A Few Eventful Days

It has been a very eventful few days. We left Topeka to move over to Kansas City, just a short hop. That part is nice. I like short days on the road. As soon as we got into KC we contacted some of our friends and relatives of Erma. One of our friends from Mission was close to where we were parked and came by out site. That was a big surprise. We even got to meet a couple of her grand children. They seemed to be nice kids. Late both friends, Donna and Arlie, were available to go out to supper with us, so we met them at The Olive Garden. I had said something to Erma about a day before that we would have to go to an Olive Garden somewhere soon. We had a great time with them during supper. We invited them to the Vectra to spend and evening play the game of Wizard. If you don't know what it is let it be said that it is a simple card game that seems to appeal to anybody that learns to play it. Again we had a enjoyable evening.


HAVING SUPPER AT OLIVE GARDEN

In between dinner time and supper time we were able to see one of Erma's Uncle and one of her cousin. Due to several circumstances our time in KC had to be limited so we spent just a couple hours visiting and then had to move on to the next meeting. You would think that being retired would allow us to spend more time in one place, and sometimes that is true, but not at this time.

The next day we met with another couple, Ricardo and JoAnn from Mission. It really is strange to see people that we know from Mission here in Kansas City, but it is also nice to meet them in their summer home. Our summer home is a whole lot like our winter home. It is only the yard outside that changes. While we were there we were treated to a organ recital by JoAnn. I would have to say that it was too short but it was sweet while it lasted. We shared dinner with them at a Chinese restaurant that was good. They really had a deal. During certain hours seniors eat for 1/2 price. You cannot beat a deal like that. Especially when the food is good.


A SPECIAL ORGAN CONCERT

There was one thing that we had to do before leaving KC and I guarantee you that the job that should have taken an hour or two at most took eight hours plus overnight. Too many details to describe but let it be known that it was almost noon before we got back on the road.

I had wanted to stop in St. Joseph to see the Tiffany stained glass windows in the Presbyterian church. As some of you know I am a great fan of Tiffany windows. I discovered them in the Presbyterian church in Topeka a couple years ago and basically fell in love with them. When we were in Topeka we revisited the windows and learned about others in two places west of the Mississippi. There are some web sites that say Topeka is the only place they exist west of the Mississippi. The ones in St Joseph are from early in Tiffany's career and the ones in St Joseph are from late in his career. There are some windows in Dubuque, Iowa that show a transition of his style. Some day I will see them also.

The other thing I wanted to do in St Joseph was to go to the Pony Express Museum. It is the eastern terminus of the Pony Express route. I was in Sacramento last summer where the western terminus was located. Now someday I have to stop at a few of the way stations. But that can wait.

We made better time on the road out of KC than I would have guessed. So we decided that we would stop in St. Joseph in spite of the fact that we had decided that we would not have time. We saw the windows, beautiful, but the ones in Topeka are even better. The Pony Express Museum was everything that I hoped for and even more. It is a very educational place and worthwhile for anybody to visit.


A LIFE SIZED REPLICA OF THE FIRST PONY EXPRESS RIDE

After we left there we were hungry and saw a Ground Round restaurant. We have not seen one of those for years out in Denver, Colorado. We enjoyed them a lot out there. They are still good in St. Joseph. From there we drove to Troy, Kansas to see some more relatives of Erma. As we go from here tomorrow we should not have any more relatives to see. The worst part of seeing relatives is not being able to see them enough when we just "pop" in for a quick visit. One thing though was good. There was an Indian carver by the name of Peter Toth that carved a tree in every one of the states into the shape of an American Indian. I have seen one of them in Colorado I think. I knew there was one near Troy but I did not know where it was exactly. It is right by the courthouse entrance. I really should seek out the statues and photograph them all, or at least the forty-eight.


A PETER TOTH STATUE IN TROY KANSAS

Tomorrow, Friday, May 29, we have to get on the road early and will head on up to Sioux Falls and get the necessary business done there.

Till Later This is Uncle Duck