Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
There And Back Again
Whew, we made it back to Kansas City in one, long-ass haul. Remind us never to drive that much in one day again. It's 8:30pm and we've been on the road since 9am. John drove us most of the way, except for a very small stretch during which it was pretty clear I wasn't going to be able to drive much longer because (long story short) I'm high-maintenance. He's so even, it's amazing :)
After John's conference yesterday, we loaded up and drove into Dallas to check out Dealy Plaza, the place President Kennedy was assassinated. After being amazed yet again at the politeness of drivers and a slight hassle with parking spots for the rental Prius (GET one of these if you can), we got a ton of helpful information (a map, restaurant recommendations and buyer-beware tips!) from the friendliest cop-on-a-bike you could ever possibly meet. We set off to The Sixth Floor Museum, which is literally the 6th floor of the Texas Book Depository building where Lee Harvey Oswald parked himself to commit his horrible crime. They've got a comprehensive history of President Kennedy and Jackie O, in addition to simply covering the assassination. They give you a little headphone set for an audio tour, there's tons of information, pictures, videos and even certain realia. We could've easily been there for a few hours, but since we got there only an hour and half before closing, we hustled through it. It was pretty amazing, and though I've read about it and seen all the movies and historical accounts of the assassination, I still wandered through the place with my jaw hanging open in disbelief. I've always found the controversy surrounding that day to be most intriguing, but no matter how many times I ponder it, I'm always struck by the profound horror of it, and an incredible empathy for Jackie in the aftermath.
What struck both of us right away is the simplicity and scale of the scene. When you see it in pictures, I guess it seems like it would be a larger area, but it's literally just a little grassy knoll directly next to the freeway on-ramp. That's all it is. And that fence, the creepy, infamous fence where some reports and pictures put an unidentified, possible accomplice to Oswald...man, it just LOOKS like some creep-oid extremist would be hangin' around back there totin' his firearm! And the view of the window from the ramp is also very eerie. Personally, I'm a bit persnickety about proper behavior when visiting sites such as these, so it irks me a bit when people are acting a-fool, too jovial, or selling bogus information to make a quick buck around a place that is such a well-known scene of a brutal crime. Yes, I know people die everywhere, and place is, in the grand scheme of things, completely irrelevant, but it's like Pearl Harbor; it's a graveyard, so you act like it. It's a huge piece of our history, and you treat it with dignity. Anyway, I found it to be an important, and chilling, place to visit.
After the tour, we wandered along Market Street and patronized a great BBQ joint, Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse, that the cop recommended. It was delicious!! We took a bit more of a walk, then headed back to the hotel for a little reading and hit the sack.
As we left Kansas City, it was raining and thundering a bit, so I was apprehensive about our luck. Some of the roads already seemed to be getting a little flooded, but we forged ahead and made good time out of the rain and into the sunny, green wonder of Iowa. I have to say, I've come to really adore Iowa. There's just something very Hobbiton about it, it's lush and a bit slower paced than the states surrounding it. Quiet simplicity. I could envision running a little bed & breakfast there :) We made a stop off in Des Moines for lunch at a funky place called Hessen Haus, a nice German pub with tons of cool decor, good food (yes, more big sausages!) and we even picked up my niece the coolest shirt! John will post pics soon, but it has the restaurant name and logo on the front, and then on the back it says, "Schnitzel Happens". I can't stop giggling about it :)
We then went to the Des Moines Science Museum and caught another Omni Theatre movie: Greece. This one wasn't nearly as interesting as it could have been. It wasn't very cohesive, but the photography was beautiful, and I didn't feel like puking during this one, so that's a bonus! We were running out of steam, but we managed another planetarium showing which was a "Native American Stars" viewing, where the guy narrated some of the Native American stories around the constellations. It was very nice, although I fell asleep during the last part of it. Then we poked around the space stuff for awhile before heading on home.
The drive was uneventful, and our furbabies, as usual were happy to see us, though they acted a bit aloof at first in punishment ;) We're already planning our next adventure, likely to be in Canada! WHOO!
