesting.

Not much to tell about Kansas or Missouri. Traffic wasn't bad and the weather was good. Lots of wheat and corn growing, but that's not unusual. We made a number of potty, food and gas stops along the way, and finally reached Osceola, Iowa just after 9pm. Osceola is about 45 miles south of Des Moines. We found a Quality Inn here, and it's a bit dumpy, but they allow dogs, so we're good with that. A lot of places don't allow dogs, which kinda sucks, and limits your choices. None of the door locks work in the rooms and the front desk clerk had to let everyone into their rooms.

Once we got settled in our room, we quickly found out there were no food places open after 9pm, including pizza delivery. The only thing open with food is the truck stop next to our hotel, so I wandered over there to see what they had to offer. Their offering, other than the usual c-store fare, was freshly made pizza! It was surprisingly not too bad. Back in the room with pizza and lemonade, we had our dinner, and found out the dog likes pizza. The again, she's likes everything, as evidenced by her fluffy rotundness. Is that a word? It is now.

We traveled 371 miles yesterday, another 594 today, and a couple of hundred more tomorrow will get us to our destination. We'll be in Minnesota for two weeks before heading back to Houston, and so far we have no definitive plans while there. Just what the doctor ordered.