Home!!!!

We got an early start this morning leaving Las Cruces at 6:30 a.m. With the time change, we got home at 9:30 so 4 hours as planned. Uneventful drive although we did run into some heavy rain about 50 miles east of Tucson but at least it wasn't as bad as what I hit in Kansas on Monday. 

Morris was really fussy today and maybe he was as anxious to get home as I was - or at least get out of the car. He quietened down after about 10 minutes this morning but there was frequent "communication" from him all the way home. No long naps like yesterday. We got home, I pulled into the garage, closed the garage door, took the litter box into the house, went back out and opened his crate for him to get out.  He looked at me for a minute and shot out of the car headed for the door into the house. After drinking some water and eating a bit of food he went to his favorite hiding spot which is the back corner of the master closet behind clothes.  It was an hour or so before he came out. He finally came out, checked everything, ate some more, used the litter box and is now back in his corner...

For me, I unpacked the suitcase and left everything else for tomorrow or the next day..... I'm beat!

Thanks to everyone here in Tucson for the "welcome home" gifts.  Looking forward to Friday at the bar so I can catch up on all the gossip....

After 74 straight blogs on this trip, the blog will go dark again after today.  I'll let you know when I restart it which will be when I have something to write about. Thanks for sharing the trip with us!

Day 2 on the way home...

Compared to yesterday, today was a boring day with no excitement which I was very thankful for. 

Morris shut up after only about 10 minutes today. However, he fussed at me a lot more today but it wasn't screaming.  I got lectured if I rattled a paper and woke him up or every time I stopped which was not very many times. And sometimes he would just wake up, we would have a "conversation" and he would go back to sleep. This picture represents mostly what I saw today while driving which was miles and miles of nothing. I had decided to take the road out of Amarillo that goes through Clovis and Roswell, NM on my way to the hotel in Las Cruces. Mainly I didn't want another day of just high speed freeway driving - I'll have more of that tomorrow.  Usually I do stick to freeways but Larry and I took this route 3 years ago on our first Midwest trip so I knew the roads were good and they were. The roads are state roads but all 4 lane. I went through many small towns so the speed limits today ranged from 25 MPH to 75 MPH.  That helped to break it up.

Morris doesn't like elevators any more than he does vehicles.  This morning after I got everything in the car, I went back upstairs to get him. He fussed all the way down in the halls and elevator. When we got to the lobby, he fussed just enough to get the attention of everyone who was in the lobby having breakfast. With his head held high, he shut up and enjoyed the attention and comments of "oh look, there is a cat", "he is so pretty', etc.

The hotel here in Las Cruces certainly isn't as nice as the one last night.  This one is older but it is clean.  There just aren't that many choices when traveling with a pet. Anyway, within 1 minute after walking in the door today Morris found this wall and has spent most of the time up there. He is currently stretched out on it sound asleep.  The wall is at least 6 ft tall. He got down a few times to check everything out and then went back up to his wall.

Another 4 hours of driving in the morning and we'll be home. Both of us will be glad to get the driving over with for this trip. If we wake up early in the morning, we'll go ahead and hit the road after a stop at McDonald's.  I got gas tonight when I went out to get something to eat so won't have to take time for that in the morning. Of course after we get home, there is the unpacking the car, unpacking the suitcases and boxes, get groceries, etc..  Oh well.....that part of going on trips.  8-)

Day 1 on the road home....

I overslept this morning since my furry alarm clock overslept.  He is usually up by 5:45 but this morning it was 6:10 before either one of us stirred.  Hence we didn't get on the road until about 45 minutes later than I planned since it took me longer to gather the final stuff up that I planned plus getting a late start. Oh well.....

His Majesty yelled at full volume for the first 1/2 hour and then there was a few silent minutes.  After an hour the was pretty quite except for some periodic  "meows" - some quiet and some at full volume but it was tolerable. He was really quiet this afternoon.

My excitement for the day was the storm I ran into about 40 miles before I got to Wichita. I could see the dark cloud in the distance and I admit it didn't look quite as dark as it does in this picture but it was pretty dark. The rain started  light and then was coming down moderately - still OK driving.  The car in front of me pulled out to the left to pass a big tanker truck.  I pulled out behind the car as did the car behind me.  I was about 1/2 way to passing him when it was like I drove into a waterfall.  I don't think I have ever driven in such heavy rain.  I knew there was a car in front of me, the median wall on the left, a car behind me and the truck beside me but I could NOT see it due to the amount of rain plus the water the truck was throwing up on my windshield. I tried slowing down but the water from the truck got worse .  Every few seconds I could see the yellow line on my left. I knew the road was straight since I looked ahead when I pulled out. All I could do was speed up a bit, keeping an eye on any yellow line I could see and get to the front of the truck where the tires wouldn't throw so much water up. I was basically driving blind. And...I could also feel my car hydroplane a couple of times. Once I got around him, it was just really heavy rain for a few miles and then started to lighten up.  Yep...I was scared and my blood pressure was probably up a few points! Thank goodness that was one of those times when Morris was not making a sound. Otherwise, the drive today was uneventful. I only stopped a couple of times for gas and pit stop so we made really good time.

