June 28, 2014-St. Louis to Junction City, Kansas and our cousins!
Day 2 of GGW Adventure of a Lifetime-
Mileage: 877 miles from Knoxville
Points: Nana was in
the lead again for her many renditions of Kansas City Here I come (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8tZO97uhyE) and for her unique ability to drive 60 in a 75 and be as happy as ever despite the 1000s of cars passing her like
the parting of the Red Sea. I think I saw a man on a bicycle wave as he passed by.
Weird things we saw along the way: Another dead armadillo.
Favorite building of the day: Brad and Lacey's House! Awesome multilevel house off of post in a cute neighborhood with fun neighbors.
Favorite Sayings of the Day: Scarlett grabbed my hand and said, "Cousins!" when she was bragging to her across the street neighbor that she had company.
Christopher's story: The whole family hung out in the driveway/street while the kids rode their various vehicles around (scooters, skateboards, Big Wheels cars). Everything was too small for me to ride though. :(
Joe Nicholas: I liked when we were outside and got to play
with the bikes and scooters and cars with Stella and Scarlet.
Benjamin: Playing with my cousins and the kids across the
street in the night with the mini cars was my favorite part.
Kayden: I enjoyed seeing my little cousins and meeting all
of their animals. I met three chickens, two cats, a dog, and a turtle. I also
loved the fireworks that the neighbors set off for us.
Jennifer's story/Amazing Adventure of Big Doggie, Little Doggie, and Combat Wombat: Captain’s
log- This morning, we got up early and started the chaos with 5 showers/baths and loading back the Mini with a ton and a half of luggage! We headed west towards the great expansion that is Missouri! Starving again, we made a stop at a Hardees and tracked down some random youth on the side of the road selling Krispy Kreme Doughnuts as a breakfast bonus. After another quick stop at Walgreens for more randomness, we were off. Missouri is a whole bunch of nothing but pretty farms, small exits, a few well-placed truck stops. One interesting fact about Missouri, they have liquor and wine in the stores which was very weird to us. At the gas station, you could get ice, gas, snickers bars, and Patron.
After arriving in Kansas City, we stopped at the stadium exit and saw the Chiefs' stadium and the Royals' stadium. Very huge venues!!! We finally made it into Kansas, which was much more rolling hills than I imagined. Mom and I have talked a lot about what it must have been like to be in a wagon heading west. There are so many rivers and the wind is so strong. I don't know how they did it!
There is a toll road between the Missouri line and Topeka. The kids were mildly interested in the pay for your road idea. As we drove along, I accidently missed our rest area stop so we continued onto the toll road where we found a service area with a McDonald's. Mom and I made PB&J picnic for everyone and we ate outside on the McDonald's picnic tables. It is beautiful, but very windy in this part of Kansas. After a few quick photos with the Kansas flag and a patriotic decorated eagle, we were on our way to Uncle Brad's!.
Heading west, we passed Brad's Army base, Fort Riley, and could see helicopters and old cannons which really excited the boys. Three exits down, we finally arrived at Nelson Adventure Park (a.k.a.-Cousins' house)! The kids were so excited to get out of the van and to play with their cousins. Stella is 7 and Scarlett is 2 so they fit right in with our clan. After a tour of the house, the kids started playing instantly. They loved all of the animals: a turtle, 2 cats (James and ?), Allie the dog, and 3 chickens that run around outside. The grown-ups just visited while the kids ran up and down stairs and enjoyed their cousins. Lacey made an amazing Chicken Tetrazzini for dinner and homemade Mississippi Mud for dessert. We were stuffed and happy! Next we took the fun outside. Now for my non-subdivision living kids, this was a real treat. All of the parents pulled up a lawn chair or curb and the kids from all down the street gathered in the road and on the sidewalks with a plethora of riding toys; wagons, skateboards, bikes, scooters, and the coveted battery-operated pink and purple four wheeler. My kids thought this adventure was the best thing that has ever happened to them. They rode every type of wheeled device known to boy. Joe-Nicholas even dragged a cardboard box out into the street which promptly became the favorite hangout for the kids, a gas station for passing vehicles, and a turtle shell for a cute boy I know. This fun continued until too many kids had been run over by the motorized cars and hyperactivity was at its peak. We came inside to wind down from a long day. The littles played with their legos at Lacey's big kitchen table and ate chocolate cake. The big kids scattered to random places and connected to friends and life back home with their phones. At one point, I did see Kayden carrying a chicken around in the house wrapped in a blanket and I saw her rocking a chicken in the outside swing. We may see a flock in our future.
