Denver Botanical Gardens and tidbits

Other than the zoo, the Denver Botanical Gardens was on my must see list for Denver - mainly because I spent so much time there when I lived here and I wanted to see how they had changed. Unfortunately, the zoo hasn't changed much and badly needs updating. However, the botanical gardens have been significantly expanded and are a wonderful place to visit.

The water garden is really a large area.  There were several ducks in the water garden but this one liked this lily pad. He was on it when I got to the water garden area and still there when I left the area about 30 minutes later.  He took a nap, moved around, stretched and then sat back down.

A lot of the flowers are what I see at every public gardens but still sometimes the picture is a little different as in this one.

South Platte River: On the way home, I stopped at a park on the South Platte River that I have driven by several times since I have been here.

A guy happened to be fishing just below some small falls. What is interesting about the South Platte is that it flows north and flows into another river before eventually flowing east.....

Next to this area of the South Platte are several big water reservoirs.  They were originally sand/gravel pits where millions of tons was mined to build highways, etc in the area. When the mining was done, the company was required to landscape the area and turn it into reservoirs used for recreation.

Blue skies where you can see forever: Because the skies are kinda hazy in KC and many other Midwest places, I have really noticed the brilliant, blue skies here. The skies here are like they are in Arizona. Back in the 1980's, air pollution was a problem and many times you couldn't see the downtown buildings due to smog.  However, the city has done a good job of cleaning the air up. Yesterday, I was outside here at the hotel and could clearly see the tall buildings downtown which is about 10 miles away as the crow flies.

Hard water: In KC, where the water is really soft, my hair is curly and nothing I do will keep the natural curl from taking over. Here, the water is harder and there is not a single curl anywhere on my head!  I almost miss the curls and body that my hair has in KC even though I am always fussing about having to deal with it.

Tomorrow I have some more paperwork to take care of so not sure what all I will be doing. Stay tuned.....

Misc tidbits from Denver

City Park:  Yesterday, I mentioned that I went to City Park but the picture wouldn't upload so couldn't finish the post about it. To me, one of the most iconic views in Denver is the one below.

The Denver skyline and mountains is visible in the past. The building in front is a pavilion and boat rental dock for the lake.

Bathroom doors at the zoo: This is something I have NEVER seen before!  In the women's restroom, all the stall doors have pictures of animals painted on them.

This is the view as you go into the stall and the below is the view from inside the stall.  Clever!

  

Weather: I will admit that I'm disappointed in the temperature out here.  A couple of weeks ago the weather was to be in the low 70's but it has turned out that it is in the low 80's.  Not sweater weather like I was hoping for. It was even warm up in the mountains over the weekend. 

Tourist attraction:  Imagine my surprise when I was looking at the rack of brochures for local tourist attractions and saw this one. 

Inside the brochure are Frequently Asked Questions, , explanations of the different types of marijuana, Do's and Don'ts plus a map of where it can be purchased in Colorado. 

Today I'm having lunch with Darryl and meeting his co-workers plus a couple of guy friends who are dropping by the shop while I'm there to pick him up for lunch. Should be interesting....  I have worked all morning on the computer catching up on emails.  I have a lot more "office" work to do after lunch.  Tomorrow I will get back to being a tourist. 

Updates from Denver

I couldn't believe that I haven't posted a blog updates since Sept 15th but life has been busy between Genealogy society stuff and travels. Anyway....I keep promising myself to do better and then slip up..... I'm in Denver visiting Darryl for 10 days.

Denver: I lived here 1972-1980 before heading west and eventually to Oregon. I absolutely cannot believe how much the area has grown since I left here!  The metro population in 1980 was 1,429,000 and nowit is 2,814,330. Then there was one freeway that ran east to west and one that ran north to south - bisecting near downtown. Now, in addition to the same freeways, there is a multi-lane freeway that circles 3 sides of the city. They are all packed with traffic. I couldn't believe how much traffic was on the outside freeway that I came in last Saturday morning - it was slow and go for miles with no apparent reason. I will say thought, that in spite of the population grown, the city had done a good job clearing up the polution that used to hang over the valley.

The drive out was fun!  I stopped to look at fields of sunflowers, the Monument Rocks out in the middle of nowhere in Kansas and finally the Van Gogh painting in Goodland. I have never taken black and white pictures with my cell phone but accidently did at the Rocks and really like this one.

Hotel: I'm staying at a hotel on the south edge of Littleton which is not far from where Darryl's house is. Here is the view from my hotel window.

