Another Day, Another Highway

I've been on quite a few U.S. road trips over the last several years and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of billboards you come across that advertise some strange attraction. While driving through Arizona, for example, my friend and I followed billboards advertising "The Thing?" for about 75 miles, probably more. I completely recommend seeing "The Thing?" but I'm not about to spoil the fun for you here.

Instead, I'll tell you about following billboards in Kansas. I had been coming from Los Angeles, CA with my final destination being Milwaukee, WI. My road trip companion left me in Denver, meaning, I was to drive the entire state of Kansas by myself. I was nervous about this as I had never driven this long by myself and I could only imagine that Kansas was a pretty boring drive. And to be honest, outside of flat farmland with occasional windmills and a handful of frightening billboards trying to convert me to some sect of Christianity, the drive on I-70 across Kansas is nothing to write home about. Unless, however, you are a fan of the Wizard of Oz - which I am. So when I saw the first billboard for the Oz Museum at Exit 328, I was pretty pumped. And then I realized I was somewhere between exit 1 and 2. Talk about impressive marketing.

I wish now that I had counted how many Oz Museum billboards that are scattered on I-70 but there are enough that it became a game for me. I found myself guessing when the next one would pop up and how many more exits I had left to go. And as I sat down to a late lunch an hour outside of Wamego, Kansas, the town that the museum resides in, I realized I was up against the clock. The museum closed at 5pm and it was 3pm.

I scarfed down the rest of my cheeseburger sandwich, threw down some cash and sped the rest of the way with a bladder full of sweet tea and finally made it to Wamego, Kansas. I don't know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't a store front on a street I could walk the entire length of in less than 2 minutes. Nevertheless, I parked out front (free parking!) and walked in. I had exactly one hour to see if the museum lived up to the hype of all those billboards.

Maybe it was the anticipation, maybe it was the nostalgia this film creates for me, or maybe I was just in desperate need for any kind of entertainment after a 5 hour drive in Kansas. Either way, I found myself mesmerized by the memorabilia, facts and pure love for the Wizard of Oz that made up this small but incredible museum.