This post covers our St. Joseph stay during November and the first week of December, and our drive back to California.
Our wood fences in our backyard had become weathered and really needed to be stripped and re-stained.
Once we were settled back into our St. Joseph house, we were hoping and waiting for some dry weather so I could use Scott’s power washer to strip the fencing, let it dry over a few days, then Cindy and I would re-stain it and that needed a few days to dry. That meant we needed about a week window of no rain or snow. That window appeared to come up during the second week in November, just a few days after we returned from Branson. It took me two days to completely strip the fence because the temperature both days was in the low to mid 40’s and I got really wet during the process. About halfway through the project on the first day, I was shivering and had to take a break to shower off and warm up. I was able to finish on the second day, just a few days before Dan from Texas was flying in for a two-day golf-a-thon with Scott, Bobby, and I. The timing was perfect as the weather was warming up and not a cloud on the horizon for at least a week. The fence would completely dry during Dan’s visit and we could stain it once he left.
Now for Dan’s visit, and the promised return of my blow-up T-Rex suit. Early on Tuesday morning, Scott, Bobby, and I went to the Kansas City airport to pick up Dan. It only made sense that I go as the T-Rex and make it an exciting pick up. I got dressed in the parking lot and made sure Scott and Bobby understood that any time we were contacted by anyone associated with the airport we were to cooperate fully. I did not want to get tased, pepper sprayed, or beaten. Just saying. As soon as we were inside the airport near the baggage claim, two airport officials (a male and a female) made a bee line toward me. I thought we would have lasted a little longer than that. As they approached, they were very excited and the woman asked if she could take a picture with me. I obviously agreed and the male took the picture. They strolled off right after taking the picture and that was the only airport official contact we had. Here is the exciting moment as an embarrassed Dan arrived. A few of the pictures are screen captures from a video, so they are a little blurry. Sorry about that.
Dan said as he was going down the escalator toward me, two women next to him were laughing and asked him if that (me, the T-Rex) was for him. He sheepishly said, “Yes.” This was hands down the best airport pick up ever. We left the airport and golfed at Shilo Springs Golf Course in Platte City, very near the airport. We had a good time, but the course was in rough shape in a few places, including a few of the greens. I’m not sure if I will return there and definitely no link for them. After 18 holes, we went straight to Copper Hill Golf Course and played 9 more holes. 27 holes in one day was more than enough for me. The next day we got up and golfed at Mozingo Lake Golf Course in Marysville, about an hour north of our house. This is an amazing golf course, challenging, and very link worthy. Use the link at the end of this post to book your reservation. Here are a few pictures from the course.
This is one of my favorite distance markers I have ever seen. It marks that you are 250 yards from the green. Unless you’re a pro, you are not hitting the green in one shot from here. Hence, the message.
And here is Dan and the fellas on the course.
After 45 holes of golf in a day and a half, it was time to call it quits. We returned home, Dan got packed up, and we all went to an early dinner at Hawaiian Brothers Island Grill. Hawaiian Brothers is always link worthy. You know where it is. From there, we dropped Dan off at the airport and returned home. The next day we started to stain the fence to make sure we beat any future bad weather. It was windy, which helped dry the fence, but made it a little more difficult to complete the job. Here is our finished handy work.
As we were finishing up, the wind blew my stain tray over and stained our patio. I stained the area with a few swear words.
Luckily, Scott’s power washer took that right out. Later in the week, we went to the Culvers’ house and had some dinner, then hung out by their firepit and made s’mores.
The next day, we went to Christine’s Firehouse Bar and Grill in North Kansas City with the Culvers and Broyles.
I had a Ruben sandwich with these really thick curly fries. Both were delicious. Everyone loved their food, the service was great, and it is a fun place to visit. Yes, they earned a link you will find in the usual place. The next day we went to the Kansas City airport and picked up Corrianne who flew in for Thanksgiving. After dinner, we all settled in by our cozy electric fireplace and watched some tv.
The following day we went to Scott and Heather’s house where we all did some craft projects. The ladies worked on making wine cork bearded dwarfs and the guys put special pictures and symbols on our golf balls. Afterward, we all got together and painted fall window decorations. Corrianne is missing because she took the photos.
On the day before Thanksgiving, we went back to Kansas City airport and picked up Corrianne’s boyfriend, Alex. From the airport, we went straight to Joes’ Kansas City BBQ. This is a BBQ joint in an old gas station. We have eaten there before and it never disappoints. I really like Texas BBQ, where Corrianne and Alex live, but it doesn’t compare to Kansas City BBQ. This would be our test. Even though we got there at 2pm, which really should be an off hour for lunch, there was a line that took us about half an hour to get through.
I had the “Smokie Joe” sandwich (chopped smoked beef and pork, in barbecue sauce, topped with onion rings) with some red beans and rice…
Alex had the ribs, pulled pork, and spicy cole slaw…
Cindy had a pulled pork sandwich with fries…
and Corrianne had the “Rocket Pig,” pulled pork tossed in a sweet-hot competition BBQ glaze, bacon, pepper jack cheese, and a BBQ mayo, topped with fried jalapeños, with mac and cheese she shared with Cindy, and we all shared some onion rings.
