Kansas trip log: Eastern Kansas Edition
Things we've done:
Sunday: T-Bones Baseball! The Sunday night promotion is "Kids get to run the bases after the game," so we figured that this was a winner. We went, saw some baseball, took the kids to the little playground (which was quite busy), and decided to bail after the fifth inning, as my not-quite-three year old was really worn out, and everyone was hungry. Fortunately, we were right close to Arthur Bryant's in KCK, so this was an easy solution. Dinner was great- the ribs were okay, but the ham was fantastic, and both of my boys had some- I dutifully got pictures of the youngest boys in the family eating their first authentic KC BBQ, and we took some pictures out front. Then I got into the car- and the game still had one out remaining! We tore off like crazy people through the parking lot (go go gadget rental car) and managed to talk our way into the ball park so that the boys could both run the bases, which apparently was a hoot and a half for them both. :)
Monday: This was the day for the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead, and it didn't disappoint. Deanna Rose is a public park, but it is so close to a full-fledged amusement park that it is easy to miss that you're getting in without paying any admission. Expenses for Deanna Rose:
That's really about it! The boys slid on every slide on each of the four playgrounds nestled in the facility, got tons of pictures taken feeding goats (with bottles, and by hand) and strangely no pictures taken while pedaling the toy tractors around the tractor race track. We had a full day in that three hours, and maybe only did 2/3 of the park.
That evening was the "birthday celebration" put on my mom. Absent some terrible dining behavior from my dad (NOTE: When someone gives you a slice of cake and two scoops of ice cream, you should probably start eating some of it before reaching for the box of ice cream and serving yourself another five scoops), the evening was a decent success. Both boys were happy with their new toys, the cake was good, etc.
Tuesday: This was today. We started off the day with a visit to a Border's to pick up a little extra reading material for the boys, and then had our drop in with my great-aunt Corinne. Corinne had a stroke a couple of years back, and is having a bit of a hard time getting around these days, but we did manage to see her, and I'm glad we did.
Midday, dad and I picked up some pictures at Target (some for him, some for mom, a couple for Corinne) and had a beer and sandwich at Zarda BBQ, which is still just insanely good and reliable. This has also become a Kansas tradition.
The afternoon was our busy visit to the Louisburg Cider Mill, where I picked up more apple butter, a bunch of cider, and TWO DOZEN cider donuts (they were on the day old rack, and I only paid $3, I'm not *totally* off my rocker here).
Tomorrow... we begin the epic Trek to Hays KS, with our stop in Abilene for the Brookville Hotel, home of the best fried chicken dinner in Kansas. Ideally, dinner @ 5:30, done by 6:30, hit the hotel by 8:30 PM and be rested for the Sternberg Museum on Thursday morning.
Sunday: T-Bones Baseball! The Sunday night promotion is "Kids get to run the bases after the game," so we figured that this was a winner. We went, saw some baseball, took the kids to the little playground (which was quite busy), and decided to bail after the fifth inning, as my not-quite-three year old was really worn out, and everyone was hungry. Fortunately, we were right close to Arthur Bryant's in KCK, so this was an easy solution. Dinner was great- the ribs were okay, but the ham was fantastic, and both of my boys had some- I dutifully got pictures of the youngest boys in the family eating their first authentic KC BBQ, and we took some pictures out front. Then I got into the car- and the game still had one out remaining! We tore off like crazy people through the parking lot (go go gadget rental car) and managed to talk our way into the ball park so that the boys could both run the bases, which apparently was a hoot and a half for them both. :)
Monday: This was the day for the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead, and it didn't disappoint. Deanna Rose is a public park, but it is so close to a full-fledged amusement park that it is easy to miss that you're getting in without paying any admission. Expenses for Deanna Rose:
- $2 two baby bottles to feed to baby goats
- $6 (or so)- four ice cream cones, two for the boys and one each for the adults
That's really about it! The boys slid on every slide on each of the four playgrounds nestled in the facility, got tons of pictures taken feeding goats (with bottles, and by hand) and strangely no pictures taken while pedaling the toy tractors around the tractor race track. We had a full day in that three hours, and maybe only did 2/3 of the park.
That evening was the "birthday celebration" put on my mom. Absent some terrible dining behavior from my dad (NOTE: When someone gives you a slice of cake and two scoops of ice cream, you should probably start eating some of it before reaching for the box of ice cream and serving yourself another five scoops), the evening was a decent success. Both boys were happy with their new toys, the cake was good, etc.
Tuesday: This was today. We started off the day with a visit to a Border's to pick up a little extra reading material for the boys, and then had our drop in with my great-aunt Corinne. Corinne had a stroke a couple of years back, and is having a bit of a hard time getting around these days, but we did manage to see her, and I'm glad we did.
Midday, dad and I picked up some pictures at Target (some for him, some for mom, a couple for Corinne) and had a beer and sandwich at Zarda BBQ, which is still just insanely good and reliable. This has also become a Kansas tradition.
The afternoon was our busy visit to the Louisburg Cider Mill, where I picked up more apple butter, a bunch of cider, and TWO DOZEN cider donuts (they were on the day old rack, and I only paid $3, I'm not *totally* off my rocker here).
Tomorrow... we begin the epic Trek to Hays KS, with our stop in Abilene for the Brookville Hotel, home of the best fried chicken dinner in Kansas. Ideally, dinner @ 5:30, done by 6:30, hit the hotel by 8:30 PM and be rested for the Sternberg Museum on Thursday morning.