We’ve reached the midway point in academic summer, an occasional always highlighted by our family’s July 4th celebrations.
This year’s was a little lower key than recent ones. We had no out-of-town visitors this time, so fewer cousins, aunts, and uncles running around. It was as hot as it’s been any recent year, so it was probably good we had at least 10 fewer people in the pool this year compared to the last three.
Our family gathering was on Sunday this year. This was a big moment for me as it was my first time really using my new Traeger smoker/grill. I’ve used it a lot for pretty standard grilling, but this was my first true smoke. In fact, it was my first real smoke in at least a decade, back to whenever I got fed up with the idiosyncrasies of my old electric smoker.
For the holiday I first smoked an 8+ pound pork butt. I read a bunch of different recipes to prepare mentally. Consensus was it would take me 10–12 hours to smoke the pork, and I also wanted to do some chicken after then wrap up with grilling some hot dogs. So my plan was to get up at 5:00 AM to start the process.
In all that planning I forgot one thing: to set my alarm. Fortunately I awoke with a start right around 1:00 AM Sunday and realized I never turned the alarm on. You know how that goes, though. Even after setting my alarm I was waking up every hour or so to check the time just in case. That alarm went off as planned but I was a little wiped when I came down to take my fully-rubbed slab of pork out of the fridge.
After sitting on the counter to warm, it went into the smoker at 6:00 with the temperature set to 225. The smoker temp held pretty steady all day, although once the sun really got hot it ran about five degrees warmer than set. I spritzed the pork with apple juice every hour until it hit 160°, right around 12:30. Then I took it off, triple-wrapped it in foil, and put it back on.
If you’ve smoked you know the time between 145–165° is the longest time of the cook, as the moistures begin pulling from the center and fights the cooking process. That was the case Sunday. It seemingly took forever to get over the 165° hump, and I was sweating whether it would be ready in time for a bunch of hungry people. Fortunately once it got to 170° it took off like a rocket and I removed it at 4:00 when the pork hit 202° and threw it into a cooler to rest for an hour.
I smoked some chicken breasts next. Bone-in would have been best, but we had a freezer full of Costco boneless breasts that I decided to use. I always brine chicken that I plan on grilling to keep it moist. I just forgot about that step in all the other activities of the day, so the chicken came out a little dry. It also didn’t help that I kept the heat very low and then cranked it at the end when the chicken didn’t seem to be progressing. But it’s good with some sauce and we’ll have quesadillas and/or barbecue chicken pizza with it this week.
I turned the Traeger off at 5:45, so 11:45 of total cook time.
All-in-all a pretty successful first experience. I got lots of compliments on the food. The rest of the family added some tasty stuff to the spread and it was a fine family holiday meal.
I did have to take two naps during the day. One 20-minute nap after the meat went on at 6:00, and another 30–40 minute one around 11:00 because I felt like a zombie after the tossing-and-turning from the night before. The second one, and a Cherry Coke Zero, seemed to do the trick.
The rest of the day was solid. As I said, it was hot. We drained and replaced some water in the pool to try to cool it and that dropped the temp a whole degree. But the kids didn’t seem to complain. We had the five local nephews here and they had fun splashing.
Everyone was winding down in their own way well before our planned 10:00 fireworks, so we did them a little early despite it not being dark. We bought our standard, $35 at Target package of fireworks. That was good enough for the kids. Waiting for the year when one of the boys asks why they aren’t bigger and we explain how Aunt S is a pediatrician and hates fireworks and if they want bigger ones they need to ask their parents to take them someone else.
We had planned on having some friends over on the Fourth for another hangout, but Covid hit their house so that fell apart. We sandwiched our Sunday celebration by cleaning out the garage and power washing the driveway on Saturday (L helped power wash) and then cleaned out the pool house and added some new shelving to it on Sunday. There was a trip to Lowes in there. Exciting stuff!
Now it’s suddenly July 5 and I’m already thinking about making sure we order any new school clothes early enough for them to arrive by August 10 and 11 when the girls go back to class.
Rachel Handler looks into the mysterious shortage of bucatini. It is hilarious and fascinating.
