If you missed Part One or Part Two follow those links to catch up and meet us back here.
Saturday, July 28: Colorado Springs, Manhattan, KS and Spring Hill, KS
We left Colorado Springs at 9 a.m. to head for my home state.
We knew we were in Kansas when we stopped in Wakeeney for gas and then drove through Western Kansas until we pulled into the our Alma Mater: Manhattan, Kansas. The Little Apple holds a special place in our hearts because we attended school and graduated from K-State, we met and dated here, we were engaged here and we had years of great memories. We thought it would be fun to take Argo around our campus and places that were important to our relationship.
After walking down memory lane we pulled into my hometown, Spring Hill, Kansas at 9 p.m. We grabbed some ice cream at Sonic with my dad, sister and her boyfriend. After hanging out at dad’s house we went to my mom’s very late where Argo met cats for the first time and the family dogs….That went about as well as you think. We fell asleep to a thunderstorm which we had missed for several years living in the PNW.
Sunday, July 29
For anyone who grew up in 4-H you’ll know county fair week is a *little* insane. My cousins, Kylie and Claire, came over to bake for the fair and play with the dogs. They were able to babysit Argo while we ran around town visiting family.
It was a super nice day with post-storm humidity and overcast. We realized this was going to be a shocker after living in WA. Here we were thinking we were tough…
We spent the morning with my dad and tried out The Bean which is a new coffee shop on the Main street of our town. It was really weird to go through town and see people you didn’t recognize. My grandma was hosting dinner for us at her house and it was great to catch everyone on their fair-prep break and in one place.
Our one request while in Spring Hill was to eat at the infamous K&M BBQ. We were craving burnt ends (A KC classic and what we’re known for) but after we ALL ordered the same thing…found out they were out. If you can’t make it out you can order sauce and merch online so click their website link above!
Monday, July 30
One of the biggest things my mom taught me was how to bake and cook so we spent the morning making breakfast and cooking with Mom for fair.
We met up with dad for lunch at the Salty Iguana and then we played a round of golf at Top Golf. It was my first time going and I decided I’m better at putt putt. We took Drew to the Johnson County Fair where they were kicking off fair week and he was able to see where we spent YEARS of our life as well as family and friends. We went to my Aunt Lyneda’s to see their baby goats, updates on their house and have a few Boulevard beers.
Tuesday, July 31: Spring Hill, KS to Nashville, TN
And then it was time to go. We left Spring Hill and, for having a few fights, it was really cute to see Argo and Ruger cry and try to play again while we were leaving. We had some rain driving through St. Louis (apparently we left at the absolute worst time to drive across the country.) We had some lights go on in Illinois but it turned out to be a false alarm that corrected itself and we made it smoothly into Nashville, TN. This hotel wasn’t bad except for some creepers outside. We were able to pick-up Panera with a gift card (thanks, family) and spent the night booking hotels and looking at houses.
Wednesday, August 1: Nashville, TN to Asheville, NC
If only we knew how awesome and popular Asheville would be…We made great time on our drive on a rainy, two-lane highway. Asheville didn’t have La Quinta’s so we stayed at a Best Western that turned out to be the nicest place we stayed at! It was a fairly quick drive to Asheville’s downtown area where we walked around past their beautiful buildings filled with stores, places to eat and drink and plenty of people. It was a perfect mix of historical and updated buildings.
We ended up eating at Pack’s Tavern which had the best wings we’ve ever had! (Try the bourbon wings, club grinder and pizza.) You can’t really go wrong here. Pack’s was the site of many blue-collar industries and services in the town including the lumber and auto industry while turning to the “South Bar.” You can learn more about their top-tier hospitality and service on their website.
Thursday, August 2: Asheville, NC to Raeford, NC
We would have loved to visit the Biltmore and explore the area but it wasn’t worth paying the entrance fee with a dog and the rain. We left before noon and it ended up raining so bad most people had their hazards and max windshield wipers on while doing 30 mph on the highway.
We finally got to the Quality Inn in Raeford where we would be spending SEVERAL days. Because of a big Kids U.S. Open event going on nearby, most all hotels were taken so we were stuck in a non-smoking (but definitely smoky) room. We would spend the next few days driving around checking out houses and neighborhoods, touring post, trying out new restaurants every night that we could bring back to the hotel room and FINALLY found our new home and move in 10 days later!
Iron Mike on Fort Bragg, NC
If you would like to see more posts on our home or another topic, let me know. Until then, let’s see how we can make your hobby a brand. Consultations are always FREE.
Cheers!
Marin
One thought on “Cross-Country Road Trip: Part Three of Three”