The Good Life In Kansas City

Finally, Granny And Marlena

It's 7:20 and I have been up for an hour, enjoying a coffee and quiet, reading on my computer, happy not to have to drive anywhere today.  Everyone else is sleeping in on a partly cloudy 48º morning here in Lee's Summit, a suburb of KC.  

Morning In Missouri

Coffee With My Pal, Bella

We left Dallas yesterday just before 8:00, drove to the major highway north, # 75, six lanes of aggressive drivers, stayed with it for 30 miles of Dallas suburbs until we reached some semblance of the Texas countryside.  And before I knew it, we were in Oklahoma, another state of flatlands and a few hills.  

Road Tripping Detours

We deliberately avoided the major highways and took #69 through Oklahoma, a divided highway that went north through a number of small towns, slowing us down, but still better than a big freeway.  We then took #44 to Joplin, MO, and it was then a straight two-hour shot north to Kansas City.  We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, our new go-to snack, stopped a couple of times, once for a Wendy's.  Our GPS predicted we would arrive at my son Tom's at 4:05 but we were a bit later, at 4:30 because of a detour. 

Mary, Tom, And Bella

It was wonderful to see Tom, Mary, and their 18-year-old daughter, Marlena, after 18 months of quarantine. They are all doing well, have their shots, and like us, are starting to slowly get their lives back to normal.  Today is an exciting day for Marlena, her senior prom, or a semblance of one with some care spent for safe distancing at the dance. I forgot to mention that Bella, their dog, was ecstatic to see us, remembering us from years past. 

We sat around catching up on the past year, planning our first get-together this summer at the lake.  Tom had bought five pounds of mussels for appetizers, so I cleaned half of them while he made a wine/garlic and shallots for Moules Mariniere.  We dumped them in the pan with the wine sauce, simmered for three minutes until they were open, and enjoyed them with pita bread.  They were great, making us wonder why we never have them at the lake. 

For dinner we had steelhead trout, a fish we have never eaten and we liked it better than salmon and hope to get it back at Chautauqua if available.  We had rice and a salad to complement our fish, just right after our mussels.  We did not finish until 8:00 and debated what to watch on TV, not wanting a movie, so we settled on The Great English Baking Show, not Tommy's favorite as you can see although the rest of us really liked it.  We watched one episode and we were all ready for bed after a long day on the road.

Enjoying The Great English Baking Show?

  

Going To Kansas City

Thanks To Our Daughter, Beth, A Fun Time

We are up earlier than usual because we are driving eight hours to the Kansas City suburb, Lees Summit, where my son Tom and his family live.  We hope to be off by 8:00 but if not, it's no big deal.  

Yesterday was a strange day because both of us were tired for some reason, not that we have been going wild here in Dallas.  Maybe the three-day drive is catching up with us or we are not sleeping as well. We did, however, get out in the morning and walked part of the Katy Trail, a two-path trail that runs for about for 3.5 miles, from the suburbs into downtown Dallas, following the Missouri/Texas railroad track.  

Katy Trail

It's wooded much of the way and has a path for walkers, joggers,  another for bikers, and inline skaters.  It's landscaped, with benches, entrances, water fountains, and reflective lamps for the night.  After the walk, Beth took us to her favorite furniture store, Room And Board, and we browsed long enough for us to order a small end table. Fortunately, they offered free shipping so we don't have to lug it back to the lake.  We also stopped at Crate And Barrel but by then, we were fed up with shopping and left after ten minutes, happy to be on our way home. 

A Walk In Dallas

At noon, Beth dropped Marisa off at school for a practice Calculus AP.  She was required to be in school for this test by the way.  While she was at school,  we had steak tacos with mushroom for lunch, amazingly tasty with the leftover steak.  We relaxed much of the rest of the afternoon although Evie and I began getting organized for our drive to KC, getting packed, making sure we have everything, and getting the car packed before we went to bed.

A Hungry Baby In A Tree

We decided on another easy dinner, a take-out, from a really good Chinese restaurant.  So we sat around with our wine and appetizers, waiting for Rami to get home from work while Marisa worked out.  I took Kaia out for a walk as she was hanging around and I knew she wanted to get outside.  We picked up our Chinese food around 6:30 and feasted on five different dishes and Szechuan potstickers for some heat.  All were great and we thought we would have lots of leftovers for another dinner but we finished off all the dishes.  We ended the night with our pottery throwing show and a couple of food competition shows.  We also had the car packed by 8:30 last night so all we had to do was get up and drive.  