As usual, everything was outstanding. Once again, we made two more Texans believers in Kansas City BBQ. Use the link below to get yourself some of the best BBQ you will ever taste. That evening, we all went to The Den for a nightcap and to see their Christmas decorations. We heard they really go all out and they did.
The next day was Thanksgiving. We all went to Scott and Heather’s house for a fantastic feast. Scott smoked a turkey and deep fried another. Both were amazing, as was all of the other food. There were around 20 people there and everyone brought something delicious to eat.
There were enough people to have an old people table and a younger persons table.
And it was Nancy’s (Scott’s mom) birthday, so we celebrated that as well.
Meanwhile, back in California, Yvonne, Wade, Mom and Garrett had their own Thanksgiving celebration.
The next day back in St. Joseph, we loaded up with Corrianne, Alex, Scott, and Heather and went to the Amish town of Jamesport for some delicious fried chicken at Gingerich’s and some shopping. It was a brisk 32 degrees out, but that shouldn’t have been a problem because while Jamesport is usually pretty busy on the weekends, the weekdays are typically tame.
That would be with the exception of black Friday, the day we went. We got to wait outside in the cold for about 30 minutes for a table to get our delicious fried chicken.
For the record, I learned as much as I love Gingerich’s chicken, 30 minutes outside in 32 degrees is my limit. Luckily, we were seated at the 30-minute mark and they had a table for 8, even though there were only seven of us. That allowed us to ask the lady who was standing in line with us and planning to eat by herself to join us. And she did. Unfortunately, I can’t remember her name, but we all had a great time together. Here we all are after lunch.
It was a great time, and a great meal at a place that is more than link worthy. It’s below as usual. After our photo session, Corrianne was using some filters on the picture to make everyone look a little better. Unfortunately, she accidentally used a female make-up filter on me. Here was the result.
There is a new photo rule. No filters on or near me. I think everyone can agree that’s a good rule. After a bit of shopping, we headed home, freshened up, and we all headed out for pizza at our favorite pizza place, Il Lazzarone.
This is beyond link worthy pizza, so check it out below. The next day, we took Corrianne and Alex to the airport so they could fly home. They left just in time as we got some snow right after they left.
Later in the week, we went to the Culvers’ house where we joined Bobby and Machelle for a craft night. Each couple had to build a gingerbread house. Then we would text pictures to several people to vote on and see who the ultimate gingerbread house builders were. Here is Cindy and I along with Bobby and Machelle working our collective magic.
Here are the finished houses. Feel free to pick your own personal favorites. The winner was made by Bobby and Machelle.
Here is the second-place finisher, by Scott and Heather.
And finally, the last place house, the one Cindy and I made.
Even though Cindy and I finished last, we still had a good time.
The next day the whole clan (Bobby, Machelle, Scott, Heather, Cindy and I) had tickets to do a historic home tour in downtown St. Joseph. We started the day with breakfast at the St. Joseph Cookie Company. While this sounds like a great way to get diabetes, they actually serve breakfast items that are really tasty. And they decorated for Christmas.
Here is the whole motley crew.
We had a great meal and a great time. So you know, full disclosure, the owners of the St. Joseph Cookie Company joined us last year on my birthday pub crawl and we see them around town now and then. Our personal connection with them has nothing to do with the fact they have earned a link at the end of this post.
After our delicious breakfast, we headed off to the Historic Home tour. This was an amazing tour of the historic homes in downtown St. Joseph. The owners of these historic home opened them up to allow tours. We spent most of the day on the tour. Here is a sampling of what we saw.
It was an amazing afternoon to say the least. We all headed home, freshened up, and went to the Robidoux Theatre for dinner then the Neil Simon play “Rumors.” The dinner was in the basement.
Upon our arrival, we were led to our table that already had the salads ready to eat.
The dinner was a catered buffet, and was pretty darn good.
They also had drink specials and I had a cranberry vodka thing that was delicious. Actually, I may have had two, but who was counting.
After dinner, we walked upstairs to the theatre and found our seats.
The play was very well done. This is a small-town theatre company that puts out a pretty high caliber product. They are very link worthy, so check them out for yourself. One last thing. One of the actors we saw in the play has a name that was hard to forget. See for yourself.
This was our last major event of this visit. A few days later, we packed up and headed back to California. We decided to take three days driving home instead of the usual two. On the second day, we stayed in Williams, Arizona. While there, we visited the Grand Canyon Deer Farm, a place where you walk around their farm looking at some wild animals while hand feeding deer of varied ages. It was a blast.
This is an absolute must do for all ages. Use the link below to plan your visit. We arrived home on the third day and enjoyed taking the extra day to get home.
Stay tuned for the next post about our trip to Oahu, Hawaii with our great friends the Webers. Until then, feed all the deer you like.
LINKS
Hawaiian Brothers Island Grill