I wasn't sure what to expect of a Best Western hotel in Shamrock, TX but it is actually very nice. It has 3 floors with interior corridors.. With a cat, it is easier to be on the ground floor where I can park right in front of the room and carry stuff in - having to use an elevator makes it a little more complicated.  I get everything in the room and then go back to the car for Morris.  As I was carrying him through the lobby a guy who was checking in said "that is one big cat". His Majesty does not like elevators but was fine when we got inside the room.  He has checked every square inch out and is now up on the window sill looking down at whatever is out there.

One day down and 1 1/2 more to go.... 8-)

Last day here for this trip

The apt is about 95% packed - only things Morris or I need in the morning are left.  Most of the bags, suitcases, etc are already in the car.   His Majesty is not a happy camper.....  I keep telling him that if I could, I would just wiggle my nose and we would be home but it doesn't work that way...

My sister-in-law cooked all my favorite foods today for dinner plus some.  Here is my plate and I simply couldn't get some of everything on it but I tried.  There was pinto beans and ham, cornbread (mine is under the beans), fried new potatoes, cucumbers and onions, wilted lettuce, baked ham, pickled beets, new sweet corn, macaroni and cheese, new tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, banana pudding and lemon cake.  I think I remembered it all.....  I took pictures of everything but they will have to wait for the book since I don't have time tonight to edit them all and put them in a collage. It was a wonderful meal and we all enjoyed it. Thanks B & V for having us all over and fixing my favorite foods.

Packing

 

"Don't lie to me....I know what stuff going in suitcases means!"

Serious packing started today and His Majesty is royally unhappy!  Instead of sleeping several hours at a time so I can pack peacefully, he sleeps with one eye open and then follows me from room to room watching me with "the look". Not a sound - just "the look".  He is immediately up in my lap whenever I sit down for a break. He has thoroughly checked out every bag I have staged in the entry to be taken to the car.  At home, I could discretely move stuff out into the garage and then go out there, shut the door and pack.  I can't do that here so it may get really interesting tomorrow when I start loading stuff into the car.

P.S. I didn't list family on yesterday's list since to me that is just understood.... 8-)

10 Things I will miss from here.....

..... the abundance of greenery in the trees and flowers, all the different kinds of flowers that bloom and the almost constant gentle breeze that blows.

.....watching the birds outside the window and hearing them all the time.

.....my sister-in-law's home cooking.

.....looking up at the sky and seeing lots of white,  fluffy clouds almost every day.

.....the walking trail that is so close by with something to always look while walking plus walking under a full canopy of trees.

.....the soft water that makes  your hair soft, doesn't leave water spots on windows or the car and makes it a breeze to keep the stainless steel sink in the kitchen clean.

.....the best BBQ food in the world.

.....the great mattress on the bed that is not to hard and not to soft - just right.

.....the water that flows all the time in creeks, streams and rivers.

.....the lack of graffiti and litter on the streets.

Bored....

It's too soon to pack up the apt. Don't have anything left on my "go see list" for this trip. Can't afford to go shopping after the last Vera Bradley Store. Just finished my book and need at least a few hours before starting another one. Just plain bored! Guess I could set here and watch the birds outside, especially since I just saw a beautiful cardinal land on a limb by the window.  I have a list of stuff to do to get ready for the trip home and most of it is on the list for Saturday and Sunday. Oh well, I could just sit and watch old reruns of Dr. Welby....

Other Tidbits:

I did go back over to the genealogy library yesterday and after pouring through many books, only found one thing of real interest. It was in a book of cemeteries in the Missouri country where my maternal grandmother is from.  I ran across the "Molder Cemetery" which was her maiden name. There are inscriptions for the 16 tombstones there and almost all of them are her ancestors going back several generations. I have been to the cemetery and you can barely read the inscriptions but the book was done back in the 40s when the inscriptions were easier to read. Interesting!

We had a very short but heavy storm come through yesterday afternoon. There were 3 really, really loud claps of thunder and then it just poured for a few minutes. Rain stopped and the sun came back out. I missed Morris after the mini-storm was over and finally found him under a bed.  He HATES thunder.

