Despite the room we had for the night being in a big neighborhood just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, the room was surprisingly quiet.  Katie Q and I rested well and felt good to start Day 2.  We were packed and ready to roll by 7:00 AM.  Right on schedule!

Leaving St. Louis was not difficult.  There was some traffic congestion near the exit to the airport, but otherwise it was smooth.  Once outside of the city, we stopped for fuel and coffee.  I am not a Starbucks fan, but the coffee was hot and served its purpose.

We crossed the Mississippi River by about 10:30 AM and started thinking about lunch.  

Mobile phone service is an amazing travel tool.  I remember the days of AAA “Trip Tiks” and having to plan for stops from home as you were never quite sure what to expect.  We were less than an hour from Kansas City, Missouri so we used our cellular phones to hone in on lunch.

As I said yesterday, Katie Q is vegan.  She has not made it a requirement that we stick to vegan restaurants on the journey.  However, I am open to experimentation and enjoy food, so I am willing to try things that are unusual.  We used her iPhone App called “Happy Cow”.  It provides a listing of vegan and vegetarian “friendly” restaurants in any geographical location.  We did not want anything too far off of the highway.  We voted on FüD. 

FüD is a tiny place nestled in a big old building on a side street just blocks away from the highway.  It was a warm, friendly place with an earthy atmosphere.  They had a big menu with appetizers, sandwiches, entrees, desserts, and drinks.  Katie Q enjoyed a smoothie, and I had a great kombucha while we waited for our meals.  I was happy to hear they brew the kombucha on site.

Lunch for me was a fantastic apple quinoa salad.  It was served cold and contained quinoa, apple, cucumber, currants, pecans, basil coulis, and a sunflower apple cider/kombucha dressing.  WOW!  It was fresh, flavorful, and filling.  Katie Q had a “bacon”, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.  Vegan bacon?  Yep.  They use jack fruit.  It is sliced thick, marinated, and fried crispy.  Yes, I tasted it.  No, it was not bacon.  It did, however, have the same salty taste and chewy texture of bacon.  A worthy substitute for the sandwich.

We headed back out on the road and returned to our bag of vegan bakery goodies for sampling.  I could not wait to try the chocolate chip walnut cookie.  My first thought?

This is NOT vegan.

Truly!  

What that bakery does is magic.

As a side, making a food “vegan” does not mean it is fat-free or low calorie.  On the contrary, there are nuts, nut butters, coconut oil, and naturally sweet ingredients such as dates that are used for flavors and textures.  

Although Katie Q and I have been enjoying our journey of taste exploration with the statement:

“It’s vegan, so it’s healthy.”

Then we laugh!

Katie Q and I laugh often.  It is good to have laughter on a road trip.  Especially when one leg of your day-long journey is a drive across the entire state of Kansas.

Kansas is miles and miles of fields.  Endless fields.  Fields with cows.  Fields with crops.  Fields with windmills.  There is an occasional exit off the highway with a gas station or convenience store.  After the exit…Yep.  More fields.

We pondered the life of those who work the fields.  How do they socialize?  Where do their children go to school?  How do they reach medical care, or how does medical care get to them in an emergency?  While we pondered, we watched combines cutting the soy, corn, and sorghum.  

I have learned more about Katie Q on this trip.  Although she had never heard of John Denver (she has been fully educated and is now a fan), she has heard of Queen, and had an album on her playlist.  She is a true friend... especially when she too will break into Bohemian Rhapsody with both the lyrics AND the voices!

We passed into Mountain Standard time zone before we left Kansas.  As we entered into Colorado the sun was sinking into the horizon creating brilliant yellows and oranges in the sky.  As we looked around, the sky to the east was turning a gorgeous shade of magenta and violet.  It was an awe-inspiring moment and gave us a boost to finish the last hour of the journey.  We rolled into Limon, Colorado and found our place of rest.

We reflected on the day, did some yoga to unwind and stretch our stiff muscles, and snacked to fill our bellies.  

Yet again I am reminded life is good.