Thanks for tuning in! Next time we'll remember to do a podcast, cuz we're dorks like that ;)~
Love & hugs, R&J
After John's conference yesterday, we loaded up and drove into Dallas to check out Dealy Plaza, the place President Kennedy was assassinated. After being amazed yet again at the politeness of drivers and a slight hassle with parking spots for the rental Prius (GET one of these if you can), we got a ton of helpful information (a map, restaurant recommendations and buyer-beware tips!) from the friendliest cop-on-a-bike you could ever possibly meet. We set off to The Sixth Floor Museum, which is literally the 6th floor of the Texas Book Depository building where Lee Harvey Oswald parked himself to commit his horrible crime. They've got a comprehensive history of President Kennedy and Jackie O, in addition to simply covering the assassination. They give you a little headphone set for an audio tour, there's tons of information, pictures, videos and even certain realia. We could've easily been there for a few hours, but since we got there only an hour and half before closing, we hustled through it. It was pretty amazing, and though I've read about it and seen all the movies and historical accounts of the assassination, I still wandered through the place with my jaw hanging open in disbelief. I've always found the controversy surrounding that day to be most intriguing, but no matter how many times I ponder it, I'm always struck by the profound horror of it, and an incredible empathy for Jackie in the aftermath.
What struck both of us right away is the simplicity and scale of the scene. When you see it in pictures, I guess it seems like it would be a larger area, but it's literally just a little grassy knoll directly next to the freeway on-ramp. That's all it is. And that fence, the creepy, infamous fence where some reports and pictures put an unidentified, possible accomplice to Oswald...man, it just LOOKS like some creep-oid extremist would be hangin' around back there totin' his firearm! And the view of the window from the ramp is also very eerie. Personally, I'm a bit persnickety about proper behavior when visiting sites such as these, so it irks me a bit when people are acting a-fool, too jovial, or selling bogus information to make a quick buck around a place that is such a well-known scene of a brutal crime. Yes, I know people die everywhere, and place is, in the grand scheme of things, completely irrelevant, but it's like Pearl Harbor; it's a graveyard, so you act like it. It's a huge piece of our history, and you treat it with dignity. Anyway, I found it to be an important, and chilling, place to visit.
After the tour, we wandered along Market Street and patronized a great BBQ joint, Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse, that the cop recommended. It was delicious!! We took a bit more of a walk, then headed back to the hotel for a little reading and hit the sack.
As we left Kansas City, it was raining and thundering a bit, so I was apprehensive about our luck. Some of the roads already seemed to be getting a little flooded, but we forged ahead and made good time out of the rain and into the sunny, green wonder of Iowa. I have to say, I've come to really adore Iowa. There's just something very Hobbiton about it, it's lush and a bit slower paced than the states surrounding it. Quiet simplicity. I could envision running a little bed & breakfast there :) We made a stop off in Des Moines for lunch at a funky place called Hessen Haus, a nice German pub with tons of cool decor, good food (yes, more big sausages!) and we even picked up my niece the coolest shirt! John will post pics soon, but it has the restaurant name and logo on the front, and then on the back it says, "Schnitzel Happens". I can't stop giggling about it :)
We then went to the Des Moines Science Museum and caught another Omni Theatre movie: Greece. This one wasn't nearly as interesting as it could have been. It wasn't very cohesive, but the photography was beautiful, and I didn't feel like puking during this one, so that's a bonus! We were running out of steam, but we managed another planetarium showing which was a "Native American Stars" viewing, where the guy narrated some of the Native American stories around the constellations. It was very nice, although I fell asleep during the last part of it. Then we poked around the space stuff for awhile before heading on home.
The drive was uneventful, and our furbabies, as usual were happy to see us, though they acted a bit aloof at first in punishment ;) We're already planning our next adventure, likely to be in Canada! WHOO!
Thanks for tuning in! Next time we'll remember to do a podcast, cuz we're dorks like that ;)~
Love & hugs, R&J
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Cowpoke
I just had to say "cowpoke". Moving on...