It has been pretty hot here the last couple of days.  I listen to them say   95 degrees for a high and think that isn't so hot when you are from the desert so why are they making a big deal out of it.  But they really put an emphasis on the Heat Index temperature - not just the official temperature. We aren't used to the Heat Index in the desert and I finally realized it is because in the desert there isn't much humidity so the heat index is usually the same as the temperature. Here, with the humidity, the heat index can be 5-10 degrees more. So that 95, feels like 105... But....there is still a light breeze and that really helps.

Odds and Ends for a Wednesday

Jess & Jim's Steakhouse: This popular steakhouse has been a landmark in Martin City (south of KC) since 1938. The restaurant was started by 2 brothers and the 4th generation is now being groomed to manage the business by working there. Jess & Jim's has been ranked numerous times by national publications as one of the best steakhouses in the United States. In 1972 an article about the restaurant appeared in Playboy Magazine. The original restaurant was leveled in 1957 by a tornado although the owner's parakeet survived unharmed. The decor is the restaurant hasn't changed much in decades and is what you would find in a classic rustic Texas steakhouse.

 

For some reason, and I don't know why, I don't remember ever eating there when I lived in this area back in the late 60's and early 70's.  I have been there 3 times on this trip - twice for lunch and once for dinner. The lunch draw for me is there homemade French Fries. However, last Saturday night I went for dinner so I could try out the steaks that they are so famous for. Above is my KC Strip steak, baked potato and the pickled beets they serve as an appetizer. I like my steaks med-well to well done and always know it may not be as tender due to how I like it cooked. However, this steak was perfect and yet juicy and tender.  The thing that really amazed me about the steak was that it has been seared over a very hot fire and there was almost a crust on it yet the inside was perfectly done and tender.

 

 

Morris: A Victim of Discrimination

Last week I spent some time doing serious research on apartments that had made it to the top of my list. I chose 3 out of about 20 that I originally considered and looked at about half of them. My first choice is where I'm staying now.  My 2nd choice is now off the list due to their discrimination against sweet, shy, little Morris.  I downloaded their application and was reading through it before I went to talk to them. In the application, they say small dogs and cats are O.K. but only "declawed cats". I was told to send them an email asking for a variance which I did and they said "sorry - only declawed cats" even thought I offered to submit a letter of "good behavior" from the place I am currently in and from the apt in Little rock. No luck... Apparently little dogs pooping and peeing on the carpet are o.k. Wonder if the Supreme Count would hear a case of discrimination against a cat......

 

Twinkies:  I didn't get the Twinkies yesterday but did get some of their little chocolate Donetts which I love!  Larry LOVED their Ho Ho's and said Miss Debbie's just were not the same.

 

Car Wash:  Yesterday I went to the car wash which is quite a different experience here.  They don't have all the people to dry the car, etc.  I didn't get it until I realized they aren't needed to dry the car since the water doesn't cause water spots.  The dryer at the end of the wash is adequate. I was also really surprised at how little dust there was on the inside of the car. Quite a change from the desert.

 

 

Ward Parkway Boulevard

I have driven down to the Plaza or downtown many times in the 8 weeks I have been here.  Most of those trips were done by driving on Ward Parkway Blvd. I remember it from when I was here before but  didn't appreciate it until this trip.  Maybe it's just that it is such a contrast to what I'm used to driving on in Tucson. The boulevard is a 12-mile road that starts in the Plaza and runs south near the Kansas-Missouri State Line. The road has a wide, and I do mean wide, landscaped median that is decorated with fountains, statues, flowers, trees and grass. The area near the Plaza is full of "mansions" that date back to the turn of the century. Parkway maintenance and enhancements are funded in part by a portion of  revenue from a improvement sales tax that was renewed in 2007 for 10 years. J. C. Nichols, Country Club Plaza developer, created the Parkway as part of the overall plans for the Country Club District. He traveled to Italy and England to buy large decorative urns, statues and monuments to place at periodic points on the boulevard's wide median in addition to the many fountains that were built in the median.  There was very little traffic on the blvd yesterday morning when I drove down to the Memorial Gardens so was able to get some pictures along the way. In 2012 the American Planning Association named Ward Parkway one of the 10 Great Streets for 2012. It was singled out for it picturesque scenery, ornamentation and homes that line the boulevard. Fifth Avenue in New York City is also on the list.

Seahorse Fountain is one of KC's oldest fountains and is located in the Meyer Circle on the boulevard. Mr. Nichols found the center sculpture of the fountain in Venice, Italy where it had stood for over 300 years. The statue was incorporated into the fountain and it was completed in 1925.