There is nothing from miles and miles on south and west. Below is the picture I took this morning when we went for a walk.

The hotel is the little building on the left. It actually is a very large hotel...

Sunday: On Sunday I went to church with Darryl which was quite interesting and then we went to lunch with Ann and Lester - a couple from church. Everyone was very nice but curious. Many of the people in the Bible Study group made a point of coming up to use so Darryl would have to introduce me. Only 1 lady asked my last name and did a big double take when she heard it was the same as Darryl's. I'm sure there is a lot of speculation going on....  The pastor is young but very nice. He knew I was from Sarcoxie and goes through there on his way to visit his grandparents in Cassville. They probably know some of my dad's family that was from that area. After lunch, we visited the Hudson Gardens which is very much like the Overland Park Aboretum at home. Below is a picture from the gardens.

Yesterday we drove up into the mountains. When I decided on the dates to come out here, I hoped that I would get to see some fall color. However, I lucked out and am here when the aspen are in full color. The colors are beautiful!  The traffic up in the mountains was really heavy. Even parking at lots in the mountains was hard to find. At least we went on Monday instead of on Sat-Sun when traffic was at a peak. I have texted or posted a lot of fall color pictures on Facebook but here is one that didn't make it yesterday.

This was after we went over Kenosha Pass and dropped down into a valley. You can see that the mountains in the background are above timberline. I just like this with the stream, split rail fence and the background.  

Later....

Roaring River State Park, etc

I'll start with the ETC..... I have been really busy since Darryl left on Monday to return to Denver but decided to just take the time to do a blog posting. My desk was piled high with stuff to do after having been gone for most of 2 weeks. I finished the Quarterly in Springfield, IL but we had a Skill Building Class last Monday and I was up early getting stuff done for it. Then there was a committee meeting after the class and that added a few more things to my To Do List. Yesterday felt like a day at the office where I was at my desk working all day. Today will be another "work day."  But I am getting a lot done!  I leave for Denver a week from tomorrow so still have a lot to get done before I leave.

Yesterday I got an email that really made me feel good!  It was from a Historical Society west of here in De Soto, KS that asked me to come and do the presentation to them that I did here back in June on "Writing Your Family History."  Apparently someone from their group heard about it or was here when I did it in June. I am honored!  Now to work out the dates...

Roaring River State Park: The park is about 15 miles south of Cassville, MO, down in the Ozarks. I have heard about it all my life because my Granny used to tell me stories about it. Granny came from Kentucky in a covered wagon when she was 9-12 years old and they settled in the Cassville area. She said back then, they could hear the roar of the waterfall in the park from miles away. The last time I was there was in the mid-1960 when Darryl and I were there.  I set on the shore and read a book while he fished. It was neat to revisit the place but it was nothing like we remembered!  We though our memory was playing tricks until we ran across some old pictures in a display that showed it the way we remembered it. Back then, there was nothing there except the river and a few trout hatchery ponds. Now there are many more hatchery ponds and a conference center and store have been built.

The river start here - in a limestone cavern under a big bluff. Since it was dry, there was only a small amount of water coming down from the waterfall but is a major falls when there is a lot of water after rains. There is a natural spring 224 feet deep back in the cavern that supplies 20.4 million gallons of cold water a day. This spring is the source of the river that flows 4 miles into Table Rock Lake. The spring also feeds the trout hatchery ponds with the cold water that trout need. 

A closer look at the cavern and the little water coming down from above. The water is very clear. 

These trout were swimming around in the pool right below where I was standing when taking the above pictures of the cavern.  They were 12-24" long. 

When we were there last, the river just flowed flat wit some natural deep spots for the fish. Now they have built these pools with little falls all along the river. The river is restocked daily. You can literally see the fish swimming around in the water ignoring the fisherman. 

There was a really big storm there the night we were there with a huge amount of rain. The next morning there was a mist on the river that would float around in different areas on the river. We were walking along the river taking pictures and saw this person as the mist came and went. 

As we got closer, we realized it was a woman that was fishing. In some places along the river, you can't wade into the water but she was fishing in a "catch and release" area so could wade out into the river. It was absolutely a beautiful scene!

Besides the rooms in the conference center, they have remodeled this building with rooms for tourist. The lodge was originally built in 1934 to house CCC workers who built the original trout ponds, bathrooms, etc around the area. It looks right on on the river. 

All and all, it was a really fun trip. 

Tired! Exhausted! Happy!

