This was our first extended trip to our house in St. Joseph, Missouri. Not only did we drive there, we took our mentally unstable dog, Thea, who has never been in a car or truck for more than an hour, and who does not like cold weather. What could possibly go wrong?

Days 1 & 2 – The drive to St. Joseph

Our original plan was to take 3 days to drive to St. Joe. That being said, we also planned to drive as far as we could the first day in the hopes of possibly making it a two day drive. We also had a plan that at each stop, one of us would deal with the beast so the other could use the restroom, or get a snack, etc. The plan worked flawlessly and we were able to make it all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico. And the beast did fine on the first day of the drive. Take a look for yourself.

We spent the night at a pet friendly Holiday Inn Express and got a room with two queen beds. Thea spent the night on the other bed and was happy as heck. I thought I had a picture of it, but could not find it on my phone.

By driving all day on the second day we were able to get to our place right around midnight. We were tired, but happy that all three of us made it there with very little drama.

Week 1

We spent our first full day recovering from the drive and getting Thea acquainted with her new digs. On the second day, we had some freezing rain that turned into snow. To our surprise, the dog really didn’t mind the cold or snow.

On our first Sunday in town, we went out with the Culvers to a local chili cookoff. The chili was good, but Scott and I have decided to enter next year. We feel we can be very competitive.

With my birthday approaching, Corrianne flew in to stay with us. During her stay, we did a father/daughter trip to the Lewis and Clarke State Park. It is an area where in 1804 the Lewis and Clarke party camped for several days near the start of their epic journey across the uncharted west. We enjoyed a short hike to see Lewis and Clarke Lake and the interpretive area.

Our hike built up an appetite, so we headed off to Boulevard Brewing Company near downtown Kansas City. I had a delicious Ruben on marble rye, and the beer was very good.

Later in the week it snowed overnight, so we put the dog’s sweater and jacket on and checked out the snow in our backyard. The green stuff is fake grass.

So what does a California dog do when it’s snowy outside? Sit in front of the fireplace, of course.

In all fairness, we have an all electric fireplace with a fake flame, but it does blow warm air. And the dog loved it.

On the Saturday before my birthday, we went on a “birthday” pub crawl. It was Cindy, Corrianne and I, Scott and Heather, and Scott’s cousin John and his wife Dana. Since Scott and Heather’s daughter is under 21, she served as our driver. Here I am getting ready for the fun. I’m wearing a bright colored tie that say it’s my birthday.

Our first stop was for some lunch at Il Lazzarone. As usual, it was delicious. From there, we walked in the very cool weather to our first stop, River Bluff Brewing.

After a few micro beers, we were off to the Angry Swede Brewery.

The beer was very good here as well and we all had a good time. Our last stop was at the Tiger’s Den, a library/bar, for some mixed drinks.

Now we have all been around a friend who has had too much to drink and does some crazy stuff, like lick someone’s head like this.

This would be weird if that was one of our friends. It was even weirder because this was a stranger who walked up to me and did this because of my birthday tie. Then she and her friends hung out with us and turned out to be pretty nice people. I guess you just never know. Here is Corrianne’s reaction to all the shenanigans.

We finished the night by walking to Hazel’s for coffee and chai tea. After our warm beverages, Lauren picked us up and got everyone home safely. A great time was had by all.

Week 2

On my actual birthday, we set up a taco bar at our house and invited the Culvers and Scott’s parents, Nancy and Denby. The food was delicious. Here is a card, balloon, and gift from my party.

In the middle of the week, we had to drop Corrianne off at the airport. We went to Joe’s BBQ near downtown Kansas City for some BBQ. We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes, but it was worth it. Corrianne and I got the spicy pulled pork sandwiches and they were outstanding!

Later in the week we went to a Journey and Toto concert with the Culvers.

Toto opened the show and they were outstanding.

The Journey concert was interesting. It seemed more like the Neil Schon show with his backing band that sounded a lot like Journey. Neil Schon is the original guitar player and he had a solo in each song and it seemed like each song was tweaked so it featured much more guitar. The concert was still good, but Neil needs to take a chill pill and play a little less.

Week 3

We started week 3 by hanging our “Bailey” sign Corrianne had purchased for us. Here it is hanging on our front porch.

Both Cindy and I were a little under the weather during week three. Not down and out, just stuffy and off a bit. That being said, I received an email our nightstands were in and ready for pick up in Kansas City. They were not supposed to come in until June, so we were excited and headed right out to get them. Here is what they look like in our bedroom.

By Thursday, we were feeling well enough to go to Leavenworth, Kansas with the Culvers. We had lunch at Homer’s Drive In, which was founded in 1931.

From there we visited Twisted Vines Winery in the old downtown Leavenworth area.

They had an interesting selection of wines, such as the Hellfire, made with red grapes and jalapeno, and the Gladiator, a tomato and jalapeno wines, ala Bloody Mary.

I tried both of those wines and while novel, they just didn’t taste that good. In reality, none of the wines were that good. However, the woman doing our tasting was so energetic and just fun in general, we still had a good time. And we came to the realization we are wine snobs. We are lucky to live and spend time in the home to some of the best wines in the world. Unfortunately, that place is Commiefornia, I mean California. After many a wine tasting in either Santa Ynez, Paso Robles, Temecula, or Napa, we have become snobs and all other wines pale in comparison. But we are not quitters. We will continue to taste wine wherever it is made.

The next day, Scott, Heather and I did some sightseeing while Cindy stayed home and rested up. Our first stop was Lathrop, Missouri, Scott’s childhood home city. It is a very small town of just over 2,000 people.

Our next stop was in Kearney, Missouri, to see the Jesse James Farm and Museum, the birthplace and family home of the famous outlaw Jesse James.

Here are some pictures from the museum.

Here are some pictures of the outside and inside of the actual farm house.

Jesse James was originally buried at the farm until his and his wife’s deaths. Then their bodies were moved to the Mount Olivet Cemetery, also in Kearney.

For many years, and continuing to this day, they sell rocks that have been on Jesse James gravesite. That was a little too creepy for me so I left without any rocks.

Our final stop of the day was at the world famous Arthur Bryant BBQ, near downtown Kansas City.

As you can see it was not crowded. We were the only ones there.

Even though we were the only ones there, the staff yelled at is and were rude. I can see when it is total chaos in the store it would be necessary, to yell, but not in this case. And there is never a reason to be rude. Anyway, here is the BBQ I ordered. It was pulled pork with fries and white bread. It was pretty good, but there are many places in and around Kansas City that are better, so I will not be back. I was not impressed.

Week three ended with us having a delicious steak dinner at the Culver’s house.

Stay tuned for the next entry which will cover the rest of our St. Joseph stay. Spoiler alert, there will be more booze tasting and some nasty weather!