 

Landscaping in the front yard of a home along the boulevard.

 

 

This bronze sculpture, titled The Eagle,  sits in the median. It dates back to the 18th Century and for years stood in the courtyard of a Japanese temple before being brought to this country. The Japanese Embassy displayed the eagle in its exhibit at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904.  J. C. Nichols Company purchased it from a New York art dealer in 1935 and donated it to the city. The Eagle itself is 11 ft 6 inches high and sits on a 6 foot tall base so it is quite tall.  The wing span of the eagle is 14 feet. This picture does not do it justice but the sun just wasn't in the right position to get a really good picture of it.

 

 

The Mirror Pool Fountain was built in 1924 and sits in the median. The fountain was renovated in 1965 and contains 3 spray rings.

 

 

This is one of the houses along the boulevard, not far from the Plaza.  I don't know the history on the house but would love to know more about it. I always enjoy seeing it when I drive by. It is truly magnificent!

 

 

Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden

Yesterday's newspaper featured a full page about the director of the Kauffman Memorial Garden in which he talked about the gardens, color schemes, what they have been planting lately, what's currently in bloom, etc. So....this morning I drove down to the Plaza area to check it out.  What a gem it is. The 2-acre garden is part of the Kauffman Legacy Park and was opened in 2000. The garden is free to the public and is open every day between dawn and dusk. There are about 7,000 plants and varieties planted in the garden includeing vintage and modern perennials, annuals, scrubs, bulbs and trees. The beds are changed out 4 times a year and they have just done the 2nd change for this year.  In November, underneath the winter planting, will go 6,000 tulip bulbs for the spring season. Mr. & Mrs. Kauffman are buried in a secluded corner of the garden.

Behind the Green Garden is the Conservatory building.

Inside the conservatory, which is air conditioned for comfort, are six large pindo palm trees.  These palm trees have orchard plant in discrete moss containers secured to the trunks of the palm trees. You don't notice the moss, what you see are the beautiful orchids.

 

One of the orchids on a palm tree.  This is probably the largest orchid bloom I have ever seen.  It was about 4-5" in diameter.  Stunning!

 

 

The Parterre "Canal" Garden contains a long pool where bronze figures dance in the water. The pool is lined on each side with beds of annuals and tropical that are changed each season.

 

 

I have no idea what kind of plant this is but it sure is pretty.  It is about 2 feet high and the blooms are in clusters like this.

 

 

Dahlia blooms.

 

 

And then there is the Hidden Garden located behind the conservatory. You don't realize this is a fountain until a periodic burst of water comes up out of the ground. There are 3-4 of these in the Hidden Garden. I stood there a long time trying to get the burst of water. 8-)

 

 

 

 

Starlight Theater

Last night my niece and I attended a show at the Starlight Theater here in KC. As I said yesterday, it has been 41 years since I last saw a show there. Going to Starlight was high on my list of things to do while back here and now I can check another item off my list... It was warm and humid.  There were a few raindrops while we were parking but they stopped after a couple of minutes. The clouds remained so at least we were not setting in the sun for awhile before the sun went down behind the trees.

We started the evening by having dinner at the theater. A catered buffet is set up in one of the rehearsal halls.  You have to make reservations ahead of time. The food is pretty good.  Having dinner there just seemed easier than stopping at a restaurant and then having to watch the time. They open at 6 P.M. and we got right in which left us enough time to take a free facility tour before the show. The tour was kind of interesting although we just walked through the dressing rooms and across the stage with no stopping so you had to look quick. They explained what we would see ahead of time.

Starlight Theater opened June 25, 1951.  At that time it cost $1 million to build and today's cost would be around $65 million. The theater is a non-profit corporation and seems to be very well run - it's history is evidence of that. Besides Broadway productions, the theater is also used for concerts and other events. Back in 1971-72 when I went to several performances at Starlight, there was no roof over the stage and the orchestra pit was in front of the stage. In the early 1980's the stage was permanently extended out over the orchestra pit which brought the stage closer to the audience. In 2000, the stage was reworked again into a 10-story, climate controlled stage. Personally, I think these changes to the stage has caused it to loose some of it's charm and character. Now, it is just like a stage inside a building. There were once 38 self-producing outdoor theaters in the US and today only 3 remain with Starlight being one of those. Starlight Theater has been listed as one of "Six Outdoor Music Venues to Visit in Your Lifetime" by a theater magazine. The magazine lists it after the Hollywood Bowl in LA and the Red Rocks Amphitheater outside Denver.