I skipped the last class today when the hard drive in my brain said "disk full!"  I have had enough genealogy over the last 3 days. I have heard some wonderful speakers and learned more than I can apply in a year. I still have a list of stuff to do from the Missouri State conference that was in early August. I will admit to being a little star-struck here when listening to speakers that I see on TV genealogy shows, or professionals that are leaders in the genealogy world and people whose books I have. Josh Taylor and Mary Tedesco from Genealogy Roadshow are 2 of my stars. The 3rd person from that show wasn't here. It has been a great trip and worth the effort to come to the conference. There are 6 of us here from my home genealogy society so we have dinner together in the evening and rehash the day - who we liked, who we didn't like, what we learned, etc. I was very disappointed that one of the top genealogist in the country on source citations,  and is considered the top expert on the subject, read her presentation!   However, I don't anticipate doing another national conference until FGS comes to Kansas City in 2020. FGS is the organization that put on this conference.

The conference goes on tomorrow but I am heading home in the morning.  My brain has had enough so no sense spending the money for hotel, etc when I'm not going to get much out of it.  I have the syllabus for the classes so can look at them. I was going to stop in Hannibal but have decided to just head straight home so I can get caught up on some stuff before Darryl gets there on Sunday.

Lincoln Presidential Museum

It was raining today so I was glad that I saved the Lincoln Presidential Museum for today and did the outside things yesterday. This is the 7th Presidential Museum I have visited and is by far the best. Of the official Presidential Museums that are part of the National Parks, I have been to the Kennedy, Truman, Clinton, Johnson and Eisenhower. The Jackson and Lincoln Museums are state run. What makes the Lincoln so good is the diorama exhibits that depict his live from childhood to death. I learned a lot that I had either forgotten from school or never knew. An examples is that I didn't know he was re-elected to a second term.

 The Lincoln family standing in front of the White House. 

 Abe as a boy in his log cabin home. He taught himself to read by the fireplace. 

 Lincoln reading this Emancipation of Proclamation speech to his cabinet. The man on the right is a real person but you could not tell it until he would make  subtle move. 

 This painting that covered an entire all was amazing and so life-like. Since I have found out that my Great-Grandfather was in the Civil War, I look at the war differently. 

Lincoln's tomb where he, his wife and three of their four sons are buried. 

The long awaited conference starts at 8 a.m. in the morning. I checked in this afternoon and got my packet so have to figure out tonight what time my classes are and which room they are located in. I will be attending 19 classes/lectures/dinners with speakers/workshops over the next 3 days. I have decided to go home Saturday morning instead of staying for the last 3 classes on Saturday afternoon. By then my brain will be fried anyway and will be past the point of retaining anything more. Plus I want to get home to get unpacked, etc before Darryl arrives on Sunday. I do plan on going back through Hannibal and will stop to take some pictures of Tom Sawyer, etc along the way. A busy 2 weeks....

New Salem and Botanical Gardens

I had a great time yesterday sightseeing but last night was nothing but frustration with computers!  I don't use the laptop except when traveling so I was several upgrades to Windows behind. Yesterday seemed like a good day to just let the computer upgrade while I was out and about. I get home in the afternoon and the upgrade is still going on. So I didn't get to start the blog until about 9:30 last night. THEN after the Windows upgrade, there was several things I had to do on the computer to get it set up the way I wanted it. THEN the hotel WiFi was acting up, affecting the whole hotel,  so I couldn't access the blog. As you know from my past rants, I do not have patience when computers don't do what they are supposed to do when I tell them to do something!!!!!!  Anyway, this morning everything seems to be working 8-)

New Salem, Illinois
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site is a reconstruction of the former village of New Salem in Menard County, Illinois where Lincoln lived from 1831 - 1837.  While in his twenties, the future U. S. President made his living in this frontier village as a boatman, soldier in the Black Hawk War, general store owner, Postmaster, surveyor and rail splitter, and was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly. It was during his years in New Salem when Lincoln became a lawyer. Lincoln left New Salem for Springfield in 1837, and the village was generally abandoned by about 1840, as other towns developed. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built a historic recreation of New Salem based on its original foundations, establishing a state park commemorating Lincoln and Illinois' frontier history. The village is located 15 mi northwest of Springfield. I got to the park when it first opened and was the only person strolling through the village for a long time when 2 other people joined me on the streets.

 One of many log building in the village. 

Food for the soul....

Perfect timing!