I have to admit, I don’t think I had ever had bucatini before I read this. Magically I found some this week and made the Bucatini all’Amatriciana recipe Handler includes in her piece. It was fantastic, and got thumbs up from the entire family. Bucatini is now in our high rotation! Assuming we can keep finding it, of course.
Sometimes it takes visitors to shake you out of your routine.
Our good friends the Nesbitts – who many of you know – were in town over the weekend and we hit a few spots we either don’t hit enough or had never checked out before.
They drove in Friday, so we met them at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, thinking their kids would enjoy touring the museum and then taking the bus ride around the track.1 One problem with that: there was a race going on so the bus tours were closed. That was kind of a bummer. Two of our girls had done the museum before but none of us had done the track lap, so we were all looking forward to that. Still it was cool to see those Ferraris racing on the road course. We could walk right down to the barricades and were maybe 100 feet away from them as they raced by. And even if you’re not a race fan – which I don’t think any of us are – it is really cool to see all the old race-winning cars that are in the museum. The kids all got to take a picture in a car and a couple of them drive a simulator that looked fun.
With friends from Kansas City in town it seemed necessary to share some of our inferior but still tasty local barbecue with them. Our go-to spot is less than a mile away and does a decent job. But we decided to shake it up and go to a place we had heard good things about down in the Broad Ripple area. It is a dual-concept space, with a German restaurant in front, a large, open beerhall-style space outside, and then they serve barbecue in the middle. The food was all ok, not great. They did have burnt ends on the menu, although under the appetizer section, and I felt obligated to try them. They were the best thing I had as my brisket sandwich was a little too fatty for my tastes and the sides were kind of meh.
We parents were laughing at how it took awhile for the kids to begin interacting. It’s been two years since they’ve seen each other, and although they remember each other and hear stories about each other from us, they didn’t immediately settle into a comfortable space until well after dinner. There was a lot of awkward silence at their end of the table at dinner. As the adults were finishing dinner a few of them went outside and played corn hole, which apparently began to break the ice. They all got in the pool when we got home and it took a good 15-20 minutes before they got truly comfortable together. Something did the trick, though, and they were finally talking, laughing, and running inside to watch Minecraft videos together. The rest of the weekend they did fine, and seemed disappointed when it was time to separate Sunday.
Saturday we went down to the Mass Ave area to show them one of the coolest parts of Indy. There have been a lot of changes in this district in the past couple years so this was just as fun for us. We went into several of the quirky shops and were laughing at all the funny magnets, cards, shirts, etc. Our girls especially loved picking up something that had an F-bomb or other naughty word on it, showing it to us, and then laughing when we laughed. We stopped at a really good taco place for lunch that we hadn’t heard of until that morning. As we were paying our bill we asked our server how long they had been open. He said they just passed one year. We really need to get out more.
In the afternoon and evening our friends the Heberts joined us for a pool party and cookout.
My fellow lovers of music, or just anyone who knows me and Mr. Nesbitt, would enjoy how we delighted at hearing old American Top 40s or Sirius Big 80’s countdowns throughout the weekend. There was much eye-rolling from the wives and kids, which I do not understand.
It was a busy and fast weekend, filled with good conversations and times. It was great to have long-time friends visit, even if I had just visited them two weeks earlier!
Going back to last week, Thursday all three girls had a friend over to swim and then we went to the festival at our old preschool’s church. We really enjoyed the festival this year because A) we went on wristband night when $20 bought the kids unlimited rides and we didn’t have to worry about tickets and B) we turned them loose and sat under a tent drinking a beer until some adult friends arrived. No more hand-holding while either L rides the kiddie rides, or the one girl who doesn’t have a friend there requires assistance. It was pretty nice!
Now shit starts getting real. Every girl will be in practice this week. M begins her orientation cycle on Wednesday. I know the shorter summers are better for retention of knowledge, test scores, and how are kids are prepared for their next academic steps. But these earlier starts still don’t feel right to me.
Side note: my kickball supplier is out that way so I was able to stop in before and stock up on kickballs for the new season! ↩
A belated and brief wrap up of my weekend in Kansas City.