 

Earlier this week, the show was reviewed in the Kansas City Star newspaper and the reviewer said it was far too long a show. He did not give it a good review and my niece and I totally agreed!  The show is a stage adaptation of the 1983 film Flashdance.  The show premiered in 2008, had an extensive tour of Great Britain and is expected to go to Broadway later this year. They added 15 new songs to the stage show that were not in the movie. The show itself might be O.K. but the production we saw was not. The female lead had a very high-pitched, screechy voice when she sang. Only one person had a good singing voice in our opinion.  They totally butchered some of the original songs by shortening them. The choreography was pretty good. It was done by a guy who has done some choreography for the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance". The sets were the best part of the show. The show started at 8 o'clock and with intermission, we got out at 11:30!  We talked about leaving early but decided to stay for the last number which is the big finale in the movie but they totally butchered her audition for the dance academy - both the dancing and the song.  We wished we had left early...  Oh well... that's the way it goes sometimes. I would still go again, but would prefer a concert.

Not much happening today....

Sunny, warm but mostly overcast.  Since I'm going to Starlight Theater tonight and it is outside, I hope the overcast sky continues.  However, I think it is still going to be warm....  The last time I was at Starlight Theater was in 1972 when I saw Jim Nabors in concert. It was rained out after about 15 minutes but he stayed over an extra day and did the concert again for the ticket holders of the rained out show.

I was driving through an outdoor mall this morning on my way to Barnes and Noble when I saw this sidewalk sale and all these people around the tables. I glanced up at the store name, saw it was Vera Bradley, made an immediate turn into a parking place and joined them. We have to really search to find Vera Bradley Products in Tucson and they seem to be everywhere here. I even saw some in Barnes and Noble. The sale was for discontinued patterns with discounts up to 75% off. Everything from pencils to luggage. There is no way I could resist those prices plus get a free lunch tote thrown in. 8-)  I could not believe how much some people bought. I saw one lady leaving with 3 HUGE shopping bags full and it wasn't me. 8-)  I commented on how long the line was to the cash register person and she said after looking up at the line "Oh this is nothing, yesterday the line took about 2 hours to get checked out." By the time I got close to the cash register, I wished I had gotten one item in a different color but there was no way I was going to go back out, change it and get in line again.

Odds and Ends...Again

I'm not going to be doing much "tourist" stuff between now and the 22nd when we head home.  For one thing, everything on my list is checked off except one thing and secondly, I need to start getting ready to head home. It is amazing how much you can spread out in 2 months plus what has been accumulated.  The only thing not checked off my tourist list is to visit the KC Power & Light district downtown which is an area that has been rejuvenated into an entertainment district with theaters, restaurants, entertainment, etc. That might have to wait for another time.

Measuring Ambient Temperature: I was watching a local TV station last week and the weather man happened to mention how the official temperature was measured at the airport. He said it was on the grass, in the shade and about 5 feet off the ground. Well, I have never heard about that before!  So I looked it up and sure enough, they have a roof with sides open that the thermometer sits under. It's  on grass so there isn't heat reflection.  It's in the shade so cloudy days don't affect it. The next time I'm in Tucson and they say the temperature is 110 degrees, it is going to be even worse since now I will know that is in the shade!  I probably don't want to know what the temperature is when I walk across a parking lot in the sun....

Old TV Shows: A few days ago I discovered a channel that is old TV shows. I'm talking about Magnum PI, Lone Ranger, Marcus Welby, MD, etc.  Since then I have gotten hooked on the Marcus Welby shows.  TV was so simple back then and just pure entertainment. He was on in the early-mid 70s and back then, I thought Robert Young was old but now I look at him and he doesn't seem nearly so old... The other night there was an operating room scene and they didn't show any blood and guts - now days that is what we would be seeing in an operating room scene.  Kansas City seems to have a lot of channels that broadcast the older TV shows and movies. The nurses all wore white uniforms with the "nurses" hats.

Mid-West Genealogy Library:  I have heard about this place for years and yesterday I stopped there on my way back from Ft Osage. As in the Genealogy Library in Little Rock, they have shelves full of books on specific state counties. I did a quick search of a few books and found something that is making me rethink my paternal grandmother's roots. Granny lived with us  most of my life - I don't remember when she wasn't living with us.  She always talked about coming from Kentucky in a covered wagon when she was 9 years old and about her 2 brothers. I have confirmed that these 2 brothers were half-brothers and her father had children by each of 3 wives. However, she never mentioned her parents or at least I don't remember hearing about them. Yesterday I discovered a record of her marriage in a book of Barry County Missouri  Marriages 1881 - 1886.

