Ruby slippers and a yellow brick road

Yes, Wamego, Kansas, (see main street at left),tiny as it is, has those ruby and yellow things (slippers and bricks) and believe me this town is tiny, even from the point of view of an Ellensburg, Washington, native. But by the time we abandoned Kansas City, and 3 days of BBQ, for Kansas-the-state, I was not thinking of ruby or yellow. I was craving greens! So when we found the supermarket on the outskirts of little Wamego, out there on the highway, and went inside to purchase makings for a picnic lunch, and my spouse suggested we add to his leftover BBQ chicken, I politely declined and made a beeline for the salad bar. Lettuce never looked so good! We then followed the signs to the "city park" in Wamego. That was the littlest city park I have ever set eyes on. It had less open space than a typical Seattle "parking strip." But what it had, was green. And it had a bench. And even though it was high noon, there was no competition for seating. So picnic we did. Then we went to the Oz museum in the middle of "downtown" Wamego. There I took some pictures.

For Carmelita, I shot photos of the ruby slippers, wishing I could bring the slippers themselves back to add to her collection(s). I mean, those shoes have a dance or two left in them. And speaking of dancing, we saw film of a wonderful dance by Ray Bolger (as the scarecrow) which got cut from the movie as it finally appeared. The man was a dancing genius. Limp as al dente spaghetti, but as expressive as tall grass waving in the wind. It was worth going all the way to Kansas to see that dance!

And of course for Carol Anne, I had to take a picture of this Wizard of Oz quilt. It's not the only quilt I saw on my travels. There was a whole quilt booth at Toad Suck Daze, for Heaven's sake, but it was indeed one of the most unusual pieces of needlework I encountered. It is fun to have your friends with you when you see new things, if only in your mind's eye and to wonder how their eyes might see the sights you are taking in. And you always want to bring back a little piece or two of your trip to share: "Lookee here at what I found, Mom."

Inevitably our afternoon in Wamego and Oz led us back to the interstate and south to Wichita. My plan was to go in search of the Wichita Lineman while the spouse tried on the Kansas links for size. But a rainy day foiled our plans. We opted for a movie and museum tour instead. I couldn't begrudge this state, tornado capitol of the world, a morning of rain. In fact, after seeing what Dorothy went through, I felt we had been let off easy.

"There's no place like home, Auntie Em," I remember thinking as we dropped off our rental car and boarded the shuttle for the OKC Airport. And "We're not in Kansas, any more," my subconscious whispered as our jet eased down over Puget Sound.