Weathering the Storm with the WP #26

​​Wow, what a week just ended. I finished up working in the schools and hit the road. It was a bit crazy and also melancholy leaving the school district I had worked at for 15 years, as much as it was to leave on Saturday, after living 30 years in Minnesota. I am sure I will be back some time, but for now, I am on the road and will end up in New England in the short term, but time to see America from a perspective different than when I was in my 20’s.
On Saturday, I started my Wandering Puffin Hard Rockin’ tour of America and first went to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I wanted to count my visit and I am not a gambler, so it was a short stay, walking around to get a feel for the place and hitting the Rock Shop for some bling. Then I hit the road to drive through the heartland and ended up in Topeka, Kansas, where there is actually an Evil Knievel Museum, for the night, about 535 miles. That is a lot considering I had not been a road warrior here in the US for over 30 years, back in my 20’s, so it was a bit of challenge, but I handled it well. I also started doing Facebook Live reports every so often, so look for them as I share interesting facts and experiences along the way.

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On Sunday, I continued my journey to the next Hard Rock, this one in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the vibe between the two was very different. This once exuded Hard Rock and the songs playing which I heard from outside and inside were what I would expect and the gear inside was wonderful to see. I felt like they understood what it was about, which I did not feel when I was at the Sioux Falls location. I mention all this as I have in my travels domestically and internationally been to nearly 50 Hard Rock locations around the world and with few exceptions, the experience, be it enjoying food at the cafes or buying bling at the Rock Shops has been good or being the DJ for the day with access to the Ipad to choose the songs I wanted when I dined. I have always expected a consistency with this experience; a thumbs up for Tulsa and thumbs down for Sioux Falls. ​

In addition to those places, along the way, I saw the grave site of the Dalton gang or at least some, the birthplace of Jim Thorpe and the home of Will Rogers. This as I traveled from Kansas to Oklahoma and spent a little time on Old Route 66, or what is left in Oklahoma on my way to stopover in Amarillo, Texas, which today’s drive went even further, over 600 miles and somehow, I did it. It was fun to hit the backroads and the byways and weather was ominous at times, and it did rain a bit, I went on the interstates, but that is not my style. I only did it since it was easier to deal with and perceived safer. I enjoy seeing the country by the back roads, as Charles Kuralt did and Jack Kerouc did. But when I was within 100 miles of Amarillo, it started to rain, and a funny thing, when I did this back in the 80’s, a storm came rumbling through on the same road as I was approaching Amarillo. 
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