This post will be about the first half of our return to our house in St. Joseph, MO.
MARCH
As you know from my last post, we started this trip with a stop in Palm Springs to see the art exhibit “Desert X.” On our first travel day to St. Joe, we drove for 12+ hours from Palm Springs to Tucumcari, New Mexico. The next day we drove another 10 hours and made it to our St. Joseph house at around 7:30 PM. We quickly unpacked and got some sleep because the next day we went to Kansas City Airport to pick up Corrianne who was visiting for my 60th birthday. After picking her up, we lunched at Scott’s Kitchen, right next to the airport. Scott’s Kitchen is a BBQ place with amazing BBQ. Cindy had a BBQ Chicken Salad…….
……Corrianne had the Jalapeno Cheese Sausage and Brisket with mashed potatoes and potato salad…….
…..and I had the Jalapeno Cheese Sausage and Pulled Pork with Jambalaya and coleslaw.
As usual, the food was amazing and earned a link you can find at the end of this post. The next day was my actual birthday, and we celebrated by seeing the show “Forever Young” at the Missouri Theater.
The show was about a group of friends hanging out in a basement singing some of their favorite songs. The show was average, but we still managed to have a good time.
The next day we celebrated my birthday with family and friends at Prestyn’s Wine Bar in the downstairs private party room. Cindy and Corrianne worked very hard and made it a night to remember.
The next, and last, day of the birthday celebration had a group of us doing the annual birthday pub crawl. The weather was a little chilly, but not too bad for St. Joe in March. Here we are at River Bluff Brewing.
At Geneo’s Pizza a drum and bagpipe group paraded through the restaurant.
Here we all are on our merry way.
I had a great three-day birthday bash. Corrianne flew home and a few days later, Scott, Don, Bobby, and I went golfing even though the weather was a bit dicey. When we were on the 17th hole, the weather had deteriorated, and we received the dreaded message.
So what did we do? We finished the last two holes and lived to tell about it. A few days later the group got together at Scott and Heather’s for dinner and a group craft night. Cindy and I picked the craft. Everyone had to draw someone’s name from a pile and paint a portrait of that person. It was very amusing to say the least. Here are all of the portraits. Do you recognize anyone?
Here are Don and Marie holding up their portraits. Machelle drew Marie and Scott drew Don.
Heather as drawn by Bobby and Marie drew Scott.
Cindy drew Machelle and Heather drew Bobby.
I drew Cindy and Don drew me.
If you are looking for an idea for a fun craft night for a family or group of friends, we suggest trying this. We had a great time. Later in the month, the group headed to the Den for their monthly new drink tasting. As usual, there were some really good drinks, a few interesting ones, and a few I would pass on. That being said, the Den is always a great time and link worthy. You know where to find it.
Cindy and I ended the month at our favorite Mexican restaurant in St. Joe, Los Compadres. Cindy had her favorite cheese enchiladas, and I had my usual and most favorite bucket of soup, the Caldo Tlalpeño. It is filled with shrimp, chicken, beef, and vegetables in a delicious chicken and tomato broth.
APRIL
April started with a spring craft night at Scott and Heather’s house.
This craft night was making silly bunny headbands and puffy bunny balls. Here are some of our bunnies.
A week later, we volunteered at a local Special Olympic event. This was our second year in a row volunteering at this event.
We were the team that handed out the medals again.
Helping at Special Olympic events is always fun and rewarding. We highly recommend trying it. Use the link at the end of this post to find an event to volunteer at or to make a donation.
Later that week, we went to The Den for 90’s trivia. The Den hosts trivia nights once a month and they are always hosted by Bob Schultz. Bob does an outstanding job with the quizzes, and we almost always finish out of the top three teams but have a blast anyway. This trivia night was no different as we really enjoyed Bob’s quiz and once again finished outside of the top 3 teams. We ended up on the Den’s Facebook page. That is us seated behind Bob Schultz.
Later in the month we went to our first Kansas City Royals baseball game at Kauffman Stadium. Cindy and I were joined by Scott, Heather, Machelle, and Bobby.
We were lucky we picked this specific game because it was a giveaway night. They were giving away Royals ushanka or trapper hats. These hats have fur lined ear flaps that can be snapped up or pulled down to keep your ears warm. We were so lucky to be there on that night. Here is a picture of Scott and I sporting our stylish hats.
Cindy and Heather were not amused nor were they fans of our new head gear. Aside from the hats, the stadium was very nice considering how old it is. It was opened in 1973, making it 52 years old.
The Royals won in a tight game in the 11th inning.
Kauffman Stadium is a must visit. You know where the link is. A few days later, the whole gang went to the Missouri Theater to see an Eagles tribute band named, “7 Bridges.”
This was one of the best tribute bands we have ever seen. They were really amazing.
We will definitely see this band again. You should see them as well, so use the link below. The next day was Cindy and my 33rd wedding anniversary. We celebrated by having dinner at the JC Wyatt House. The JC Wyatt House is the #1 private dining restaurant in St Joseph and a Certificate of Excellence Winner from 2014-2024 on Tripadvisor. You dine in a unique 1891 historic home that has been painstakingly restored. You enjoy amazing cuisine with fine service in authentic Victorian ambiance. When you make your reservation, you select your main course. I chose the lamb, and Cindy ordered the filet mignon. Here is what the house looked like when we arrived.
The inside was very true to the Victorian period.
There was a unique antique butter holder too. That was something new for both of us.
Our dinner was a four-course meal. It started with a tasty shrimp cocktail appetizer.
Followed by a really good potato leak soup.
Our main courses were cooked perfectly and amazingly delicious. Both proteins came with diced potatoes, braised vegetables, and a homemade roll.
Our dessert was just as amazing as the meal. It was a trio of a Key Lime Tart, a Chocolate Tart, and a slice of Raspberry Pound Cake. It was served on a plate that was customized for our anniversary.
The JC Wyatt House is an absolute must visit experience. Use the link below to make your reservation. And be prepared to pick your protein when you call. At the end of the month, we flew down to Houston, Texas to visit Corrianne and Alex, and to meet their new dog, Kiki. On our flight to Houston, they had changed the safety cards showing what to do in an emergency.
Apparently, in case of a crash landing, you are supposed to place your baby in the car seat then on your back. Huh?!?! Luckily our flight did not have a crash landing and there were no babies in car seats near us. We made it safely to Corrianne’s house and got to meet Kiki. She is a 100-pound Great Pyrenees that they adopted from the local rescue. She is very friendly and loves attention.
She went with us to dinner at Wunsche Brothers Cafe and Saloon in downtown Spring where we ate on the patio and everyone wanted to meet her. The next day we all went to Brazos Bend State Park for some hiking and sightseeing.
Brazos Bend State Park is known for its beautiful nature scenery and its alligators. We ended up seeing plenty of both. The scenery was beautiful.
Here we are at a dock.
And us at the top of an observation tower.
There were a lot of birds.
A few turtles.
And of course, alligators.
Last, but not least, there was a small nature center at the park. We saw baby alligators.
There were alligator displays.
There was a display that showed how big alligators can get. Females can reach eight feet and males can reach eleven feet. Stretched out, Cindy only made it top seven feet.
Until next time, be sure to stay clear of the gators.
LINKS