Thanks to Southwest’s always morphing flight schedule, I believe for the first time ever on one of these trips I flew over late in the afternoon, landing at 4:00. That certainly shortened the weekend up a bit. But, to be honest, often when I came over in the morning, after meeting people for lunch weariness would set in and I would seriously contemplate going to a library or bookstore and taking a quick nap. No need for that when you get in late in the day!
Friday evening I dined with friends at Char Bar. I had been there once before and it was another very solid meal. From there we went to the Westport Ale House for some drinks. We rolled in around 8:30 and thought it odd there were only a few other folks there. Turns out the kids don’t go out until later, because the joint started hopping right around 10-10:30. Which was about the time we were leaving. I noticed that there seemed to be more diversity in the bar than everywhere I went combined 20 years ago. Good to see Kansas City is changing.
Saturday I met some folks for lunch at Planet Sub. That seemed appropriate since we are about a month away from the 30th anniversary of my first visit to Yello Sub in Lawrence. To celebrate, I got the sandwich I’ve been ordering for three decades: Planet (Yello) Sub, no dijon. The best, Jerry, the best.
It was then off to Lee’s Summit to hang with friends before the Royals game. On our way to the K, we stopped and had Gates for dinner. Can’t go wrong, although I missed the more in-your-face Gates experience you get further into the city.
The Royals game was hot – HOT – for about the first 20 minutes until the shadows hit our seats. After we were able to cool off, it was a solid game. The Royals played well and wrapped up their win in a brisk 2.5 hours.
We were left needing something to fill the extra hour we planned on being at the K, so headed to a bar in my old stomping grounds of Raytown called The Dirty Bird. It was a surprisingly solid establishment. There certainly weren’t any bars like this in the RYT back in my day there.
Sunday I met friends for brunch at Port Fonda, a place that is new to me but has apparently been in Westport several years. It was tremendous, would definitely eat there again.
Then it was back to Indy.
I also got in my obligatory walk around the Plaza, drove by a couple of my old apartments, and did some other brief exploring. I got the girls some gear, although when I was moving some items around at KCI to make more room, I apparently misplaced the shirt I bought M. It was not in my bag when I got home. Fortunately she’s out of town for a week so I ordered a new one that should be here before she returns.
Several people asked how KC feels to me now. I recently realized that being gone 16 years is a long ass time.1 So when I go back, I’m not always sure what is new and what’s been there for five years but I haven’t stamped into my memory yet. While I don’t always remember the best way to get from point A to point B, there are also lots of little shortcuts that I can recall the moment I get to an intersection. The city is still in my DNA, but those traces get a little fainter each year.
It was great seeing all of you who made time to meet me one place or another. The food, baseball, and other things are all great. But spending time with my friends is always the best part about these trips.
I’ve now lived a third of my life in Indianapolis. No, I’m still not a Hoosier. ↩
After C and L wrapped up their school year last Tuesday, we set early alarms and headed off to the airport at 5:30 Wednesday morning to get our flight to San Diego. It was the girls’ first trip to California, and the first visit to San Diego for S and I. Other than normal teenage sister bullshit and a few too many clouds, it was a good trip.
Thanks to that early flight – we had an hour layover in Las Vegas – we landed in California around 11:00 AM. After getting our bags and picking up our car, we had the whole day in front of us.
Our first stop was La Jolla and a walk along the beach. This was the grayest, chilliest morning of our visit. San Diego is in the midst of its “June Gloom” phase, when the marine layer rolls in and blocks the sun most of the day. Yet the beach was pretty busy. M did stick her feet into the water so she could say she’s been in the Pacific, but it was not a hang out at the beach kind of day for us Midwesterners. We strolled through some shops near the beach and had our first round of tacos.