 

I have a copy of the actual license but it is a copy of a copy many times over so some of it is not readable.  Transcriptions like this are from the original document. I thought the James A. Johnson who gave consent was her brother since she had a brother by that name.  According to this, it was her father. That means that her parents also migrated from Kentucky and I never hear her say anything about her parents. Of course, she was already in her late 80s when I was a kid and died when she was 94. So what happened to her parents?  Another mystery to be solved....

Fort Osage

I finally made it  up to Fort Osage today which is about an hour northeast from my apt. I plan my outings based on the weather forecast.. Yesterday was cooler but today was next in line before it gets hot again this weekend. The fort is out in the middle of nowhere, actually the town is Sibley, Mo, on a bluff above the Missouri River.

On the road to the fort....It has been awhile since I drove across a one-lane bridge like this.  The bridge is over railroad tracks.  On my way back, two trains were traveling on the rails below the bridge in different directions.

The fort has been reconstructed to portray Fort Osage as it was in 1812. The reconstruction was done on the footprint of the original fort and following detailed drawings of William Clark.  I was surprised at how small this fort is compared to the forts we saw on the east coast last year. But then they were built for different purposes.

Fort Osage was one of three forts established by the U. S. Army to establish control over the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase territories. The fort was established in 1808 but was abandoned during the War of 1812. After the War, the fort was reoccupied in 1814 and closed in the 1820s but remained a landmark on the Santa Fe Trail.

 

Inside one of the solder's houses.  The mattress felt like it was made of chicken feathers and not the down - they were lots of sharp points in in the mattress.

 

 

Old meets new.... Along the Missouri River, behind the bushes on the right is a bluff and Fort Osage is up on the bluff. Just east of the fort is the Sibley Power Plant with its 757 foot smoke stack.  The plant is coal powered with 3 generating units. It was built in the early 196os.

 

 

Look closely and you can see the bumble bee on the flower.  There were quite a few wasps at the fort and I kept my distance from them.

 

 

National Archives

The Kansas City Archives is one of 13 branches of the National Archives and Records Administration. Their task is to preserve the permanent original records of the Federal Government for people in the Unites States. The Kansas City branch has records for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The records are mostly used for genealogy. An example of the documents they have is the original ledger containing people who were drafted or volunteered for the Civil War for these states, mug shots of prisoners at the Leavenworth Federal Prison or the original Naturalization Records of people who immigrated to the US.

I'm still on the quest to find my grandfather  as a child so I had a list of questions and a diagram of my theory based on years of research. I have him at 3 years old, or at least I think it is him, and I have him for sure at age 23 when he is living with his grandmother. I lucked out in that they were not busy so I had 2 "experts" reviewing my information. They agree that my logic and information is sound so I'm going to go ahead and post it to my family tree.  in 1880, my grandfather is living with his mother and 3 brothers but there is no mention of the father. Then I can't find him again for 20 years. The people I talked to gave me a list of 6-7 things to research in an effort to find the father and to find the family in the missing years.  What I REALLY need is the 1890 census but hat was destroyed in a fire so is not available.  So back to the computer research I go....

There is several pieces of artwork in the Archives building plus some traveling exhibits.  I liked this one and I usually don't like this style of painting...

 

This is a large mural entitled "Indians Watching Stagecoach in the Distance" by Eduard "Buk" Ulreich (1889-1966). It was part of some artwork commissioned in 1937 for the Federal Building located in Columbia, MO. The artist was born in Hungary and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and studied at the Kansas City Art Institute.

R. R. Osborne Plaza in Olathe, KS

Yesterday while driving out to the Prairie Center, I noticed a Plaza along the street and stopped there on my way back home. It is located in front of the Olathe City hall and is dedicated to Olathe visionary Robert R. Osborne, a banker, businessman and philanthropist. The Plaza contains several pieces of sculpture, a tile picture and a fountain. Have no idea who he was but must have been pretty important in Olathe's history...

This is what caught my eye as I initially drove past.  It is made of 4 x 4 tile and is an interpretation of the countryside west of Olathe with the blue sky, white clouds and gently rolling fields. Very pretty.

 

This massive piece of stainless steel sculpture  addresses the heritage and vision of the City of Olathe. The intricate aligning of thousands of pieces makes reference to the Santa Fe Trail, the railroads, Olathe Medical Center, Kansas School for the Deaf, Mid American Nazarene University and other entities that have make Olathe what it is today. On the left is the entire sculpture, On the right are close-ups of two of the sculpture pieces.  The detail is amazing!

 

Another stainless steel piece entitled "Open Book: The life of R.R. Osborne"  Not sure I got the interpretation....

