The Rustybiker Travelog: Sunday: Emporia, KS

Ahhhhh. Last night's rain chased away the haze and lowered the temperature. We awoke to a cool breeze and 80 degrees. So of course, we spent this beautiful morning at the laundromat, washing our clothes for the trip home. Here's John enjoying our tailgate breakfast of lattes and a muffin. It was actually very nice, sitting in a cool spot with nowhere to be and nothing to do except talk to each other.

While the clothes were drying we visited the Emporia Veteran's Memorial. Emporia is the town where Veteran's Day originated. They're very proud of that. Among the exhibits was a Sherman tank from WW II and a "Huey" Army helicopter, the workhorse of the Vietnam War.

Right next to the memorial is a bridge over the Cottonwood River, where folks like to fish. The muddy water smelled like manure, but it didn't seem to bother the fishermen.

Neosha Rapids is a tiny town about 12 miles from Emporia. The Albin family gathered at the community center for an early dinner - this is the official "reunion" so there were more people than attended the preliminary events. There were piles of home-made salads, meatloaf, and meatballs. Everyone brought family photos. After food, we raised money to support the family newsletter with an auction of new and "white elephant" items. John's wine caddy with a Washington wine brought a whopping $26! I scored a new "rain" showerhead for our 2nd bathroom ($1) and a vintage sporting clays thrower ($1) among other things we wouldn't have bought were we not driving a truck across country! It was a fun auction with much hilarity, and raised about $200. John and I left with many invitations to come back and stay with family members.

Dinner was over at 4, so we took the opportunity to visit the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge Center just a few miles away from Neosha Rapids. As we approached the marsh, all the white cranes flew away - they are definitely shy of humans.