Then it was off to our hotel. We were staying at the Hilton that was set against the southern half of Torrey Pines golf course. We were so close you could hear what people on the course were saying from the pool. I spent a lot of time watching golfers come up the 18th fairway, of which we had a clear view of the from our entire hotel. I even snagged a handful of Pro V1’s that had been hit onto hotel property. One day I walked up to the clubhouse and golf shop. Part of our Hilton visit included a 15% coupon that was good for items in the golf shop. Two problems: most of the Torrey Pines gear is ugly and the coupon did not cover anything that was US Open related. Even though TP isn’t hosting the Open for two more years, I’m guessing 75% of the items in the store had the Open logo on it. Even if the coupon was good, I would feel a little silly walking around with a shirt or hat that said “US Open 2021” on it.
After freshening up we went back to La Jolla and stopped by both the gliderport, where hang gliders jump off of cliffs to sail the air currents, and another beach and see the seals that have taken over.
Between the very early alarm and the time change, we kept things chill in the evening. I think we were all in bed and asleep by 7:30 PDT. And, amazingly, we all slept until around 6:30 the next morning.
Day two we got serious. We went to Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo. Both lived up to the hype. I did make an observation in the zoo, though. For people our age, the San Diego Zoo was the greatest zoo in the world. Mostly because we saw Joan Embery on the Tonight Show. It was also light years ahead of other zoos in how it presented its animals. I realized that while the San Diego Zoo is still awesome, zoos in other cities have all followed its lead. The Indianapolis Zoo is much smaller and constrained by climate conditions, but it really looks like a mini-SD Zoo. 30–40 years ago, I think most mid or small city zoos were primarily steel and concrete pens with little to make you think you were seeing the animals in their native state. You can debate whether zoos are ethical enterprises or not, but the San Diego Zoo’s influence has clearly been a good thing for animals in zoos everywhere.
After the zoo we took the girls for another first: lunch at In N Out Burger. I believe it had been 15 years since my last In N Out visit. Oh man was it good! And the girls all loved it. They all said it was their favorite burger ever. That night it was back to La Jolla – our hotel was just 10–15 minutes from much of the cool stuff in LJ – for sushi for dinner. You would think getting sushi in California would be magical. I have to say, though, that only one thing we got was t better than the couple sushi places we frequent here.
Friday we drove up to Torrey Pines State Park, which was just beyond the golf course, for a few hours of hiking. We started with an easy loop trail and then tried the more challenging beach trail that included a 350 foot drop. It was another gray, cool morning but we worked up quite the sweat on the beach trail and then climbing back to our parking spot. Looking down at the Pacific from the cliffs of Torrey Pines was an amazing view and made it worth it.
For lunch we went, shocker, back to La Jolla to a little spot called Girard Gourmet. It is a Belgian-style eatery that has a huge, wonderful menu of deli items. I had the single best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had; simply eggs, turkey, cheese, and avocado on a croissant. We walked in when they were prepping a big order for carry out and although they got our food together fairly quickly, they couldn’t get us our bill until we were done eating. When the lady apologized for the wait when I went to pay, I told her that it was totally worth it. Another older woman behind the counter, who we guessed was the owner, turned her head and said, “That’s nice to hear, thank you!” Made my day.
We strolled around LJ for a bit and when we walked by the restaurant later there was a line at least 10 people deep to order. This is a key part of our trip: we tended to be early and just barely avoid crowds. It seemed like everywhere we went we’d be among the first to arrive and soon after there would be a huge line. One exception to that in a moment…
Friday evening we drove a few miles inland to have dinner at S’s cousin’s home. He and his wife are 10–12 years younger than us and have three kids under five. When we asked for advice for places to go over the weekend, they sheepishly admitted that they don’t get out much. Ahhh, traveling with moody teen girls is a pain in the ass but at least we can get out of the house!
Saturday we went into the city to explore Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter. We had brunch at a wonderful place called the Farmer’s Table in Little Italy and then strolled through the farmer’s market. The sun was finally out so the girls were discovering why San Diego weather is so great. We also went into the Padres’ team store where L got a hat and I got a pretty dope Swingin’ Friar Ale shirt. On our way back north we drove by the USS Midway – lines were long and we figured the girls wouldn’t be into it so we did not stop – and then through the Liberty Station district.