Retail Wednesday And El Come Tacos

Two Cuties

Another early morning if 7:00 is early.  Beth and Rami were both up when I came downstairs at 6:30 and Rami has a meeting downtown at 8:00 so he's getting ready to leave while the rest of us relax.  Evie just came downstairs to join us and Marisa's up as well.  Mitch went back to Austin yesterday afternoon so there's just the five of us.  

Yesterday morning was typical until 10:00, drinking coffee, figuring out the day, what to do for dinner, and taking Kaia for a walk. Beth has to stay home because she was having workmen fix their outdoor fountain and the base for their grill.  Evie and I decided to take an excursion and Evie has wanted to go to the Container Store so off we went.  It's not my favorite kind of store but she was happy, browsing all the aisles, and ended up buying some plastic bins for storing various condiments in cupboards. We were across the street from the Mall and a new Eataly had just opened, the first one we had visited in New York a few years ago.  It's the brainchild of Lidia Bastianich and her son.  It's both a deli and a restaurant, the deli filled with expensive products from all over Italy, like canned tomatoes, cheeses, sausages, salami, wines, and Proscuitto.  We ended up buying a few slices of focaccia for Mitchell's lunch, then drove home, a fifteen-minute drive, stopping only for gas at one of the few gas stations around.

Deli At Eataly

Lunch was the leftover Manpleasing chicken and rice and everyone was hungry so we sat around the table. enjoying our chicken and our last meal with Mitch who was taking a bus back to school at 2:00. It's a neat way to go back and forth to Austin as they have six buses a day which make the trip.  I was exhausted as always from shopping, browsing stores, so I went up to read and quickly fell asleep.  Evie and Beth relaxed and started watching another episode of The Queen's Gambit.  

Around 3:30, I was bored so I decided to walk up to Highland Park Village, the posh shopping area, clearly the most high-end around, with stores with unfamiliar foreign sounded names like Baretta, Akris, Christian Louboutin, and Ermenegildo Zegna.  I have been here a couple of times, for a walk, and sometimes a coffee at  Royal Blue  Groceries.  I ordered a coffee, found a seat outside and it's fun to people watch, an eclectic group of patrons.  A few high school kids sat around on their computers but many of the rest stood out, with their two to three hundred dollar jeans, leather boots and coats, spa tans, and coiffed hair, the men often carrying multi-pocketed leather purses.  I felt a bit like a country bumpkin from Chautauqua Lake even though I thought I was dressed fine, in my Columbia slacks and cool Ariat plaid shirt. I also noticed pegged pants are in, for the young hipsters and women.  It takes me back to the 1950s when the hoods or rackies wore lowered belt loop slacks and pegged bottoms pants.  I read for a half-hour, then stopped at Bird and picked up some cupcakes and brownies for dessert.  I missed not having Kaia with me but she is not good around other dogs so I left her at home,  

Coffee At Royal Blue

Beth was having work done on the house, so she had to stay home much of the afternoon.  We were excited about dinner because we were going to our favorite taco place, El Come Taco, a small, modest place with real tacos, not a Taco Bell.  We drove there around 6:30,  a twenty-minute drive and we were one of three tables as most were ordering take-out.  

Taco Night At El Come

We ordered guacamole, margaritas, and street corn for appetizers, and everyone ordered two or three tacos for dinner.  They were as good as we hoped and we finished everything, chips, guacamole, corn, tacos, and Margaritas.  We didn't get home until 8:00 and for dessert, Beth cut up the cupcakes so we could try the various flavors,  We then watching our pottery show, the third episode until we were falling asleep, and then went up to bed.  

Walking A Dog, Shopping For Food, And Enjoying It

 It's 7:45 and I have been up with Rami, talking computers, as I get him to help me fix a couple of problems or answer questions, like how to find my phone on iCloud.  Now I know.  And interestingly, Apple has just come out with tags for 29 bucks that you can attach to anything, like your keys so that if lost, you can find it on your phone. I think I might need it.  

Mitch And Granny

Yesterday began like most days, a quiet coffee with Beth and Rami, waiting for Evie, Mitch, and Marisa to get up although Marisa is so organized that she gets up early because she has a virtual class at 8:00.  I then usually take Kaia out for a 20-minute walk and when I return, Evie is up.  It's strange to be in the house with grandchildren but rarely see them during the day because both are in their rooms, either in virtual class or studying.  They usually emerge late afternoon although they do take breaks for lunch.  

