Oh Atchison, even to this day I can't say I'm pleased to think upon you. (And literally, we have a client who lives there. Hearing where he was from did not leave me with pleasant thoughts.)
Anyway... Story time, since I took no pictures at this particular stop.
I arrived in Atchison with a need to refuel, both my car and myself (it was dinner time). I picked one of the few gas stations in town, thinking them all about the same. While the gas hose was filling my tank, I decided it was also a good time to clean the bug guts from my windsheild. I was about halfway through cleaning the glass, standing on the driver side of the car, when I heard this loud WHOOSH! I ran to the passenger side of the car, where the pump was attached and saw a flood of gas flowing from the car. I panicked but somehow managed to turn off the pump.
I just stood there for a minute. No way that just happened. Now what do I do?
Finally, I went inside and asked for help. Surely the attendant would know what to do. (Me, I got no clue as this has never happened to me before.)
The gal tried to be helpful, but ended up deferring to a man who was sitting at some tables in the store. I assume he was the owner, because he clearly knew his way around. He also clearly wrote me off as a clueless female, making a comment about the signs they have on the pumps. (I looked later, there were no signs on the pumps. At least not the one I was using.)
He assured me that the gas smell would dissipate by tomorrow. This of course didn't help me, since I had many more hours of driving tonight. I'm also freaking out in the back of my mind when I start to consider all the things that could happen, since the back side of my car is now coated in gas.
The attendant was at least a little more sympathetic to my plight. She brought me a cup with some water and a rag so I could try to wipe down the side of my car. Thankfully before I drive off into parts unknown with my ticking time bomb of a car. I'm also glad to report that I suffered no adverse effects from the gas smell... You never know what could happen. Especially considering my luck!
After the gas incident, I was excited to find a Taco Bell. I mean, I hadn't seen one for a very, very long time. It just sounded so good. However... Instead of making up for the bad experience, it just compounded it.
Oddly, they had some different things on their menu. And then they ended up over cooking the spanish rice, which just made the burrito crunchy. Gross. I only ate it because I didn't have anything else... I wasn't going to stop again (to make a PB&J out of my trunk) and I was out of town with it getting dark.
I crossed into Missouri in the middle of a narrow bridge in unexpectedly heavy traffic. I didn't realize I was that close to the line... or I might have tried slowing down a lot more to get my line sign picture. I didn't want to completely miss taking pictures of the state, so got some right as the sun was going down.
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