Back to the hotel for some chill time before we made a second trip to Balboa Park. We were in search of the Japanese Gardens, however they appeared to be roped off for a wedding. We wondered how much that cost. Then back to Petco Park for the Padres-Nationals game. We had seats in the second deck in left field which were pretty solid. Petco is a really nice stadium and feels perfectly San Diego. The turf looked more like a putting green than a big league outfield. It was a typically modest crowd and the game was not that memorable. L wore her Alex Gordon jersey. I had a couple Swingin’ Friar Ales, which I really enjoyed. Sadly this was only my ninth Major League stadium.
Sunday we drove down to Coronado Island and spent most of the day there. This was an important stop for me. My mom and stepdad stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado on their honeymoon in 1985 and he always told me I needed to go there some day. We did walk around the grounds, but when we saw how much it would cost to take our family there – roughly $1200 a night! – we decided for now a tour would have to do. The girls were being extra shitty during this part of the trip so, unfortunately, my mood was a little clouded during our time on the island as well. We rented a golf cart and puttered around a little bit. We realized after the fact that I had twice driven where I was not supposed to be. And in an area that was totally golf cart friendly a woman almost ran a stop sign and hit us. That would have been a bummer.
Sunday was the warmest day of our visit. As S’s cousin told us, even on days when the air temperature is only in the 70s, the sun is very hot because SD is so far south. Sunday was one of those days. Walk through the shade and it is the absolute perfect temperature. Get in the sun for a few minutes and you start roasting. The plan was to take the girls back to the hotel so they could swim. They had enjoyed the pool on cloudy days when it was deserted. For some reason they all decided that they were too tired to swim Sunday. So S and I sat near it and read for awhile.
For dinner we tried to go to a place S had found called The Taco Stand in La Jolla. We knew that it can get very busy and there are often long lines, but Google said Sunday evenings were the best time to go. When we arrived there was a line maybe 20 people deep but we figured, “How long can it take to make tacos?” After about 15 minutes in line and having only moved up a few feet, we decided tacos take longer than we could deal with. So we quickly found the nearest In N Out and made our second stop of the trip. Seriously, how could I forget how good In N Out is? I told the girls back when I traveled for work, I remember once driving 90 minutes round trip just to get In N Out. Back at the hotel, as the marine layer drifted back in, M and I tried to get some sunset pics as the last few groups of the day finished up on the 18th hole in front of us. Unfortunately the photo opps were not great due to the clouds.
Monday we packed up and headed to the North Park area, which was funky and cool and fun. We perused a few shops, I took some pictures, and we cruised into the North Park Taco Stand location just after opening and had zero wait to get our tacos and burritos. A perfect end to a very good trip. We all understood why the lines are so long; these were good fucking tacos!
And that’s it. In all my trips to California, I had never been south of LA. I certainly had a mental image of San Diego but I really enjoyed finally getting to see the city for myself. It is hillier than I thought. In fact, it feels more Bay Area than SoCal to me because of the hills and the June Gloom. I imagine the ten months of the year that aren’t dominated by the marine layer might give me a different impression. But with my year of NoCal living, I connected quickly with the feeling of San Diego in June. As much as I love San Francisco, San Diego doesn’t feel as crowded, is certainly cleaner, and the weather is definitely better. Although we’re trying to branch out and go to new places when we are able to travel, I would love to give San Diego another visit at some point.
Some other things I forgot to jam in above:
* Man are the Las Vegas and San Diego airports cramped messes! It really makes me appreciate how new and spacious the Indy airport is. Tax money well spent!
* I got my first driver’s license in California. I used to travel to Cali for work about once a month. I know California traffic. So I was shocked at how little traffic there was in San Diego. We only ran into one slow down, and that was just a few miles on our drive to S’s cousin’s home, which came right at 5:00. We sailed from Torrey Pines to anywhere we wanted to go on the freeways. Traffic in La Jolla was often congested, but that was city traffic with intersections and lights. I was expected LA-style slowdowns on the freeways every time we used them.
* My one big disappointment from the trip was not being able to see the Marine jets that roared over our hotel. Every 15–20 minutes they would come shrieking right above our heads from the Miramar base just a few miles away. But the marine layer was so thick that even though the jets were still very low, we couldn’t see them. Saturday and Sunday, when it cleared, there were no jets flying. Apparently being a Marine pilot is a Monday-through-Friday gig. Sunday on Coronado we heard some jets taking off from the Navy base there, but were too far away to see them.
