It is people , it is people!

It’s the eve for our return home. ( finally I hear you say). In twelve hours we will drive up to Omaha , fly to Houston, Houston to Auckland and get back to Wellington on Sunday morning! I’m not quite ready for the reflections post yet – that will come.

But boy have we had a great time. And this final bit has been no exception.

Our friend Megan has been a magnificent host, and really it’s been like the soft transition back to reality. Being in someone’s home, home cooked fresh flavoured meals, a cat on your lap. And most importantly spending time with people.

For the few of you who may recall the Camino trip years ago. We met a couple Candy and Roy who live in Kansas city. Roy is a pastor and his wife the programme and art Director for their church. We come from very different worlds and 12 years ago we connected, so I mentioned I might be able to make the drive down.

So Megan generously offered to take us down to Kansas for the night. Off we go, but of course it can’t just be a drive , it has to be an experience. First stop the Casey’s the “road stop” places. How is it that the gas stations here are also booze shops. It was disconcerting seeing the truck drivers buying their miniature “shooters” by the handful. And why stop there a gallon of cask Chardonnay. We limited ourselves to jerky and water and I have to confess the jerky was delicious, but we could have easily walked out with a bucket of blue something or other. Extraordinary. We came accross the same thing at Walgreens. The large pharmacy chains you see everywhere, while picking up your asthma inhaler you can also get Teo for one deals on your already cheap cigarettes! With 5 litre casks of wine.. contradictory or just the finest choices a free market can deliver. You decide.

Turns out that Roy was in Washington DC so could not meet us. But Candy his wife was able to catch up. My goodness she looked amazing, and the intervening years were certainly not obvious. Great conversation and she took us for some Kansas city BBQ. ( the city bit is important because Kansas city is in Missouri , and the other half of Kansas is in Kansas state and I just think too many things are named Kansas.

Turns out that Roy was unavailable as he was in DC to attend the national prayer breakfast with none other than the President himself. A privilege I understand that each of the many participants ( Aprox 3000) each paid $1500 for. Roy was to bless or pray for attendees as they arrive. But yes , it does show the different worlds we are in.

We didn’t get too much into politics , our visit had too many life moments to catch up on. But if I was forced to pick it, I’d say there was at least some unease with things politically. Let’s leave it at that .

We did a video call from the venue this was all happening in, and it dawned on me, at that moment there was one degree of separation between us and POTUS . Wild.

We had booked into a hotel, and had decided to go to a jazz bar. We heard some great jazz. Contrary to common belief, it is Kansas that id the birth place of jazz. Not New York…it was very cool.

Next day i drove back to Lincoln. Great to exercise that part of my brain again and yet another “transition” task of driving a car.

We stopped along the way in Brownsville for lunch and we had a Philly cheese steak Hoagie. A very cool post office and a paddle steamer next to the Missouri River.

Megan then took us to meet some friends of hers Charlie and Nancy both very accomplished artists. They showed us around their studios and what they are currently working on. Great conversation and fascinating insights into their perspectives…

And then it was our final dinner , where hopefully we get to play some of this amazing hospitality forward.

So now it’s the final pack, the final walk and maybe we can squeeze in a cromlette. I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to highlights there has been so much that has exceeded our expectations. But I’ll have about 30 hours before we land to give it some thought. But we do know one thing for certain. It is the amazing people we have met who have been the most enriching and rewarding experience of this trip

He aha te mea nui?

He Tangata, he tangata , he tangata