I spent most of a three-day weekend in Overland Park, Kansas, where I officiated some amateur soccer matches at the Region II Championships. That part of the Kansas City metro area is very interesting to me. It's prototypical modern American suburbia, and it just works. Traffic flowed well on the 3- and 4-lane streets; the myriad shopping centers were reasonably attractive and very busy; the whole area was neat and tidy. I don't know how the area will age over the next, say, 25 years, but for now it's looking very good. The only odd thing I noticed was a distinct lack of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. I didn't see a single walker, runner, or bicyclist the entire time I was in town. But I counted four Starbucks.
Most of my meals were uneventful, but I have to mention Saturday's lunch. I had a large gap between my 8:00am match Saturday morning and a second match at 5:00pm, so I sought out some Indian or Thai food. I ended up at Korma Sutra, which was offering a lunch buffet. I figured I had chosen ok when I noticed that 80% of the clientele were Indian. I stuffed myself on naan and lassi and curries and heaven knows what else. I even tried goat for the first time. The sauce was ok, but the meat itself was excellent. Really. I've long wondered why Americans don't eat goat, considering how popular it is around the world. After trying it I'm even more baffled.
By the way, I asked around before driving down to see what the fastest route would be. I ended up taking Highway 2 to Highway 75 to Highway 136 to I-29, and I reversed the process when I came back on Sunday. Unfortunately for any of you traveling to KC in the near future, it sounds like Highway 136 closed just hours after I went through on Sunday. That doesn't leave many "good" options. You could take Highway 77 all the way to Manhattan and get on I-70. Or you could take Highway 75 down into Kansas and either take Highway 36 or I-70 from there. Whatever you do, build some extra time into your trip.
This weekend I'm headed up to the Green Bay area to referee at the Region II Youth Championships. Lincolnite will probably be quiet from Friday through Monday, unless I get lucky with my schedule while I'm up there. Try not to miss me too much.
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One great thing about driving through Wisconsin if you are on the 2-lane and 4-lane highways is that when you drive through the little towns, you can just buy cheese curds from people out on street corners or in small little shops or tents like the produce stands you see here.
Also, it would be hard to hit a golf ball and not hit a Culvers restaurant, if you’re into that sort of thing.
I can’t get into Culvers. I don’t know why. I haven’t had a bad experience there. It just isn’t my thing.
As for cheese curds, I’ve never had ‘em but it sounds like I may as well try some while I’m up there.
I hate Culvers, personally. I know a lot of people that love it.
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