We talked about dinner and we decided on ManPleasing chicken, a dish Evie has made which we thought they might like.  So the two of us drove off to our favorite store, Central Market, browsed the aisles, the bakery, the fish and meat counters only to find out they did not have bone-in chicken thighs.  Go figure? We bought a few things then went next store to Krispy Kreme because Evie had read that if you get vaccinated, you get a free donut.  We walked in and the gal behind the counter looked at us and just walked to the donut counter, grabbed two donuts, and did not even ask to see our cards.  I think this must happen quite often.  We then drove off to Trader Joe's, three miles away, and were able to find the chicken and other goodies although we are not quite as excited about Trader Joe's as we used to be.  Perhaps because we have been to one in Buffalo and visited a couple of times this past six months.

Three Generations

We were home by 12:30 and I had the leftover shrimp and rice for lunch then took a nap because I was wiped out from shopping.  Evie and Beth did more organizing but also took it easy.  We decided to go to a nursery and outdoor furniture store about ten minutes away and it was an amazing place, with amazing prices, more large pots and vases than you could imagine, grills, tables topped with stone, anything you could want for your patio plus plants for both inside and outside.  Needless to say, we left with ideas but no plants, no tables or chairs.  

Mitch, Malena, And Kaia

When we returned home, Mitch's girlfriend was over, having a day off from nursing.  We sat around enjoying chips and guacamole as Evie and Beth prepped dinner.  Rami did not get home till 6:30 so Evie and I had time to take Kaia out for a good walk in the neighborhood before dinner.  We had the ManPleasing chicken, with salad, bread, and green beans and spent dinner arguing over the best films or TV sitcoms.  The Office and Seinfeld were the consensus winners and there was little agreement on best films. 

Dinner For Seven

We ended the night with another episode of The Great Pottery Throw Down.  This time each contestant had to make and decorate a basin or sink.  And, of course, one had to go home because his sink bottom fell apart.  It's not only fun but educational.  

Dallas Daze

Morning Sun

It's 7:30 and I am enjoying a coffee with Beth and Rami on a sunny morning here in Highland Park.  It's a pleasant 52º and will get up to the low 60's later in the day, unusual for this time of year. Rami's back from Atlanta and will be in the office today. I just returned from a twenty-minute walk around the neighborhood with Kaia.  I usually take her out three times a day and I enjoy looking at all the interesting homes, each one different from the other.  The neighborhood is always busy with workers, mostly Hispanic, either renovating, building new homes, or gardening.  

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window

Yesterday was a typical first day in Dallas in some ways, in others it was not.  We were not sure what to do but decided to get Evie her Cosco fix and since we were there, I thought I would check out new tires for the Subaru.  So we ended up there at 11:15 and they had a deal (always a deal) on tires so I left my car and Evie had the luxury of shopping in Cosco without me begging her to leave.  Of course, the tires took longer than we thought, so we ended up eating hotdogs and pizza, sitting outside the store, waiting for them to finish up.  At least Evie and Beth got to browse to their heart's content.

We did not get back until after 1:00.  While we were gone,  Marisa was taking classes online and Mitchell had a Zoom call class with his structural engineering class.  I was exhausted from shopping so I went upstairs and took a good hour nap, catching up I suppose on our three days of driving. Evie and Beth spent much of the afternoon Kondoizing Beth's pantry as they like us want to get rid of stuff that they don't need.  Once they were finished, I could hardly lug the trash bag out to the garage. 

Buddies

We were having three two-inch steaks for dinner so Mitchell and I were in charge of grilling them.  It was complicated getting the charcoal going because Rami has an Egg smoker and grill and I had never started charcoal before with an electric wand that starts the charcoal.  Once we figured out how to use it, we opened the vents of the egg and the coals took off.  If you are not careful, the grill can get up to 900º.  We did not want to burn the steaks, so we placed a ceramic disk over half of the grill and cooked the steaks there until almost done, then seared them.  We let them sit, then I sliced all three into half-inch slices and we had a feast, with steak, asparagus,  mushrooms, plantains, and french fries made in Beth's air fryer. We had enough steak leftover for another dinner.  

We weren't done eating until 8:00 and Beth and Evie did up the dishes and then all of us relaxed in the living room and watched the first episode of The Great Pottery Throw Down on Apple TV+.  It's similar to The Great English Baking Show in format.  It was really fun to watch especially since Mitchell used to throw pots back when they lived in Connecticut and was so good at it that he ended up teaching young kids how to throw pots,.  Just before we started, Mitchell's girlfriend, Milena, came over, exhausted from her 12-hour shift as a nurse.  We enjoyed apple pie with ice cream midway through the episode and ended the night when one of the potters was sent home. We all agreed with the decision. Most of us went to bed leaving Mitch and Milena to watch TV.  

With Family At Last!