* I laughed at one point when I realized that when I think of Southern California, my mental image is still based on late 1970s pop culture. CHiPs, Charlie’s Angels, Three’s Company, etc. That was over 40 years ago and things have changed massively, but I still had that vibe in my head the entire time.
* After every trip there’s a part of me that wants to go Cliff Clavin after his visit to Florida. Become an annoying expert on all things about my destination, adopt all their sports teams, act like I am from there, etc. There are worse places to adopt than San Diego.
Another great weekend in Kansas City. Then again, aren’t all weekends in Kansas City great? At least when you’re visiting there. This trip was made more fun by it being the first full-family trip to KC in over three years. For my readers who weren’t involved in the weekend festivities, here’s a little run-down of what we did.
We drove over Friday. Had great weather and easy traffic the whole way. We marveled at how quiet our girls were when everyone has their own screen in front of them. The girls were basically silent for the first half of the trip, until we stopped in St. Louis for lunch. Then they remained quiet until we reached Concordia. Then they started getting a little antsy and ready to get out of the car.
We cruised into our hotel on the Plaza, relaxed for a bit, then headed straight to the original Joe’s barbecue location.[1] The girls had Joe’s three years ago, and were excited to have it again. But this was their first trip to the 47th and Mission gas station location. Luckily, since we rolled in at about 4:45 local time, there was a minimal line and we were able to snag a table big enough for us all to sit comfortably. Both S and M had pulled pork sandwiches, but C and L decided to split a half slab of ribs! Which actually meant they split half of a half slab and I knocked out the rest after finishing off my Z-Man. All-in-all, it was a fine meal enjoyed by all.
We walked around on the Plaza a little after, the girls got some dessert, and we made a stop at Rally House so the girls could get some gear for the Royals game Sunday. L really wanted a jersey. I was pushing a shirsey, pointing out if she got a t-shirt she’d likely get something else over the weekend. Nope, she wanted a real jersey. Then we had to pick a player. The kid options in light blue were Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, and Alex Gordon. She was leaning toward Hosmer until I told her he wouldn’t be a Royal after this season. She debated between Salvy and Alex before picking Alex. I didn’t have the heart to tell her he’s having a terrible year. She loved the jersey and that’s all that really mattered. Then we headed back to the hotel so they could swim for a bit.
Saturday the girls wanted to go to the Nelson Atkins museum. Kind of an odd request, no? Well C and L follow some YouTube family that lives near KC and had visited the glass maze at some point. The girls just made the connection a couple weeks ago, when I was explaining the shuttlecock statues to them, and suddenly they wanted to go to the museum. They thought the maze was pretty cool, didn’t really get the shuttlecocks,[2] and weren’t nearly as impressed by the Asian temple exhibit inside as I was when I was their age and visited on school field trips. Oh well, I was just excited they wanted to go to an art museum. And I think it’s awesome the Nelson is still free. It would be about $50 for me to take them to our local art museum if we don’t go during the four hour free entry window each Thursday.
After the Nelson we met an aunt, uncle, and cousin for lunch at Ponak’s on the Boulevard. We drove them by the Roasterie and Boulevard plants on the way. They thought the plane outside the Roasterie was pretty cool, but didn’t seem as interested in the location where a significant percentage of the beer I drink comes from. They loved Ponak’s, though! “THAT WAS SOOOOO GOOD!” Back in the day I would have put Ponak’s 4th or 5th on my list of favorite spots on the Boulevard. When I told them that, it just confused them.
After that, off to our first big group gathering at our friends the B’s, who moved out to Lake Quivira six months ago. Good times in and around the water well into the evening.
Sunday, we had brunch with a couple of S’s friends from residency and their families. More good food and catching up.
