The post covers Cindy and my 32nd wedding anniversary, more tornado “fun” in Missouri and Texas, ELO and Neil Diamond tribute band concerts, our adventure drive to south Texas to visit Corrianne, our actual visit with Corrianne, a visit with north Texas icons Dan and Chris, and our return drive to St. Joseph.

On April 25, Cindy and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary. We had a nice dinner planned and an overnight stay at the historic Shakespeare Chateau Inn Bed and Breakfast. Originally, I was going to have to golf in our men’s league, but it lightly rained most of the morning and afternoon. I was sure the golf would be cancelled and we could get an early start to our anniversary celebrations. I was wrong. We golfed in a light rain and strong cold winds. Definitely one of the worse golf experiences I have ever had. After the annoying golf delay, we were off to get checked in at the Shakespeare Chateau Inn Bed and Breakfast, on a hill overlooking the downtown area. Our room was on the second floor and since the chateau was built in 1885, there were no elevators. I shlepped our bags up the flights of stairs, past several of the 47 original stained-glass windows, to our room.

Our room was the Romeo and Juliet room, appropriate for a wedding anniversary.

The room was quite fancy and had several stained-glass windows in it.

The fireplace in our room had the original painted tiles around the opening and on the floor.

We unpacked and headed off to dinner at the Hoof and Horn Steakhouse. We have eaten there several times in the past and it is always a great meal.

I had the prime rib with all of the fixings and Cindy had the grilled shrimp. As usual, it was an outstanding meal. Of course they earned a link below. With full bellies, we headed back to our room for some shut eye. We were awakened around three in the morning when a thunderstorm rolled through and the thunder was so loud, it shook our windows. The next morning, we had our breakfast in the formal dining room, which was also very fancy and had some more stained-glass windows.

Our host, Isobel, served us a homemade breakfast of quiche, fruit, scones, coffee, tea, and fresh fruit juice. It was delicious and Isobel was a wonderful host.

In addition to being a bed and breakfast, the Shakespeare Chateau Inn Bed and Breakfast also hosts events of up to 50 people, and Isobel does tours of the chateau on a regular basis. The day after our departure, she was hosting a wedding and reception. We have done the tour one time in the past and will absolutely return again for an overnight stay. If you are interested in visiting the Shakespeare Chateau Inn Bed and Breakfast, use the link below.

The next two days were some of the craziest weather days we had ever experienced. We were watching the Weather Channel when this graphic came up.

We really don’t like being in the bright red area of bad weather. Then the phone warnings started. We like that even less.

Then the tornados started. First in Texas and Oklahoma, then 2 1/2 hours north of us near Omaha, Nebraska, then 2 hours southwest of us in Kansas. That was the closest one of the day. The damage on the first day of tornados was bad, but there was no reported loss of life. That was something to be thankful for. Still, our hearts went out to all of the people affected by the bad weather. The next afternoon the drama started again.

Fun, fun, fun! Then about an hour later, it became even more fun.

Holy poop, there was a tornado on the ground about 40 minutes north of us. I never thought I would miss earthquakes. Over the two-day period, the bright red area on the previous map would produce over 100 tornados, with five people losing their lives. A sad day indeed.

The evening of the second day of bad storms, the BBC Gang (Bailey, Broyles, Culver) had tickets to see Evil Woman, The American ELO. Evil Woman is an Electric Light Orchestra tribute band. The concert was in the Missouri Theatre, so we figured we should be safe in some bad weather. ELO was one of my favorite bands when I was growing up and I still really enjoy their music.

The band was very good overall and put on an enjoyable show. The lead singer was a little dull and lifeless, but the female backup singer was just the opposite, full of energy. The rest of the band was fine, they just were not at the top of their collective game. With the exception of the bass player, who was really good.

Two of the eight orchestra members had solos and they were outstanding.