It was hot at the village and got hotter as the day went on. The heat index was 101 and the humidity was a killer!   But, I wasn't going to let that stop me so the next stop was the Washington Park Botanical Gardens in Springfield. 

 Besides the park and gardens, there is a Carillon in the gardens. 

A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in the bell tower of a church or structure. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played to produce a wide variety of music. This particular carillon is one of the largest in the world's largest. It has 67 bronze bells covering a range of 5 octaves. The total weight of the bells is 82,753 lbs; the largest weighs 7.5 tons and the smallest weighs 22 lbs. The bells are all played manually by means of a special keyboard located on the 8th flower of the tower. I heard them play twice while I was wandering around and the sound was beautiful.

I think this is a type of hydrangea but the shape, color and bloom size is different than any I have ever seen before. The blooms were probably 10-12 inches long and the color on one bloom ranged from pick to white at the tip. Beautiful! 

Most of the roses in the garden are way past their peak but there was still a few pretty ones to be found if I looked hard enough. 

For dinner last night, I went to a nearby restaurant that was the recommendation of a person at the hotel.  I had a glass of wine and a good dinner while enjoying the music from the early 50's on their sound system. 

The restaurant was a saloon back on Nov 6, 1860 when Abraham Lincoln was elected President. 

And it is the same building where Lincoln celebrated his election on that night. Pretty cool!

Today is the Lincoln Museum, Tomb and Church he attended. Then I can check in for the conference after 3 p.m.

On the road again....

Today I drove to Springfield, Illinois to attend the Annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies which is one of the top 3 genealogy conferences in the country each year. Going to a national conference has been on my genealogy bucket list for several years and here I am. The conference starts Wednesday morning at 8 am and goes until 6 pm Saturday. But, until Wednesday morning, I will be playing tourist in someplace new!

During the time I was planning my route here, I found out that Darryl's brother is buried in Carlinville, Ill. Carlinville is only 12 miles off the freeway so I made a side trip today so I could get a picture of the cemetery and a picture of his brother's grave for Darryl. It turned out to be more of an adventure than I anticipated......  I ate lunch at a Cracker Barrel in the St Louis area and then gave Samantha the cemetery address we wanted to get to. Now I assumed that she would take me around the city, connect with the freeway to St Louis and make then the 12 miles side trip to the Carlinville.  But no.......she wanted to take a leisurely Sunday drive on multiple 2-lane roads winding through corn fields, past farms, through little towns, etc before we got to Carlinville. She has always taken the fastest, shortest route until today! Anyway, she takes me to the address which turns out to be not the cemetery but the funeral home. Then I look up "Mayfield Memorial Park" and Google takes me to the charming town square - no cemetery in sight. I decide to find a police station for directions but on the way, go by a church with some people standing out in the parking lot talking so stop and ask them for directions. They gave me directions - go back to the 3rd stop sign, make a right, go past the Shell station, vere right at the Y and go to the 2nd cemetery on the left - the first one is the Catholic cemetery and not the one you are looking for. I followed their directions and found it!  After getting the pictures for Darryl,  I went back the the town square to look around.

Carlinville is on the original Route 66 and is 1,796 miles from Los Angles at this corner of the square. 

This is the gazebo in the town square. Very pretty and well maintained. I noticed these lawn chairs setting in various spots around town, including one in front of the old, historic jail - not sure why. 

This beautiful building is the Macoupin County Courthouse. The picture doesn't do it justice. 

It was a very pretty, small Midwest town and an unexpected surprise. Then it was back to the freeway and 30 more miles to Springfield, IL. Tomorrow I will be a tourist and learn all about Abraham Lincoln.

Life's next chapter.....

I started this blog on Oct 23, 2006 just to write about life after Larry and I moved to Tucson. The blog then became a way for me to chronicle our travels so friends and family could follow along with us. Then it became my journal when Larry got sick with cancer and passed away 4 weeks later. The blog because a way for me to express my gut-wrenching feelings and get them out. Never in a million years did I think I would be that open with my feelings for others to know what I was feeling. Next the blog chronicled my life without Larry, travels with friends, travels by myself, Morris and I moving back to the Midwest to be near family and then loosing Morris 2 years ago. During the almost 10 years of writing the blog, I have written 666 posts that have been viewed 12,569 times. As most of you know, I'm starting a new chapter in my life and have been debating whether or not to continue the blog. However, after thinking about it for a couple of weeks and talking it over with Darryl, I am going to continue the blog. 8-)  Over the last 10 years it has become my journal and I enjoy it - plus it is a way to chronicle my life. To me, it is like writing a book in which I cover the good, the bad and the routine parts of my life. There is software available that will let you take a blog and turn it into a book which I'm thinking about doing it. Anyway, here goes with...

