From the time I left my house Friday morning until I returned very late Sunday night, I spent approximately 67 hours in, or traveling to-and-from, Kansas City. The obligatory run down of the weekend’s events.
I landed at 7:30 Friday morning. Having been up since 4:45 Eastern, I drove straight to The Roasterie to grab some coffee and enjoy the easy-going ambiance of Brookside. I followed that up with a few laps of the Plaza.
Thanks to my early arrival, I was able to break my three-year Oklahoma Joe’s drought. Even getting there right at 11, there was a healthy line. But we got our food pretty quickly and Mike A, Chris N, and I enjoyed Kansas City’s finest barbecue and some good conversation. My meal of the day was the Carolina Style with fries, my old standby.
Next, I was off to Lee’s Summit where my hosts, the N’s, live. While they took their kids to the water park I took a nap to get ready for the evening.
That night Mr & Mrs N, Chris N (no relation), and I enjoyed game one of the Royals-Rangers series in Mrs. Ns’ father’s seats. A loss, but a competitive loss and pleasant company. Some fair ballpark barbecue for dinner with a surprise batting helmet sundae from Chris for dessert.
Saturday, after an early breakfast with some former co-workers, I traveled to Leawood to meet Billy and Stacey B at the newest Oklahoma Joe’s location. I really liked the set-up of the Leawood store, as it kept the tradition of the long, in-store line going, but with lots and lots of room to actually eat. This time I went back to my original OK Joe’s favorite, the Z-Man.
Late in the afternoon, John N, Erick R, Steve B, and I returned to the K for game two of the Rangers-Royals series. Steve had obtained some pretty sweet seats from a client, so we were lucky enough to sit in the Crown Seats directly behind home plate. Not only do you get great seats, but you get access to the private club under the stands. We dined on some fine prime rib, had some terrific shrimp, and finished with some delightful desserts. Just the way baseball is supposed to be!
Once the game started, we took advantage of the waitress that served our section and enjoyed the texts from friends who were seeing us on TV at home. You could get spoiled sitting in those seats, but you are so close and low that once the ball is hit in the air, it’s hard to see exactly where it’s going. Free food and beer make up for it, though.
After the game we moved to the Plaza and O’Dowd’s deck. It was busy, as it was a pleasant night, but since it was 8:30 when we arrived, most of the people were our age. We laughed thinking back 15 years when we would have just started thinking about our plans for the evening at 8:30 on a Saturday night. We were extra lame when we headed home at 9:30 or so.
Sunday I meet Lisa and Roger D along with Erick R for brunch at Michael Forbes’ Grille in Brookside. Knowing I was heading back to the K for the third game of the series, I ate a tremendous amount of sausage, bacon, and sausage gravy. Because that’s exactly how you should load up before you’re going to go sit in 90-degree heat for three hours.
This time Billy and Stacey B joined me for the game, and we sat waaaaaay out in the outfield, farther away than I’ve ever sat at the K. But they were still fine seats. All that red meat at brunch and the heat conspired to limit me to one beer for the day. But I did throw down some ice cream and a large Topsy’s cherry limeade.
Between the heat and the long weekend, the last thing I wanted to do was sit through a long game. So the Rangers and Royals conspired to play stupid baseball late and send the game to extra innings. We did not stay for the free baseball. Fortunately I made it back to the N’s house in time to see the Rangers literally throw the game away in the bottom of the 10th. I doubt that would have happened had we stayed.
Mrs. N volunteered to grab some Gates for dinner. Turned out there was a long, post-game line, and they were out of burnt ends, so we cancelled those plans. I figured after all the food I’d had over the previous 60 hours, I should go lite for my final meal. Maybe a sandwich or something healthy like that. Which is exactly what I did.
I may need to slow down for awhile. Over the last two weeks we’ve had M’s birthday, with many, many treats. Next, a weekend with visiting friends that involved lots of eating. A couple’s night out on the town had me shoveling in food last Monday. I’ve had to sample my new beer. And then a weekend in Kansas City. When I stepped on the scale Monday morning, I weighed 10 pounds more than I did 10 days ago. Yikes. I hope it comes off as quickly as it went on.
It was a big weekend in a lot of ways. I got to see many great friends. Eat lots of great food. Drink a few beers. And watch some baseball. It’s been a very busy six or seven weeks. We finally have a weekend coming up with nothing on the calendar, which comes at the perfect time since M. and C. begin school next week.
Thanks to everyone who helped make my weekend in Kansas City terrific.
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