From there it was out to the K for the girls first Major League Baseball game with a group of 20 or so. Thank goodness we picked seats just under the overhang, because we got stuck in a two hour rain delay and only got a little water blown our way. That delay challenged all the kids that were there, especially since they kept the tarp on a good 30 minutes after the rain stopped. But today L told me she liked the delay, because we got to walk around and do some other things during, and it made our stay at the K last longer. But the game kind of sucked. 8–0 losses are tough to sit through regardless of your age and the weather. The girls had fun, though, and no doubt will be telling all their friends here about going to an MLB game.
On our way back to the hotel I stopped and got Planet Sub for dinner. Which meant I had to bore the girls with the story of how I had Yello Sub for the first time in August 1989, ordered a Yello Sub with no Dijon, and other than a brief stretch in the early 00s when I dined there frequently and varied what I ordered, the Yello/Planet sub minus Dijon has been my go-to meal there for nearly 30 years now. Hey, just because they don’t enjoy hearing the story doesn’t mean I’m going to stop telling it! A little more swimming topped off the night.
Our drive home Monday was uneventful. Thankfully all the big slowdowns on I–70 were westbound and we made it home before the evening rush hit in Indy.
As always, it was too quick of a trip. It was great seeing so many people, but the conversations never feel as deep or long as they would be if we didn’t have 150 kids running around and yelling the entire time. The girls had a really good time. M seemed to pick right up with the her two seventh-grade-to-be friends she hadn’t seen in several years. Some of the younger friends followed C around and thought she was the coolest. And L slid right in with the older boys, playing basketball with them[3] and sitting with them at the game Sunday.
For those of you we got to see, thanks for making time to hang out with us. I wish our conversations could have been longer and with fewer interruptions. For those we missed, hopefully it won’t be too long before we make a return visit and we can try again then.
Once, summer trips to Kansas City were the norm for me. Just about every summer I would sneak away for a weekend that, famously, included the four B’s: baseball, Boulevard beer, barbecue, and buddies.[1] But as the girls got a little older, it became more difficult to get away. Buying a lake house where we spent most of our summer weekends added another layer of difficulty to making that trip during school vacation. It had been four years since I made a summer trip to KC that revolved around baseball!
Luckily I broke that streak this past weekend.
Despite the long slump, this trip had a familiar rhythm to it. Fly in Friday on the early, direct flight. Pick up a car and start driving around. Go to the Plaza. Drive by some of my other favorite spots and see what’s changed, what’s the same. I usually snap some pics while doing my wanderings, but this is the first time I’ve come back since I started taking photography semi-seriously. I added in a trip to the Liberty Memorial this time around where I got a few decent shots. It was a weird day for pics: overcast days are often good for pics because you don’t get blinded by the summer sun, but the clouds Friday morning were really thick and I struggled to get good color in many of my shots. Oh well.
Obligatory downtown KC pic
I made a stop at the Boulevard Brewery. Stupidly I didn’t think to reserve a time for a tour a few weeks back before they filled up. I’ve heard you can often slip into already booked groups if you just show up, but I went about 40 minutes before my lunch plans kicked in, so didn’t have time for that. I just bought a sweet shirt instead.
Lunch at Charbar, one of the new barbecue places in town. It was really good. While meeting the folks I was eating with, I randomly ran into another good friend I hadn’t seen in years. In the first few years after I moved to Indy, when I would go back to KC I would always be looking around, expecting to run into someone I used to work with, lived near, or hung out with. This is probably the first time that’s ever happened!
Friday night was Royals game #1, a fellas’ night out. We had good seats, the Royals had a lead going into the 4th, and life was good. Then Minnesota tied it and heavy rains moved in. We hustled to our car and departed for the Peanut, as the radar showed storms stacked up halfway across Kansas. That was a wise move, as play didn’t begin again until nearly midnight. And then they had to play into the 11th inning before the Royals got their sixth-straight victory.
Saturday I met my uncle at Oklahoma Joe’s[2]. I was at Joe’s a couple years ago, when we brought the girls back. But this was my first Z-man sandwich in probably 5–6 years. It was delicious.
An obligatory trip to the Kansas Sampler for buying the girls some KU gear and myself another Royals shirt followed.