 

 

The sculpture I could understand... It's isn't part of the Plaza but is behind City Hall along a sidewalk.  The piece stands about 7 feet tall and is made out of  bronze and marble. The detail in the marble flower petals is beautiful!

 

 

 

I don't know which is harder to understand... A city paying an employee to stand there and water flowers with a hose hooked up to a water tank on the truck or paying a driver to set in the truck while they are watering.  There were  flower planters like this all along the street plus another street that was lined with hanging baskets to be watered. Another person is behind the truck watering another planter...

Olathe Prairie Center

I found this in one of my tourist books and since I haven't visited Olathe, KS on my trip decided to go check it out this morning. Knowing it was going to be hot and humid today, I left the apt before 7:30 this morning after dragging Morris out of bed. He was not a happy camper... It was about a 30 minute drive out there through traffic.  The Prairie Center is a 300-acre tall-grass preserve and education site under the umbrella of the Kansas Dept of Wildlife and Parks.  Many of the native prairies, which once blanketed North America, have disappeared.  At the Prairie Center the goal is to preserve local flora and fauna including tall-grass. According to the web site, in mid-summer, native grasses taller than your living room ceiling can be seen. The tallest I saw was about 4-5 feet but then I stuck to a gravel trail and didn't go off on some of the grass trails since I didn't want to tempt the mosquito, chigger and tick gods who haven't found me back here yet... It was about 3/4 mile hike back to the lake and was pretty warm by the time I got back to the car. At least it was overcast so that helped some. Below are some of the pictures I took this morning. I have no idea what most of the wild flowers are but they were pretty...

 

 

Quiet Sunday

I haven't been doing much the last few days as I am just plain tired.....  I suppose it might be because I have been doing something almost every day for the last several weeks since I have been here. 8-)  So...I'm taking it easy. I have a few things planned for this coming week but not many. I went over to my brother and sister-in-laws for dinner today and was astonished that is was just the 3 of us. It is rare when some of the other family doesn't show up for Sunday dinner.  We still had mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, tomatoes, coleslaw, fried chicken, homemade bread, watermelon, cantaloupe and carrot cake. The chicken and coleslaw was from KFC but everything else was made at home. Needless to say, there was a lot of leftovers.. Nice dinner and visit.

Morris was setting in the window this morning and was dive bombed by a robin. He jumped but held his ground. I don't want to disturb the parents so haven't gone outside the window to confirm it but am pretty sure there is a nest up in the eaves. Morris sits and looks up that way for long periods of time. He doesn't do that if there isn't movement.

I went down to the Farmer's Market yesterday morning just to look it over and enjoy the sight of all the fresh fruits and vegetables they have there. I saw a lot of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries that were not there a couple of weeks ago.  They said on the news that everything is about a month late this year behind due to the cool April and May snow.

 

This was my Farmer's Market dinner last night. It is a rare meal for me when I don't have meat but I had vine ripened tomatoes, fresh corn, homemade honey oat bread and a glass of wine - all purchased at the Farmer's Market. The wine is  Frisky Fawn (white table wine) from White Tail Run Vineyards in Edgerton, KS. I loved the name!

Korean War Veterans memorial

I have driven by this Memorial several times since I have been here so this morning I took the camera and went to visit it.

The Memorial is in Overland Park, KS and commemorates the service and sacrifice of those who served in the armed forces from 1950 to 1955.  It was dedicated in 2006. An inscription on the marble wall says: Kansas honors her uniformed sons and daughters who answered their country's call to defend a country they did not know and a people they had never met. There were 628,833 UN soldiers who were killed in action during the conflict.

American Casualties

36,940 Killed by enemy action

103,200 Wounded

8,176 Missing in Action

7,140 Prisoners of War

2,701 Died in captivity

 

In addition to this rock hill containing a waterfall, they is also another large rock hill behind this one. According to a plaque: The Korean landscape in the early 1950s was rugged terrain with numerous rocks and boulders. Major battles were fought on rocky Korean Hills resulting in many killed and wounded.  The rock hills you see here are a representation of those in Korea at that time.

 

These 38 Pylons represent the 38th Parallel which was of major significance in bringing about the truce that ended the Korean Conflict and still divides North and South Korea.

 

 

This larger-than-life statue is of a solider mourning his combat buddy.  The helmet under his hand is resting on a rifle.

 

Nicely done Memorial commemorating a time we don't hear much about!

Kanss City Tidbits

 

Things you may not know about Kansas City:

 

The total population of the Kansas City Metro area, including the Kansas suburbs is 2.1 million people.

 

Kansas City has more barbecue restaurants per capita than any other city in the nation.

 

Kansas City ignored Prohibition during the 1920s.

