Early Sunday morning, we made our way to Kansas City. Two cars left from Chicago, and two other cars left from Champaign. We departed Champaign at around 10am. As we head out of Campaign, we encounter a little bit of snowfall with colder weather. We took I-70 W, also known as the US 36 where we ended up arriving in Springfield around 11:30 am.

We passed through Springfield we got to see some of the outskirts of the city. We kept on the I-70 W, and we passed the Mississippi River around 12:30 pm. After we passed the Mississippi River, we decided to stop in the town of Hannibal to get gas and check out a look out point. We found a lookout point that overlooked the Mississippi River called Lover’s Leap.

Lover’s Leap gets its name as it is said that two people from rival Native American Tribes fell in love. However, the woman’s father who was the other tribe’s chief sent out a bounty to have his daughter’s lover killed. The couple decided that they would gather died together then have someone separate them. This is where the name of this cliff side comes from. The railing and heart statue is full of writing from couples who also hope that their love will be as strong as the couple from the story. Hannibal is also popular because it holds the boyhood home of Mark Twain who is a popular American author. Because of this many of the buildings and structures are named after Mark Twain including the bridge that we crossed the Mississippi River with.

After we got gas in Hannibal, we continued the I-70 W until we decided to stop in Monroe City to get lunch. We had a quick lunch break in Subway and attempted to see baby chickens in a neighborhood store; however, there was no chicks when we got there. After a long drive, we arrived in Kansas City at around 4:00pm. The weather had cleared up and the day became warm. We passed through the downtown area of Kansas City as we made our way to the BNB in a suburban area of the city. We crossed the State of Kansas and began to set in once we arrived at the BNB in Overland Park, Kansas. In the BNB, we have 7 students staying in the basement and the 5 girls are staying on the first floor. The BNB comes with arcade machine, a large backyard area, several televisions and corn hole.

After everyone was ready, we headed to go eat dinner. Majority of the group decided to go to try Whataburger and drove over there. The other group went to get tacos. After the group ate in Whataburger, we chose to get ice cream in Andy’s Frozen Custard. After the long drive everyone played games, worked on homework or relaxed in the BNB. We already prepared for tomorrow as we get ready as we prepare for our adventure in Kansas City.

Blog by Luis Vasconez