Getting up to a sleepy last day of John's conference. The hotel has this awesome "Wake up to your day" feature on the TV that you can set to automatically start up, and instead of a blazing alarm sound, it's really gentle music set with a gorgeous video montage of nature shots, starting with a long shot of the sun peeking through the clouds. Stunning scenes of water falls, blowing trees, time elapsed video of the sun shifting through a forest and the stars rotating through the night sky with flashes of the Northern Lights, and still prairie fields against blue, blue skies are so pretty, I wish this were a feature on our home TV. It's the most glorious way to be woken up :)
We caught a Ranger's game the other night after John's day was done, and it was awesome! Outdoor baseball is just the way it should be (I say that sitting pretty here in the hot sun of Texas and not the 40 degree chill of Minneapolis, however...). Click here to see how cute we are! (If the link doesn't work, it's www.texasrangers.com/fanphotos, select the May 11 Rangers vs. Oakland game, select Gallery 5). The stadium's got nothing on our new beauty at home, though, but it's always cool to tick off another stadium on our list of must-sees. We had fun watching a group of harmless drunks that security seemed to think were worthy of most of their attention because they spent the last 5 innings bugging them. That's called "too much time on the hands", my friends! The game itself was good, and they tied it up in the 9th at which point we decided to head out so as to miss the traffic and John could get some decent sleep. It's amazing how easy it was to get to and from the ballpark, a straight shot on 30 that was one of the most leisurely intercity drives we've ever experienced. Drivers here are, overall, very mellow. I have to say, I'm impressed. I haven't cussed uncontrollably once ;)
John had a busy day yesterday so I sat around reading most of the day. Have I mentioned to you (because I know I've bored John to tears with this) how much I adore Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? It's my favorite of the 7 books, and it was very nice to drag my book around and have my nose in it all day. I sat out for an hour and a half at the Water Gardens reading, the sounds of water and trees blowing was a lovely atmosphere for utter relaxation. It's been hot, in the 90s, here but the breeze has helped. Later in the afternoon, I FINALLY braved the pool!! It was completely empty, and a wonderful break in the day. They've got the temperature a bit too warm for my taste (85 degrees, the pool guy informed me). I paddled around a bit, did my version of water aerobics and then spent 5 minutes in the boily, bubbly whirlpool before nestling onto a lounge chair with my book. I felt a bit silly as a group of fully clothed business people came through on a tour, and shortly after that I noticed my skin was all red, likely from the mondo-chlorination of the hot tub, so I decided it was time for a shower.
We went for dinner at this rockin' place called The Flying Saucer. They had a FOUR PAGE beer list (none of which I had ever heard of), and we both had brats with hot German potato salad which was delicious. We then caught Iron Man II in a nearly empty theater (highly entertaining, but in keeping with the latest trends in movie making, a little over-the-top). We had an exhilarating walk back along the festive Main Street, which was alive with celebration: an outdoor band, dancing in the streets and late-night happy hour crowds milling about. It was all sweet and romantic except for the furious wind which brought that all to a grinding halt by blowing something directly into my eye....good feeling gone, I whined the whole way home with my eye pouring out tears and no way to deal with the situation. We went to bed directly without any preamble :*(
Today is John's final day of the conference, and we are looking forward to a final evening here, then setting off as early as possible tomorrow to make some good time on the way home. I'm going to do a little art journaling (yes, I brought all my paints and crap!), more Harry Potter, looking over my Container Gardening book, more time at the pool and then we may try to hit one more touristy-type thing tonight. I'd like to check out the Botanic & Japanese Gardens. Or maybe we'll just try for another romantic evening, without something lodged in my cornea!!
Ok, enough of my blather! I'll have John upload more photos later.