With Dallas Family. Finally

It's a bit different this morning, waking up in Highland Park, a Dallas suburb, enjoying coffee with Beth as Rami gets ready to fly to Atlanta for business, returning however in time for dinner, Marisa just woke and is getting ready for school via the web,  And Mitch in the Engineering Master's Program at the University of Texas, is still sleeping, here for a couple of days to see us. 

We left Little Rock at 8:00, as expected, and had a busy Sunday drive, the roads filled with truckers all the way to Dallas.  We took our time, stopped once for breakfast and Mickey D's and only when we got to Dallas was it white knuckle driving.  We are just not used to city driving, to six lanes filled with drivers all in a hurry to get somewhere. We made it in five as planned.

Marisa!

Hanging Out With Marisa, Mitch, And Kaia

It was wonderful to finally hug our daughter and grandchildren, for the first time in 17 months. Hallelujah. It's strange how within minutes, it was like we had never been separated.  We sat out by the pool and just enjoyed being together. We caught up on mostly Mitchell and Marisa's lives because we have not communicated with them much because of Covid.  Both are doing well, Marisa excited about matriculating to Vanderbilt in the fall, Mitch having an internship this summer, finishing his Master's in Structural Engineering in June 2022.  And Tyler,  our oldest grandchild, who lives and works in Boston, has decided to pursue his Masters in Engineering at UCLA next fall so there are lots of changes in the Albarran household. 

Mitchell And Rami

a

Mitchell And Milena

Rami and I ran out to the Container Store for an hour while the girls started prepping dinner.  Mitch picked up his girlfriend, Milena at 4:00 and she stayed for dinner.  She just graduated from UT in nursing and is working full time at a hospital in Dallas.  She is really neat.  Beth made her shrimp pasta with a tomato, basil, garlic, lemon, and shallot sauce, a family favorite  Everyone loved the dinner, with salad and a warm baguette.  We sat around talking until we had enough room for apple pie with ice cream.  By 9:00, we were all tired and by 9:30, our room was organized and we were all in bed, tired from the long day.  

Five Hours To Dallas

Having Fun?

It's 6:45 and we are both up, in our room,  drinking coffee, anxious to be on our way to Dallas.  We both want to shower, however, so we won't be off until probably 8:00, a reasonable time, getting us to Beth's home around 2:00.  

Yesterday was another decent day for a drive, mostly clouds but some sunshine when we got near Memphis.  We left Elizabethtown just after 9:00, in no hurry to get to our hotel.  Evie scrounged some breakfast out of the breakfast bar which closed at 9:00.  So we had some scrambled eggs and sausage to go.  Our drive to and through Nashville was uneventful, as traffic was not bad that early.  We were surprised, however, how busy the roads were the rest of the way, filled with trucks going both ways.  We ran into a half-hour delay just outside of Jackson as the road narrowed down to one lane and we had to get off the highway to go around a bridge they were rebuilding. I guess this is the time of the year for working on highways and many of them need it.  

Once we left Tennesee, leaving Memphis and the huge Bass Pro Shop Triangle, and crossed the Mississippi River, we entered Arkansas and were welcomed by vast fields that seemed to run to the horizon, most getting ready for planting.  When we neared towns, the fields gave way to woods in full green on both sides of the road.  Fortunately, we were able to drive around Little Rock to our hotel, avoiding the downtown traffic.Our only stops were for gas or at rest areas and for lunch, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches again, avoiding Mickey D's.  

Cool Lounge At Tru Hilton

Earlier we made a reservation at a new hotel, the Tru Hilton, and were not sure what to expect.  Well, it was super cool, designed for the millennials but they let us stay.  The lobby has a pool table, cool seats, a bar, things that would drive the patrons out of their hotel room to gather downstairs.  We were impressed. And it was cheap compared to the Hampton Inn.

Flowers At Arkansas Rest Stop

We made the mistake or right choice to go to Dave And Buster's for dinner, a ten-minute walk.  I thought it would be like an Applebees. Wrong. There was a line to get and when we arrived and when we left. It's like a mini Las Vegas with 100's of video games for kids. While they played, their parents sit around tables or the bar eating and drinking, shoveling out cash to the kids to go play games.    A guess would put the numbers at close to 300 adults and kids, having a great time.  We continued our healthy eating by ordering a pound of truffle/parmesan fries and Korean sticky ribs and beer.  

Health Food

Needless to say, we quickly pulled out the Tums when we left, hoping for the best. It was strange but neat to be in an integrated restaurant, as at least half the crowd was black, enjoying their food, their kids having a great time, What a difference from dining out at the lake.  We were back at the hotel 7:30 and watched some TV but went to bed early, by 9:30.

Sports Bar, Too