I got the little boys to bed and they were out before we could even work on the blog. The rest of the group headed back outside for a traditional American 4th of July Extravaganza put on by the across the street neighbors. These folks had built and rigged their own fireworks stand complete with wiring. The story of how the young mom ventured by herself to purchase wholesale fireworks from a shady warehouse in an undisclosed location was enough to make anyone wet themselves a little. This subdivision is full of young families that are all part of the Fort Riley family and they are from all over the country. After the fireworks were over, Nana and I uploaded pictures and then headed to bed. What a fun day!
Good Night, Junction City.
After arriving in Kansas City, we stopped at the stadium exit and saw the Chiefs' stadium and the Royals' stadium. Very huge venues!!! We finally made it into Kansas, which was much more rolling hills than I imagined. Mom and I have talked a lot about what it must have been like to be in a wagon heading west. There are so many rivers and the wind is so strong. I don't know how they did it!
There is a toll road between the Missouri line and Topeka. The kids were mildly interested in the pay for your road idea. As we drove along, I accidently missed our rest area stop so we continued onto the toll road where we found a service area with a McDonald's. Mom and I made PB&J picnic for everyone and we ate outside on the McDonald's picnic tables. It is beautiful, but very windy in this part of Kansas. After a few quick photos with the Kansas flag and a patriotic decorated eagle, we were on our way to Uncle Brad's!.
Heading west, we passed Brad's Army base, Fort Riley, and could see helicopters and old cannons which really excited the boys. Three exits down, we finally arrived at Nelson Adventure Park (a.k.a.-Cousins' house)! The kids were so excited to get out of the van and to play with their cousins. Stella is 7 and Scarlett is 2 so they fit right in with our clan. After a tour of the house, the kids started playing instantly. They loved all of the animals: a turtle, 2 cats (James and ?), Allie the dog, and 3 chickens that run around outside. The grown-ups just visited while the kids ran up and down stairs and enjoyed their cousins. Lacey made an amazing Chicken Tetrazzini for dinner and homemade Mississippi Mud for dessert. We were stuffed and happy! Next we took the fun outside. Now for my non-subdivision living kids, this was a real treat. All of the parents pulled up a lawn chair or curb and the kids from all down the street gathered in the road and on the sidewalks with a plethora of riding toys; wagons, skateboards, bikes, scooters, and the coveted battery-operated pink and purple four wheeler. My kids thought this adventure was the best thing that has ever happened to them. They rode every type of wheeled device known to boy. Joe-Nicholas even dragged a cardboard box out into the street which promptly became the favorite hangout for the kids, a gas station for passing vehicles, and a turtle shell for a cute boy I know. This fun continued until too many kids had been run over by the motorized cars and hyperactivity was at its peak. We came inside to wind down from a long day. The littles played with their legos at Lacey's big kitchen table and ate chocolate cake. The big kids scattered to random places and connected to friends and life back home with their phones. At one point, I did see Kayden carrying a chicken around in the house wrapped in a blanket and I saw her rocking a chicken in the outside swing. We may see a flock in our future.
I got the little boys to bed and they were out before we could even work on the blog. The rest of the group headed back outside for a traditional American 4th of July Extravaganza put on by the across the street neighbors. These folks had built and rigged their own fireworks stand complete with wiring. The story of how the young mom ventured by herself to purchase wholesale fireworks from a shady warehouse in an undisclosed location was enough to make anyone wet themselves a little. This subdivision is full of young families that are all part of the Fort Riley family and they are from all over the country. After the fireworks were over, Nana and I uploaded pictures and then headed to bed. What a fun day!
Good Night, Junction City.
So much fun!! Come back soon!!!!
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