Love & hugs :)
Getting up to a sleepy last day of John's conference. The hotel has this awesome "Wake up to your day" feature on the TV that you can set to automatically start up, and instead of a blazing alarm sound, it's really gentle music set with a gorgeous video montage of nature shots, starting with a long shot of the sun peeking through the clouds. Stunning scenes of water falls, blowing trees, time elapsed video of the sun shifting through a forest and the stars rotating through the night sky with flashes of the Northern Lights, and still prairie fields against blue, blue skies are so pretty, I wish this were a feature on our home TV. It's the most glorious way to be woken up :)
We caught a Ranger's game the other night after John's day was done, and it was awesome! Outdoor baseball is just the way it should be (I say that sitting pretty here in the hot sun of Texas and not the 40 degree chill of Minneapolis, however...). Click here to see how cute we are! (If the link doesn't work, it's www.texasrangers.com/fanphotos, select the May 11 Rangers vs. Oakland game, select Gallery 5). The stadium's got nothing on our new beauty at home, though, but it's always cool to tick off another stadium on our list of must-sees. We had fun watching a group of harmless drunks that security seemed to think were worthy of most of their attention because they spent the last 5 innings bugging them. That's called "too much time on the hands", my friends! The game itself was good, and they tied it up in the 9th at which point we decided to head out so as to miss the traffic and John could get some decent sleep. It's amazing how easy it was to get to and from the ballpark, a straight shot on 30 that was one of the most leisurely intercity drives we've ever experienced. Drivers here are, overall, very mellow. I have to say, I'm impressed. I haven't cussed uncontrollably once ;)
John had a busy day yesterday so I sat around reading most of the day. Have I mentioned to you (because I know I've bored John to tears with this) how much I adore Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? It's my favorite of the 7 books, and it was very nice to drag my book around and have my nose in it all day. I sat out for an hour and a half at the Water Gardens reading, the sounds of water and trees blowing was a lovely atmosphere for utter relaxation. It's been hot, in the 90s, here but the breeze has helped. Later in the afternoon, I FINALLY braved the pool!! It was completely empty, and a wonderful break in the day. They've got the temperature a bit too warm for my taste (85 degrees, the pool guy informed me). I paddled around a bit, did my version of water aerobics and then spent 5 minutes in the boily, bubbly whirlpool before nestling onto a lounge chair with my book. I felt a bit silly as a group of fully clothed business people came through on a tour, and shortly after that I noticed my skin was all red, likely from the mondo-chlorination of the hot tub, so I decided it was time for a shower.
We went for dinner at this rockin' place called The Flying Saucer. They had a FOUR PAGE beer list (none of which I had ever heard of), and we both had brats with hot German potato salad which was delicious. We then caught Iron Man II in a nearly empty theater (highly entertaining, but in keeping with the latest trends in movie making, a little over-the-top). We had an exhilarating walk back along the festive Main Street, which was alive with celebration: an outdoor band, dancing in the streets and late-night happy hour crowds milling about. It was all sweet and romantic except for the furious wind which brought that all to a grinding halt by blowing something directly into my eye....good feeling gone, I whined the whole way home with my eye pouring out tears and no way to deal with the situation. We went to bed directly without any preamble :*(
Today is John's final day of the conference, and we are looking forward to a final evening here, then setting off as early as possible tomorrow to make some good time on the way home. I'm going to do a little art journaling (yes, I brought all my paints and crap!), more Harry Potter, looking over my Container Gardening book, more time at the pool and then we may try to hit one more touristy-type thing tonight. I'd like to check out the Botanic & Japanese Gardens. Or maybe we'll just try for another romantic evening, without something lodged in my cornea!!
Ok, enough of my blather! I'll have John upload more photos later.
Love & hugs :)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Fort Worth
After much driving, and just missing the storm that spawned a deadly tornado in Oklahoma, we're in Fort Worth. John's off doing his conferencey thing, and I'm chillin' in the hotel. We were able to check out the Oklahoma Science Museum/Planetarium before we left which was great fun, except for when I almost puked in the Omni theater viewing of Air Fighter Pilots which was a little too realistic. We stopped for a brief stroll around the Nat'l Memorial which was a really beautiful place. We got a little choked up, as we both remember that day--John especially since he was still working at the Fed where they got locked down. Very scary, and serves to remind us that violence never solves anything. The weather didn't seem that ominous, but it did feel like storm weather, and the wind was crazy wild, so we're thankful we left when we did! We got a little rain, but we could see lightning off in the distance and the dark clouds. The wind has been the biggest challenge since Kansas, and it has not slowed down at all. I wonder if this area is usually this windy, sorta like Chicago is always windy, or if it's simply the spring stormy systems.
