{"id":6538,"date":"2024-03-28T23:15:28","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T05:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grunschev.com\/wordpress\/?p=6538"},"modified":"2024-03-28T23:15:30","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T05:15:30","slug":"barber-trip-1-malfunction-junction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grunschev.com\/wordpress\/2024\/03\/barber-trip-1-malfunction-junction\/","title":{"rendered":"Barber Trip 1: Malfunction Junction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most of the first day was on US 36, which I’ve done several times now. When I drive cross-country, I generally listen to podcasts. There’s a guy I listen to who likes to make 6-hour long episodes about history. Today’s episode was part two of two about the Vikings, Halfway through it, I realized I had listened to part one on this same road on last year’s trip. I’ve probably just developed a weird association between Kansas and the Vikings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spent the first night in Abilene, Kansas, in a room with a view of the onramp for eastbound I-70. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I brought a small cooler full of soft drinks that I figured I’d be able to fill with ice every morning at my motel and have cold drinks for the day. “Man plans, God laughs!” Not here, Bucko, the ice machine is out of order. A sign taunts me: “Working hard to fix this problem” They dated it. They’ve been working hard on it for nearly a year. It’s the worst motel room I\u2019ve ever had. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After being in the car all day, I didn’t want to drive anywhere and I wanted to walk. There was an Arby’s across the street, so I hoofed it over there. There are no crosswalks or sidewalks, of course. Although I was crossing a four-lane divided road without a crosswalk, I wasn’t defying death: the four-lane road has almost no traffic, even though it’s an I-70 interchange. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything in sight is run down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n