As good as this band was, and as much as I enjoyed them, I doubt I would see them again. Seeing them once was enough for me. I can recommend them to anyone with the caveat, they are really good, but not the best. I think because Brass Transit was so good, they have ruined most other tribute bands for me. The weather held and we had no problems that night. The next day was the day before Corrianne’s birthday, and we had planned to make the 12-hour drive to her house in south Texas so we could celebrate her birthday with her. Our only concern was the possibility of bad weather once we were in Texas. There were severe thunderstorm warnings along our route. We figured if it rained hard enough, or if there was large hail, we would get in out of the storm and wait it out. That was the initial plan. We got on the road early in the morning and the weather was fine. By the afternoon, we were sailing along without a care in the world. Then Heather, who was watching the Weather Channel, texted this to Cindy.

There was a tornado on the ground along our route. It was down in a Texas town named Ridge, and they were projecting where it could go if it stayed on the ground. If it stayed on the ground for around a half hour, it could go through Centerville, Texas around 5:03 PM, which was on our route. That was the bad news. The good news was we would not make it to Centerville until around 6 PM or so, and the storm was moving to the east so it would most likely be gone by the time we got anywhere near there. Ultimately, we have no idea what happened with the tornado, but it must have been short lived. It was never close to Centerville. Besides, we were in Ardmore, Oklahoma, stopped to get gas and everyone in the gas station was talking about how the highway we were on (I35) was closed a few miles south of us because of damage from yesterday’s tornado. I talked to one of the residents who had just spend an hour in the detour coming north. He told me to get a few extra snacks, follow the signs, and be patient. Cindy and I followed his advice and were on our way toward the closure. A few miles short of the detour, my map program told me to exit the highway and take a route around the closure. I’ve been burned by my map program several times, but other people were also getting off of the highway, so I took a chance. It turned out to be a great route as we were around the closure in about 20 minutes. This route also took us through the town of Marietta, which had been hit by a tornado the day that caused the highway closure. The damage was unimaginable. There was debris everywhere, roofs missing from houses and buildings, pieces of corrugated metal wrapped around poles like they were pieces of paper, a giant advertising sign knocked over with its giant supporting pole snapped like a twig, and the entire side and part of the roof of a Dollar General warehouse were gone, exposing the inside of the building. It was very sobering, and really impressed upon us how strong and dangerous tornados can be. Luckily, no one died in that specific tornado. Here are some pictures of the area. They are a bit blurry because they are screen shots from a video.

We continued on our way, resolute to be even more safe in our travels. Our next stop was at Buc-ee’s, an iconic Texas gas station, market, and rest stop. We always try to stop at a Buc-ee’s when we are in Texas. We got some gifts, BBQ sandwiches for lunch, some more snacks, and I even got a picture with Buc-ee himself! That alone deserves a link. You know where to find it.

Back on the road again, we headed toward Centerville. All of the information we could find on the internet indicated there was a strong thunderstorm in the area, but no tornados. As soon as we passed Centerville, the skies unloaded on us. It was raining so hard, visibility was down to a few hundred feet. Everyone on the highway slowed down considerably, put their emergency flashers on, and proceeded with caution. A solid plan. Occasionally, a ping pong ball sized hail ball would crash into the car, but luckily, they were few and far between. Right before we got to Madisonville, the rain lightened up. A lot of people were exiting the highway to go to the Buc-ee’s there. We decided to forge ahead. Once you pass Madisonville and are heading to the next town of Huntsville, Texas, there are only three off ramps in the 30-mile drive, and all three are rural off ramps that go to farms and ranches in the area. That means if the weather suddenly turned bad, we would be hosed. To our advantage, the rain was still coming down, but not really limiting our visibility and there had not been any hail in the last 10 minutes. It seemed like the weather was improving, even if only slightly. Cue the phone sirens. We were hosed.

