North Platte, Nebraska.
This is the first place we've stayed where there are printed notices in all the rooms, advising guests to "be in a state of alertness to the outdoor conditions" by "keeping an eye on the sky and an ear to local radio and television bulletins" and being "prepared to take shelter if conditions warrant." Shelter in this case being the lower hall of the hotel. Tornados. I didn't know they had tornados in Nebraska. I thought it was only Kansas. Oh, well. Never a dull moment.
Does anyone know why gas is so cheap in Iowa? It was only $2.66 a gallon. The other interesting thing about Iowa is that all of the highway rest areas feature wireless internet connections. You pull into a rest area, park your car, turn on your computer and check your email and do whatever else you want to do. I couldn't get on the internet at all in Pownal, Vermont. It sort of makes you wonder.
But I've got to tell you about Ten Chimneys. The nicest thing about it is that it's a real house, with normal-sized rooms and medium ceilings. You can actually imagine living there (or better still, being one of Lunt and Fontaine's house-guests!) and hobnobbing with Noel Coward and Carole Channing, which is something you can't really do in places like Hearst Castle. They take small groups on docent-led tours and then afterwards there's a stage set where you can dress up in costumes and take photographs and pretend you're a star. And there really are ten chimneys. Eleven, if you count the out-buildings.
We got there early so we stopped in Genesee for lunch and a browse through the inevitable antique shop. I'm always looking for Chinese snuff bottles. Usually, I don't have much luck, but you never know. I once found a wonderful carved ivory bottle in the middle of Disneyland, of all places.
My acquisitive eye fell upon a lovely set of crystal, cut-glass wine glasses with seagreen stems, and only $49 for all eight of them. That's less than you pay for ordinary wine glasses in an ordinary store, and these are so delicate and pretty. It was a bargain, actually. Charlotte said they'd make a nice memento, and I agreed, although I didn't think I could fit anything else in the car. Well, I did.
Bao, as you can see, finds antiques uninteresting. Maybe it's because they have no smell.
I've just had a look at the sky, and it's blue, with wispy white clouds. Hopefully, it'll stay that way. We don't want to end up in Oz, or for that matter, cowering in the lower hall. Not today, anyhow.
Tomorrow, Colorado Springs.