Life's Next Chapter....
You have a lot of heavy conversations with your spouse when they are sick and know they only have a few more days/weeks to live. There was two things that Larry was adamant about in those conversations where he talked and I listened because that was nothing I could say to him. First was that I would rely on my friends in Tucson who he knew would help me get through the next few weeks/months. I did and they got me through the hardest time of my life. Larry's second request was that I be open to love again with someone else down the road. Little did we know that it might come by way of the man I married at 17, divorced when I was 32 years old and them reconnected again with him when I was 71 years old. The chain of events that led to us reconnecting is far too complicated to try to explain but only could have happened with the guy upstairs having a hand in it. Darryl and I don't know for sure where it is going but time will tell. We have spent many, many hours on the phone since early last May and last weekend we met in Hays, Kansas for a face-to-face meeting. Darryl is coming here for a week in September and then I am going out to Denver in last September for 10 days to visit him. Time will tell....

Hays, Kansas
Hays was chosen as a place for us to meet because it is a 4 hour drive for me and a 5 hour drive for him so kinda in the middle. It is a small Kansas town, population 21,044, home of Fort Hayes State University and the largest town in northwestern Kansas. Here is some of what we found there.

There is a heard of about 40 buffalo next to the Old Historic Fort Hays Army Post. Here is two of the adults and the calf that was born this year. They were nice enough to come over to the watering hole that was near the fence and then went back to a far corner of the pasture.

Fort Hays Historic Site: The original fort was established in 1865 in the land of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, the fort protected railroad workers and travelers on the Smoky Hill Trail. The US Army operated Fort Hayes on this site from 1867 to 1889. The fort also served as a military supply depot for forts south and west of here. The fort consisted of 45 building on 65 acres of land. Only a few of the original buildings still exist. This building was built in 1872 as a guardhouse replacing the original wooden guardhouse.

On Sunday morning we drove the Smoky Valley Kansas Scenic Byway - one of 11 in the state. I had never heard of this particular one before. I had hoped to get some sunflower pictures so was delighted to see fields full of them along the drive.

This is an old church is set back in a grove of trees along the road. The carved stone sign above the door says: Swedish Luthern [not a misspelling] Emmanuel Church Trego Co. Kansas 1902.

These bluffs are along the banks of the Cedar Bluff Reservoir that was built in 1949 for flood control.
The bluffs were a landmark for wagon trains and contains name carvings dating back to the mid-1800s, and some are still visible today. Many of the inscriptions were carved by the "Pike's Peakers" in 1859 and U.S. cavalrymen (3rd Wisconsin and 13th Missouri) traveling along the BOD in 1865.

And then there is my favorite - The Basilica of St. Fidelis located in Victoria, Kansas - about 10 miles east of Hays. It is know as the Cathedral of the Plains and is one of the 8 wonders of Kansas. The town was settled in 1876 by immigrants, known as Volga-Germans,  from southern Russia. They built 3 smaller churches after outgrowing each of the previous ones. Construction on this building was started in 1908 and completed in 1911.

The exterior is constructed of native limestone. The stone for this massive e structure came from a quarry seven miles south. The extracting of the stone, loading it, hauling it, and then dressing it was a gigantic task and an amazing feat considering that it was accomplished without automatic lifts and power tools. The church structure is a cruciform, or built in the shape of a cross 220 feet long and 110 feet wide at the transepts and 75 feet at the nave. The massive twin bell towers are 141 feet tall and dominate the prairie landscape.The stones are about 8 inches in height and weighs 50-100 lbs each. The church was built entirely by the town members. Some families are recorded as hauling as many as 70-80 wagon loads of stone from the quarry to the church.

During my recent years of travels I have seen a lot of large, beautiful Catholic churches.  This one if right up there near the top. It is just magnificent! Besides being so beautiful, it is large and seats 1,100 people. Certainly not what you would expect out in the middle of nowhere in Kansas.

So, yes it was a good trip and we will see what the future holds for us. Stay tuned.... 8-)

Yes, I'm still alive...

