Today the plan was to drive from Kansas City, MO to Manhattan, KS. A new state! In the morning we stopped by the Harry Truman home to get the kids their junior ranger badges. We met a very nice (and informative) ranger that was able to give some valuable advice to my oldest as to what degree path she might like to take. Another nice ranger pointed us in the direction of another national historic site, brown vs board of education at Monroe school.

When brown vs boe was filed, there were 5 states sued and 200 plaintiffs. “Brown” happened to be from Topeka, Kansas. Monroe was a segregated black school. The tour was very informative and engaging (we were the only ones, also a plus for me, so I don’t have to worry about my children distracting other visitors). I am so thankful for the recommendation, and I think it was 100 times better than our intended destination today.

  
    
    
    
   

The day did end on a bit of a low note though, as I realized I had left my camera the previous evening at Liberty jail, outside of KC. Deon graciously offered to drive the 2 1/2 hour round trip to retrieve it for me, while I did laundry. Sidda wet along for the ride (and to keep him awake) and I kept the other 5. He was *such* a good sport about it, especially since that amounted to more than 5 hours of driving in his day. But it all worked out, my camera was there, and we all ended up safe and sound together at our intended destination.