Live Trip Map Day 18: September 1, 2009
Denver to Topeka 		Previous Day
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I had hoped to connect with roadie Dave "Willy" Willman in Denver. It didn't quite happen though I haven't yet sorted out what went wrong. Via email, Willy helped me pick a motel for this stop and turned me on to Pete's Kitchen. Very cool with very good food & service. September 1,1999
When I stopped at the Cadillac Ranch in 2003, all I had was a marking pen. In 2007, I arrived with a can of green spray paint. There's no doubt that 1999's Carmine Red Corvette touch up paint out classed both of those.
The Denver Union Station isn't exactly busy but it's far from dead. I left Crispian here for his thirty-six hour ride home on the California Zephyr. This is something he's wanted to do for awhile. However, a temporary route change went into affect today. The route he'll be traveling is less scenic but more historic than the normal route. Hope that works out.
When I reached Aurora Sports Park, things were winding down. Most of the caravan was already on the road. That's Aussie John Smith, the third of the trio I knew from 2003, being interviewed by a local TV station. As I climbed the I-70 entrance ramp just north of the park, my GPS spoke to me and brought a chill to my heart. "Drive 520 miles then...".
At my motel in Topeka, I asked the desk clerk about places to eat and was given the typical list of chain restaurants. I asked if there was anything locally owned. Just the Mexican place down the street, she said. I thanked her and added a comment about sometimes finding local places that were different from the norm. That triggered, "Well, the only place we have with much of a national reputation is Bobo's." She hadn't mentioned it because it was three miles away and the others were much closer.

Bobo's Drive In, "A Topeka Tradition Since 1948", was perfect. There is some inside seating and Bobo's does a lot of take-away business but the right way to experience Bobo's is in your car. Pull into one of the dozen or so spaces in back and a real live carhop takes and delivers your order. The 'burger was great and the onion rings even better. They make their own root beer which, while not really outstanding, was quite good. Ashley was the only carhop on duty and at times was actually running to get an order or retrieve a tray. "Keeps me in shape", she said. The apple pie is, according to the sign, "famous" and, according to Ashley, "really good". I took a piece back to the motel where it made a very nice mid-evening snack.

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