I knew it had been awhile since I did a blog but didn't think it had been over a month... Life has been busy!  I had company from Arizona for 2 weeks in July. Then last weekend I was at the Missouri State Genealogical annual conference for 3 days. This this weekend I am over in Hays, Kansas. In between all that, I have coordinated one of Skill Building Classes and worked on the Quarterly that is due Sept 1st. Then I leave Aug 28th for Springfield, IL to attend a national Genealogy Convention. This will be my first national convention so really looking forward to it.  I don't know how I ever found time to work.....

I had the laser procedure last Tuesday to get rid of the film that appeared after the cataract surgery on my left eye back in January. I couldn't believe how simple the procedure was. I thought he was just checking the eye and then he says "all done." I got my new glasses on Wednesday and cannot believe how much better I can see after having the cataracts taken off both eyes. I put them on, looked across the parking lot and said "WOW!" The difference is night and day. We were hoping that I would not have to have computer glasses but am going to need them after all. It is either that or set with my head up, so I can see the screen out of the bottom of my glasses which will hurt my neck. I have noticed that I my eyes are much more sensitive to sun and light since I had the cataracts taken off. I have to wear my sunglasses more when driving where I didn't used to have to.

More later...

Eye update

Today I went for my 2-week checkup on the right eye where I had the cataract removed last month. According to the doctor, it is doing wonderful and with glasses, they can correct my vision in that eye to 20/20. I can see  20/20 without glasses for reading. Before I had the surgeries, my left eye was corrected to 20/50 and the right eye was corrected to 20/30. Before I get my new glasses, I am going to have the film removed on the left eye by a laser procedure on Aug 9th. With the film, the left eye could only be corrected to 20/30 today. I decided that there is no reason to wait and see if it gets worse and then have to get new glasses after it is removed. I'll just do it now and get it over with. 8-) However the laser will mean I keep doing drops longer and I HATE doing drop because it is so hard for me to hit my eye ball the first time. I have found that practice does NOT make perfect when it comes to me putting eye drops in my eyes. Oh well......

The following Ziggy comic was in the newspaper today. I love it!

I was telling someone last weekend that if I have to evacuate my house and could only take a few things then my trip books are what I would grab!  But if I couldn't rescue them, there would be a mass reprinting of the books. They are so valuable to me because of the memories in them.

Happy July 4th

Dinner tonight: Years ago I used to BBQ on a grill and usually my Christmas dinner when I was in California was a T-Bone steak that I cooked on the grill. Sometimes the plant didn't shut down for Christmas and if the guys had to work then I didn't take Christmas off - to me it would not have been fair.  I didn't work all day but went to the plant at least once during the day or evening and did some paperwork after saying "hi" to everyone. Anyway, after Larry came along, he took over the grill and did a fine job. I haven't grilled since he died until today. You can't have a gas or charcoal grill on an apartment patio or balcony in Overland Park and it's the same in many cities. However, a way to get around it is to have one of the little 14" Smoky Joe charcoal grills and put it out in the yard at least 10 feet from the building on the ground. So that is what I did and today was the first time I used it. I cooked a perfect medium well strip steak and had a salad with it. I could hear Larry on my shoulder giving me instructions... 8-)  My goal is to learn how to cook salmon on the grill.

Weekend: It was a pretty laid back weekend for me. Vivian came over Saturday morning and we mostly just hung out here at home and visited, looked at old pictures, etc. Saturday night we went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant that I have never been to before and had a wonderful dinner. Sunday morning we went down to Union Station for a leisurely breakfast before the crowds got there. We hadn't planned to but the new streetcar was not crowned so hopped on it and rode it for the whole loop down through downtown, to the City Market and back to Union Station. Vivian had never been on a streetcar/light rail before so it was a treat for her. Then we went over to Kauffman Gardens which is probably my favorite place to go around KC. I LOVE it and am always interested in seeing what are blooming. They totally replant it 4 times a year so it is always changing. Here are some pics from the gardens:

Meet Crazy, the garden cat. Yes, that is his name. He is one fat, lazy cat. He has the run of the place and his feeding dish, bed etc are in the conservatory. A sign over his dish, in big letters, says "Do Not Feed The Cat. He is fed regularly and is getting too fat from everyone feeding him." He just wanders around and ignores people although he did come up to Vivian and let her pet him which is the first time I have ever seen that and I have seen him many times.

This is a pink double echinacea. I have never seen one before and it sure is pretty. 

A very large bumble bee setting atop this echinacea having lunch. 

This guy didn't want to be left out so posed perfectly on a limb in the garden. 

It was a good weekend!