 

In 1910, Joyce Hall began selling postcards out of a shoebox in KC. That was the beginning of Hallmark Cards.

 

Kansas City is home to the largest marker of boxed chocolates in the world.

Russell Stover still hand dips more than 25 million pieces of chocolates each year.

 

Walt Disney opened his first animation studio in Kansas City. He fed a small mouse in the building, which he later said was his inspiration for Mickey Mouse.

 

The Country Club Plaza opened in 1922 as the nation's first shopping district designed for the automobile.

 

A Kansas City advertising agency invented the Happy Meal for McDonald's after the owner noticed his son staring at the cereal box while he was eating breakfast.

 

Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium has hosted more NCAA Final Four Championships than any other venue in the country.

 

By 1949, 86 factories were manufacturing garments in KC. It was said that one in seven American women wore clothing made in KC.

 

A young Earnest Hemingway worked as a cub reported for the Kansas City Star from 1917-1918.

 

Kansas City has more miles of boulevards than Paris.

 

Only Rome has more fountains than Kansas City.

 

Kansas City has more miles of freeway per capita than any metro area in the US with more than 1 million residents.

 

In Kansas City, 3 days of 95 degrees or more is considered a heat wave.

 

The starting points of the 3 major trails in the 1800s that would change the nation were in the Kansas City area. They were the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail and the California Trail.

 

Now, do you feel smarter?

Misc......

July 4th:  Yesterday about 30-35 people gathered at my niece's house for their annual 4th of July get-together. That represented 4 generations. My niece's husband cooked 50 hamburgers,  which were outstanding I might add,  and 16 hot dogs on the grill. Other food included chips,  salads, potatoes, baked beans and multiple deserts.  Looking forward to my leftovers tonight for dinner! I can't believe I sliced 8 boxes of strawberries for strawberry shortcake. There were multiple heavy thunderstorms in the area, including one about 3 miles from us but we only got a light shower.  However, it hit when we were getting ready to eat so some ate under the patio umbrella and the rest squeezed into the house. For me, it seemed strange to see people setting off fireworks including little kids with the poppers out on the driveway. I haven't lived in a place where fireworks were legal for many, many years but they are back here.  Thanks V & P for a fun evening.

Movie: I went to a move today and it was quite an experience. The movie was "White House Down" which is so, so but the real experience was the theatre. I got up to the counter to buy my ticket and they pointed to a screen in front of me as and asked if that seat was all right?  Assigned seating at a movie theater?  Yep.....  Then with my popcorn and drink in hand and starting down the hall to the theater, I see a full bar where you can get beer, wine or mixed drinks to take into the theater with you. And then the chairs, oh my, these are great. The seats also fully recline.

 

 

Morris was a really unhappy camper after I was gone for most of the last two days so I made an effort to be home most of the time today except for the movie. Earlier this afternoon he sat on my lap and slept for about an hour and then gave me a really dirty look when I finally had to change positions. 

Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story

Last night I enjoyed dinner and a performance at the New Theater which is a dinner theater here in Overland Park. It is wonderful!

The Theater:

For $43.00 I got a really good buffet dinner, a fair seat and free parking. Drinks and desert are extra. They have a few booths that are for singles and I was in one of those. It was close to the stage but at the side so I could not see the back of the stage.  Fortunately almost all of the  performance was at the front of the stage. Each row is up one tier from the row in front so I didn't have to worry about someone tall in front of me. Seating starts at 6 p.m., buffet line starts at 6:30 and show at 7:35 with a 25 minute intermission. My table was set when I got there. Soon after I was seated the server came by and took my drink order plus explained how it all worked since I had not been there before. A good salad and basket of warm bread soon followed with a very passable glass of wine. I imagined a long line at the buffet line but boy was I wrong.  There is a buffet on each side of the room.  Each one has 6 lines of food so it does not take long at all to get through the line.  The food was definitely better than the average buffet line.

Here is my plate.  There was a menu of the buffet on my table so I knew what would be on the buffet. Also on the table was a desert and drink menu. You order your desert before the show starts and it is delivered at intermission.  As soon as the lights came up at intermission there was a swarm of servers all over the place serving deserts.  I was really impressed with not only the food but also the service.

 

The Show:  It was extremely well done and the actor/singer/musician who played Buddy Holly was just outstanding. He is active in Canadian theater and this is his first show in the states.  The show followed them getting their first break through his death.  Most of the second act was recreating his last concert with The Big Bopper and Richie Valens. The guy who played The Big Bopper was spot on.  It may have helped that he has played him many times on the east coast. The finale pretty well brought the house down with old fashioned rock n' roll. Fun evening!