Well, I feel a bit like a little suburban house frau. I had a leisurely morning after kissing my Hubby goodbye for his meetings (and SO CUTE in his business-casual clothes :) fooling around on the internet and having some oatmeal with honey. I just got back from a little walk in the neighborhood, though it's always a bit freaky for me. I seem to attract weirdos on the street wherever I go, so I made sure to not make eye-contact with anyone. I meant to simply read my Harry Potter in the lovely Fountain Gardens they've got right outside the hotel, but I chickened out. There's just too many wandering lone men around. I had to pee anyway, so I came back to the room.
I think I'll have lunch at Shula's (got a hankerin' for a Black Angus burger) and then a little later I'll brave a swim and a soak in the hot tub. I'll bring my book, too, then I can really house-frau it up by lounging by the pool :) Love & hugs to all!!
Well, I feel a bit like a little suburban house frau. I had a leisurely morning after kissing my Hubby goodbye for his meetings (and SO CUTE in his business-casual clothes :) fooling around on the internet and having some oatmeal with honey. I just got back from a little walk in the neighborhood, though it's always a bit freaky for me. I seem to attract weirdos on the street wherever I go, so I made sure to not make eye-contact with anyone. I meant to simply read my Harry Potter in the lovely Fountain Gardens they've got right outside the hotel, but I chickened out. There's just too many wandering lone men around. I had to pee anyway, so I came back to the room.
I think I'll have lunch at Shula's (got a hankerin' for a Black Angus burger) and then a little later I'll brave a swim and a soak in the hot tub. I'll bring my book, too, then I can really house-frau it up by lounging by the pool :) Love & hugs to all!!
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Oklahoma City!
Wow! What a long day of driving!! We set off before 9 am, and we're just settling into a newly remodeled Days Inn in Oklahoma City at almost 9 pm! Lots of bloody, gory roadkill out there today, so I was sad for all the dead things. There are TONS of cattle roaming the hills (cowboy country, of course) and all the little baby calves tagging at their mamas sides are super cute :) We must've seen 500 hawks, they're like the pigeons in the city out here. I wish it were easier to snap photos from a 70 mph car, because we've gotten some up close looks at them diving for food!
We stopped in Kansas City for lunch at Arthur Bryant's for some down home BBQ sammies (um, yeah, if I had that every day, I'd be a deuce and a half!!!) and visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum. They squeeze a ton of information into that baseball museum, and it was all kind of painful to read about, but uplifting, too. Amazing to think that players still alive today went through that struggle, it's sad and incredible. I got a bit choked up standing in their silent replica of a baseball diamond with life-size statues of some of the old Negro League players. You can walk right up to them and it felt kind of eerie. We didn't have a whole lot of time for the jazz museum, though I did insist on checking out all the glittery dresses on display in the Women Of Jazz section. Lots of sequins, beads and glitter! We were very glad we made the stop.
The rest of the day was spent driving, with a few stops to stretch our legs. The stormy skies were gorgeous, and I had a brief thought of the movie Twister as we watched the skies get dark across the vast landscape, but it only produced a little rain. John kept seeing lightning, though I kept missing it, and John even saw one of those Storm Chaser trucks! The trees, when there are trees, seem really unique out here, almost like they're permanently wind-blown and leaning.
Tomorrow we're going to try to get to a few sites around Oklahoma City, the Federal Building Memorial, the planetarium, and maybe I'll try to find some funky place to have lunch before we head out for Texas. I've eaten far too much already, and I'm actually looking forward to a lot of hotel time in Fort Worth so I can use the gym and pool!! I NEED IT!!
We called Mum to wish her a happy Mother's Day (sounds like she got a nice lunch and surprises today, YAY!), and she's informed us the kitties are a little perturbed! Our little nutters!! We miss our babies!!!!!
