Last Thursday Susan, the kids, my Dad and I hopped in the minivan and drove north to Chicago on a mini-vacation. Despite the fact that the Honda Odyssey now has upwards of 215,000 miles, it still runs and drives great — and, it’s the car we own that most comfortably seats five. And, it’s the car we least care about getting door dinged in Chicago.
This week I had a work meeting scheduled in Kansas City, Missouri, so instead of taking our usual route home from Chicago (through St. Louis), instead we veered east and I had Susan drop me off at the hotel in Kansas City. I’ve been here for a week now.
I took this picture this morning from the downtown Marriot’s Concierge Lounge. On the top floor of many hotels there’s a private lounge where frequent guests can enjoy free breakfast, snacks, and drinks. I never wanted to be a frequent guest of any hotel chain, but here I am.
I spent most of the week working in downtown Kansas City and eating and drinking (mostly drinking) down in the plaza area. The plaza is a nice area full of restaurants and bars that are close enough to walk to and stumble back from. The plaza sits at the bottom of an amazing hill. The walk down never seems bad but the climb back, especially with a stuffed gullet, can be brutal. I suppose it’s probably safer to drunkenly stagger uphill rather than down.
Each day after work we hit a local restaurant. Jack Stacks is a local BBQ place that’s delicious. We also visited the Thai Palace, where I ordered a meal so spicy I couldn’t eat it. My stomach paid the price for that one for a solid 24 hours. Last night we hit Cafe Trio for a second time. The seafood lasagna there is great. Evidently so were the drinks; everybody I’ve talked to this morning ended up with a three-digit bar tab …
Here’s a picture I took the other evening as we were leaving work. I love sunsets that remind me of 8-bit color fades. I wasn’t sure the colors would come out on my phone, but it looks pretty good.
My friend Johnny drove his truck up to KC, so in about an hour or so I’ll be riding back to Oklahoma with him and Emily. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again.
I’m way behind on my writing. Next week I’ll be sharing a bunch of pictures and stories from the past couple of weeks. So look forward to that happening.