This past weekend, Brandon took a few days off, and we were able to enjoy a long weekend in Kansas City. First order of business upon arrival in KC -- we met up with my parents, and handed over the kids! They also stayed in KC for the weekend (at a separate hotel!), but the kids got to enjoy a weekend with Grandma and Grandpa, while Mom and Dad spent some time exploring without having to worry about nap time or bedtime or early morning wake-ups. This turned out to be a genius idea! We were discussing it, and I'm pretty sure this is the first time we -- and by "we," I, of course, mean "I" -- have been away from Cora for two consecutive nights, and the last time (only time?) we/I left Jonah for more than one night was over two years ago - we spent a long weekend in Memphis looking at a residency program there. And it was definitely the first time in a long time we've spent this much time, just the two of us, without any obligations or appointments or have-to's.
Brandon had broken his toe the previous weekend (his big toe!), and I've reached the waddling stage in this pregnancy, so we kept a nice, slow pace, and just enjoyed each other's company. We rented an apartment through AirBnB (our first AirBnB experience!). It was a cute one-bedroom apartment that was actually the entire third floor of a house in the historic Hyde Park district of Kansas City. We were super close to Midtown, and there were plenty of things to keep us busy. The fall color in Kansas City was wonderful (better than what we have in Wichita) - we got to enjoy this beautiful tree right outside our apartment:
After settling into our apartment, we headed over to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. We wandered around a bit, then headed to dinner at a restaurant recommended by one of Brandon's attendings - Story. It was the type of place where random people show up at your table with tiny plates, saying "The chef created these cheese fritters with peach marmalade for you, please enjoy." We felt a little out of place, but enjoyed a delicious meal together.
Okay...we didn't spend the whole weekend kid-free. Saturday morning, we met up with Grandma, Grandpa and the kids at SEA LIFE Aquarium. It was a little underwhelming, but we had fun, nonetheless. And, while we were waiting to get in, we got to witness a grown man throw a full-blown tantrum because he had to wait about 15 minutes longer to get in, even though he had purchased tickets ahead of time. Good grief!
After lunch, we said good-bye to the kids again, and they headed back to the hotel with Grandma and Grandpa for naps. We had tickets to a matinee showing of Urinetown. We didn't know a ton about the show, other than it had good reviews and had won a couple of Tony Awards. It turned out the theater we went to (Musical Heritage Theatre) doesn't do full-scale productions. Rather, they take musicals and scale them down, utilizing minimal sets, costumes and props in an intimate theater setting. We had a fantastic time! The actor playing the main character, Officer Lockstock, had understudied that role in the original cast, and he was fabulous.
After the musical, we went for an early dinner at Char Bar for some Kansas City BBQ. It was so, so good! Good choice, Brandon :) It turned out to be a good thing we headed to dinner early. It was hopping when we got there, but by the time we left, there were at least 40 people waiting to be seated. (It also worked out well that we left when we did, because we missed the end of the MSU/Nebraska game - eesh!)
On Sunday morning, we squeezed in one last fun outing before meeting back up with the kids and my parents. We went to The Roasterie Cafe - the "City's Best Coffeehouse" five years running - for a warm beverage and a tour. It was interesting to hear about their processes and see how things work. They have a unique process of roasting that uses hot air, which supposedly gives a more even roasting of each bean. They also hand-select many of the farmers they buy from and have cultivated relationships with these farmers over decades. I don't know much about coffee, but it sounds like they are passionate about what they do. And the founder/owner/"Bean Baron" is from Denison, IA :)
After our tour, it was time for lunch with Grandma, Grandpa and the kids. We ate at McCoy's Public House. It was another great meal - good food was the theme of the trip! And it was good to finally get to actually spend some time with my parents, too.
After lunch, we hit the road back to Wichita. What a great weekend!! A HUGE thank you to my parents for making this weekend possible. It was just what we needed, after a very busy start to Year 2 of residency. Things should slow down a bit for Brandon work-wise now.....right before life gets busy again with a new baby :) We had so much fun just enjoying each other's company and doing new, interesting things together. The weather was great. The food was excellent. And the kids had a GREAT weekend, too. They were completely wiped by the end. Cora slept all the way back to Wichita - and both kids were in bed by 6:30 Sunday night! Hopefully Grandma and Grandpa are recovered from their weekend, as well :)
After settling into our apartment, we headed over to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. We wandered around a bit, then headed to dinner at a restaurant recommended by one of Brandon's attendings - Story. It was the type of place where random people show up at your table with tiny plates, saying "The chef created these cheese fritters with peach marmalade for you, please enjoy." We felt a little out of place, but enjoyed a delicious meal together.
Okay...we didn't spend the whole weekend kid-free. Saturday morning, we met up with Grandma, Grandpa and the kids at SEA LIFE Aquarium. It was a little underwhelming, but we had fun, nonetheless. And, while we were waiting to get in, we got to witness a grown man throw a full-blown tantrum because he had to wait about 15 minutes longer to get in, even though he had purchased tickets ahead of time. Good grief!
In a BUBBLE!
Got them to stand still....at the same time....and they're both looking at the camera!!
Checking out the seahorse :)
Some other interesting creatures we saw: Jellyfish, Clown Fish (Nemo!), and a shark!
I'm not sure what that guy is in the lower left....but this was a good example of the whole city's continuing excitement over the Royals World Series victory. We saw many remnants of the celebrations (blue fountains, signs everywhere), and we were repeatedly very thankful that the World Series ended well before we were town.
After the aquarium, we popped across the street to Fritz's Railroad Restaurant. The food was pretty terrible...but the atmosphere made up for it! We ordered our food by phone from our booth, and when our food was ready, a little train delivered it to a platform above our table, which then lowered the food to our table. The kids got a kick out of it. And I think this is the first time Jonah has ever seen/used a corded phone :)
After lunch, we said good-bye to the kids again, and they headed back to the hotel with Grandma and Grandpa for naps. We had tickets to a matinee showing of Urinetown. We didn't know a ton about the show, other than it had good reviews and had won a couple of Tony Awards. It turned out the theater we went to (Musical Heritage Theatre) doesn't do full-scale productions. Rather, they take musicals and scale them down, utilizing minimal sets, costumes and props in an intimate theater setting. We had a fantastic time! The actor playing the main character, Officer Lockstock, had understudied that role in the original cast, and he was fabulous.
After the musical, we went for an early dinner at Char Bar for some Kansas City BBQ. It was so, so good! Good choice, Brandon :) It turned out to be a good thing we headed to dinner early. It was hopping when we got there, but by the time we left, there were at least 40 people waiting to be seated. (It also worked out well that we left when we did, because we missed the end of the MSU/Nebraska game - eesh!)
On Sunday morning, we squeezed in one last fun outing before meeting back up with the kids and my parents. We went to The Roasterie Cafe - the "City's Best Coffeehouse" five years running - for a warm beverage and a tour. It was interesting to hear about their processes and see how things work. They have a unique process of roasting that uses hot air, which supposedly gives a more even roasting of each bean. They also hand-select many of the farmers they buy from and have cultivated relationships with these farmers over decades. I don't know much about coffee, but it sounds like they are passionate about what they do. And the founder/owner/"Bean Baron" is from Denison, IA :)
After our tour, it was time for lunch with Grandma, Grandpa and the kids. We ate at McCoy's Public House. It was another great meal - good food was the theme of the trip! And it was good to finally get to actually spend some time with my parents, too.
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| Standing in front of the oldest building in Kansas City, MO! |
1 comment:
So glad you had such a Wonderful time! Sounded so fun! =)
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