We were on the part of the highway with no off ramps, but at least we were surrounded by many other cars. It felt like there was strength in numbers. I wanted to pull over and try and figure out where the tornado was on my weather app, but since everyone else was still driving, albeit much more slowly now, I kept going believing they were all from the area and must know what to do in the situation. In reality, I bet everyone was thinking the same thing and we were being led like lemmings right off of the cliff. Within minutes, there was another phone siren, this one declaring a “Tornado Emergency” and advising us to take immediate shelter. WTF?!? We had never received the “Tornado Emergency” warning before and were less than thrilled with this new experience. I had my head on a swivel, looking for the tornado. And with my limited neck mobility, that was difficult. About a mile in front of us in the rain, I saw a grey wedge-shaped shadow that was slowly moving across the highway to our right. It came from a wooded area on the left side of the highway and disappeared into a wooded area on the right side of the highway. I was yelling to Cindy sitting next to me, “Look, the tornado, the tornado!’ Cindy just looked at the floor and refused to look up. I think she thought if she couldn’t see the tornado, it couldn’t see her. We continued driving and when we got to the area of the highway where I thought I had seen the tornado, there was wood, branches, leaves and debris strewn across the highway and on the shoulders. Both sides of the highway looked like some sort of strong wind event, like a tornado, had just passed through the area. Yup, it sure looked like we had seen our first close up tornado. Much too close for comfort, if you ask me. Later on, I was curious about the last warning we had received. I could find the National Weather Service warnings still on my phone, but the last one was not there. I learned Texas has its own warning system which adds the “emergency” warning.

Fun times. We finally made it to Corrianne’s house and were exhausted. The next day was Corrianne’s birthday, but she had to work. So, we went on a morning walk, ran some errands, and waited for her return so we could celebrate. We all (Corrianne, her boyfriend Alex, Cindy and I) went to dinner at a local BBQ place named, “Uncle’s BBQ.” They serve Texas style BBQ and it was delicious. Now there is a difference between Texas BBQ and Kansas City BBQ. Texas BBQ tends to be Tex-Max at times, is usually just slightly drier than KC BBQ, and typically no dry rub is used. The meat is smoked and you add your own sauces. KC BBQ has more seasoning and can be eaten with or without sauce. These are generalities and by no means described either BBQ 100%. In my opinion, KC BBQ is the best, the 10 on a 10 scale, and Texas BBQ is the 9 on the 10 scale. Still pretty darn respectable. And for the record, I have not had BBQ from the Carolinas or deep south yet, so they have yet to be rated. Most Los Angeles BBQ is the 5 on the 10 scale, in case you were wondering.

Corrianne and I had the brisket and jalapeno cheddar sausage, with Mexican corn and fried okra.

Alex had the three-meat plate of brisket, ribs, and pulled pork, with sides of potato salad and fries.

And Cindy had the brisket enchiladas with a side of Mexican corn. No, she did not eat the jalapenos on top.

Uncle’s BBQ is worthy of the coveted link. Use it to try some great BBQ for yourself. We returned to Corrianne’s house and had some birthday cake. Notice the cupcakes in the background with the Harry Potter House symbols in them. Alex had taken care of the cake and cupcakes and did a great job.

On Wednesday and Thursday, it rained, thunderstormed with very loud thunder, then rained some more, and then even more thunder. And the thunder came at 6PM, 10 PM, 3AM, 5AM, and so on. It rained so much, Corrianne’s backyard flooded and some of the water unfortunately made it into the house. This sent us into a towel laying frenzy for half of the day. It ended up raining just over nine inches in two days. That is a lot of water.

At least there were no tornados! On Friday we all went out to breakfast and several of the roads were flooded.

Next door to our breakfast place, was a unique men’s salon, called “Tune Up, The Manly Salon.” They had free beer and arcade games. It actually made me miss having hair.

Alex cooked for us during our stay. He is an excellent cook and we loved his food. If he had a website, he would have earned a link. On Thursday night, he made a beef stew with potatoes, celery, carrots, onions, and a really tasty broth. The meat was beyond tender and delicious. It was complemented with toast covered in Welsh Rarebit, a smokey, hot cheese sauce. It was also outstanding. On Friday, Corrianne made open face BLTA sandwiches with Alex’s Welsh Rarebit as a base. They were outstanding, as was her homemade salsa for chips. Alex made homemade mandarin orange margaritas that was super tasty as well. Two very delicious meals.