Love to all, R&J
We stopped in Kansas City for lunch at Arthur Bryant's for some down home BBQ sammies (um, yeah, if I had that every day, I'd be a deuce and a half!!!) and visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum. They squeeze a ton of information into that baseball museum, and it was all kind of painful to read about, but uplifting, too. Amazing to think that players still alive today went through that struggle, it's sad and incredible. I got a bit choked up standing in their silent replica of a baseball diamond with life-size statues of some of the old Negro League players. You can walk right up to them and it felt kind of eerie. We didn't have a whole lot of time for the jazz museum, though I did insist on checking out all the glittery dresses on display in the Women Of Jazz section. Lots of sequins, beads and glitter! We were very glad we made the stop.
The rest of the day was spent driving, with a few stops to stretch our legs. The stormy skies were gorgeous, and I had a brief thought of the movie Twister as we watched the skies get dark across the vast landscape, but it only produced a little rain. John kept seeing lightning, though I kept missing it, and John even saw one of those Storm Chaser trucks! The trees, when there are trees, seem really unique out here, almost like they're permanently wind-blown and leaning.
Tomorrow we're going to try to get to a few sites around Oklahoma City, the Federal Building Memorial, the planetarium, and maybe I'll try to find some funky place to have lunch before we head out for Texas. I've eaten far too much already, and I'm actually looking forward to a lot of hotel time in Fort Worth so I can use the gym and pool!! I NEED IT!!
We called Mum to wish her a happy Mother's Day (sounds like she got a nice lunch and surprises today, YAY!), and she's informed us the kitties are a little perturbed! Our little nutters!! We miss our babies!!!!!
Love to all, R&J
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Des Moines, Iowa
We made it to Des Moines! Not a whole lot to report, as we midwesterners know this landscape is very beautiful, but not terribly exciting. It was ded peaceful, though, and we had fun gabbing and later in the drive, grooving to our tunage. John was a good sport about listening to all my kooky theories about life, the universe and everything :)
We had a brief stopover in Clear Lake to see the site where Buddy Holly met his untimely end where we took a few photos of the giant Buddy Holly glasses that stand as a memorial in the cornfield. We also snapped a few shots of the Surf Ballroom where he last played. We had a simple supper at the local Perkins before hitting the road to Des Moines.
Tomorrow: off to stay a night and see a few choice sites in Oklahoma City! Hopefully we can upload the few photos we got today. Let me turn the computer over to John....
Sleep tight :)
PS: I miss our furbabies already!!!!
We had a brief stopover in Clear Lake to see the site where Buddy Holly met his untimely end where we took a few photos of the giant Buddy Holly glasses that stand as a memorial in the cornfield. We also snapped a few shots of the Surf Ballroom where he last played. We had a simple supper at the local Perkins before hitting the road to Des Moines.
Tomorrow: off to stay a night and see a few choice sites in Oklahoma City! Hopefully we can upload the few photos we got today. Let me turn the computer over to John....
Sleep tight :)
PS: I miss our furbabies already!!!!
Southern Journey
We're off on another mini-vacation today! John's got a conference in Fort Worth, Texas, so I'm tagging along for a bit of a respite from our normal surroundings. We're planning on staying in Des Moines,then Oklahoma City and down to the Lone Star State. Hopefully we'll be able to catch some AAA baseball games along the way, check out some planetariums and other sites. Since most of our Texas sites will be relegated to visiting after John's work days at the conference, we are going to plan carefully.
It's hard to conceptualize the fact that it's in the upper 80s in the Dallas/Fort Worth area right now, and here we've got snow in the weather reports. I rather enjoy these cool, puffy cloud days with peeks of sun making interesting shadows across the land, it's going to be weird plunging into the air conditioning! Anyway, we'll be off soon, so stay tuned for photos and stuff!
Love & hugs, R&J
It's hard to conceptualize the fact that it's in the upper 80s in the Dallas/Fort Worth area right now, and here we've got snow in the weather reports. I rather enjoy these cool, puffy cloud days with peeks of sun making interesting shadows across the land, it's going to be weird plunging into the air conditioning! Anyway, we'll be off soon, so stay tuned for photos and stuff!
Love & hugs, R&J
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