On Saturday, we all went to Old Town Spring for breakfast and shopping.

We ate at Wunsche Brothers Cafe and Saloon. The building was built in 1902 and is the oldest commercial building still on its original site. It was originally built as a hotel, saloon, and brothel by the three Wunsche Brothers.

It is rumored to be haunted by two of the brothers, Charlie and Dell. I’m not sure which two are Charlie and Dell in the above picture. Now the building is just a cafe and saloon.

It has a Texas Official Historical Medallion from The Texas Historical Commission, meaning it is an official Texas historical place.

That medallion is not to be confused with the Texas Historical Committee medallion located on several other buildings that give out general information about Texas.

I loved how this medallion was clear to point out the building it was mounted on did exist during the time the information described happened. Now back to our meal at Wunsche Brothers. I started with a spicy Bloody Mary that was delicious, and fried pickles for the table. Corrianne and I had Wunche Burgers with wedge cut fries.

Cindy had the Black and Blue Burger, which had blue cheese of course, and Alex had the pulled pork.

Everyone loved their meals and Wunsche Brothers earned a link. Visit there and eat and you will not be disappointed. After lunch, we walked around and Corrianne found this store amusing.

Once we had seen most of the area, we bid Corrianne and Alex farewell. Old Town Spring is a fun place to visit. If you want to see it for yourself, use the link below. We really enjoyed our stay with Corrianne and Alex, but it was time for us to get back on the road and go about three and a half hours north to the McKinney area of Texas to visit with our friends Dan and his wife Chris. We were hoping for an event free drive and were very happy when that happened. We met Dan and Chris at Ford’s Garage, an interesting diner with a Ford automobile theme.

During our dinner, the Kentucky Derby was run and it was on all of the televisions. Our friends Todd and Edie were there, and we looked for them on tv. We did not see them among the crowd of over 150,000 people. Imagine that. Even though we were in north Texas, and the Derby was in Kentucky, everyone in the restaurant was losing their minds during the race. There was a horse named “Mystic Dan,” so we obviously had to root for that horse even though it was a bit of a longshot. The race was close and near the end Mystic Dan was near the front. We started yelling along with everyone else and Mystic Dan actually won. What a great time for not even being at the race. Overall, our food was good, and the environment was fun, so Ford’s Garage slid in under the wire with a link in the usual place. The next day Dan and I got together for a game of golf while Cindy and Chris went shopping.

Dan and I are not capable of having a bad time. This was no exception. The golf was fun, and we had a blast. Dan also had big news. He just got his real estate license and was already closing deals. If you are looking to buy, sell, or lease in the north Texas area, Dan is the guy for you. And if you are looking to move to Texas from another state, that’s Dan’s specialty, since he did it himself. Rumor has it if you use Dan to move into Texas from another state, he knows someone who can do a moving spreadsheet for you. Now that’s exciting and too good to pass up.

We were sad to have to leave the next day. We were even sadder when this popped up on the weather channel.

Our normal route we use to drive from Texas to Missouri is through Oklahoma City to Wichita to Kansas City to St. Joseph. Looking at the map above, that entire area was bright red, meaning really, really bad weather. We were not going to play that game again. Been there, done that and got the tornado t-shirt. We changed our route to the east to drive around the potential storms. It only added 20 or so minutes to our total drive and should have been significantly safer. Not only was the drive much safer, we did not experienced any weather on the entire drive. Plus, the drive itself was very interesting. We will use that route again in the future. We arrived in St. Joseph safe and sound, then hit the market for some dinner for us and our special visitors that night. That’s right, the Webers were coming to town. But that’s a story for the next post. Stay safe and avoid the bad weather until then.

LINKS

Hoof and Horn Steakhouse

Shakespeare Chateau Inn Bed and Breakfast

Buc-ee’s

Uncle’s BBQ

Wunsche Brothers Cafe and Saloon

Old Town Spring

Ford’s Garage – Plano