Saturday night was our big evening at the K. Seven families were represented in some form, along with a whole gaggle of kids. There was tailgating, football throwing, wisecracking, and reminiscing. Our seats were way up in the view level, an area of the K I hadn’t sat in since 2001 or 2002. But they were just fine to catch up with folks and watch a 10–0 Royals win.
Then I was on the noon, direct flight back to Indy on Sunday, where the delightful weather that reached Kansas City on Saturday morning had just rolled into town. There’s a hint of fall in the air, which made this trip the perfect capper to a pretty good summer.
For my obligatory “what did it mean to me” part of this post, Kansas City started to feel foreign to me awhile back. There were just too many changes, whether it was my friends moving and adding to their families or making other major life changes, or things like the Power & Light district or other physical changes to the area, for the city to feel fresh to me. But still there’s a lot of familiarity there for me. I think I find my footing pretty quickly even with all those changes.
I’m definitely not a local anymore when I visit. Yet there’s still a part of me that feels more at home in KC than Indy. I guess I lived there (mostly) for 23 years and this is just year 13 in Indy. Perhaps that feeling will flip someday.
It was great to see all of you who stop by here on occasion and made time to meet for lunch, or at the K.
Buddies being a gender-neutral term in this case. ↩
I know what it’s called now. I’m still calling it OK Joe’s! ↩
Summer got off to a quick start for us. The girls wrapped up school last Wednesday. Thursday afternoon we were flying to Boston for our summer trip.
This was my third trip to Boston, but first one that I would be spending most of my time in the city proper. Overall, we had a fantastic vacation filled with several firsts and lots of great memories.
The first first of the trip was our family’s first Uber ride. Pretty exciting, huh? We Uber-ed it from Logan to our hotel, which was a block down the street from Fenway Park. The Sox were in Baltimore on the night we flew in, so the park was dark and the area fairly deserted.
My first fun experience of the trip came shortly after our arrival at our hotel. We ordered food from a place down the street and I walked to pick it up. The man who helped me looked as if he had been born in West Africa, or perhaps the Caribbean. When he spoke, though, he sounded like your average Irish dude from Southy. It was a jarring, stereotype-crusher of a moment. I loved it! I really wanted to take my phone out and video him speaking to other customers.
Friday began with out second first: we hopped on the T to meet my in-laws, who flew in with us, and S’s brother, his wife, and their one-year-old for a Duck Boat ride. The girls were pretty excited to get on the T; it was their first-ever subway experience. They had a great time, even on the trips when they had to squeeze into one seat together because of crowds.
The Duck Boat trip itself was awesome. I had always heard that was a must-do part of any trip to Boston, but I had no idea how cool it would be. It was a 90-minute trip around the Back Bay, the Cambridge River, and downtown proper. You’re right in the midst of all the must-see sites of the city. Our driver was excellent, too. He was a 50-something guy who sounded like a Boston native. He had all the requisite history down pat, and shared plenty of his own views along the way.
“Right there is a stop for the Boston T, the oldest subway in the country. Just try it, you’ll see.”
“The Pilgrims fled England because they were not allowed the freedom to practice their own religion there. Upon their arrival in America, they proceeded to not allow anyone else to practice their own religion here.”
“That building right there is a wonderful assisted living facility. It’s the Boston city jail.”
It may seem cliche, but I highly recommend the Duck Boat tour of Boston.
We headed back to the hotel to freshen up then jumped onto the T again to head to S’s brother and sister-in-law’s home, which is across the river. This time we had to switch trains, which was a breeze. There was never a moment when we didn’t see terrible traffic everywhere, so riding the T was a great way to avoid all that mess. Even with hot, crowded cars, and some confusing routes, it was way better than fighting traffic in a taxi. Part of the dinner spread were our first lobstah rolls of the trip.
Saturday was our busy day. We took the T first to Cambridge, where we did a quick tour of the Harvard campus. After that, it was back on the T to hit the North End for lunch. We walked through the Holocaust Memorial, the farmer’s market, and many of the amazing streets of the North End before having a tasty, family-style, Italian lunch. We topped it off with cannoli from Mike’s bakery.
The girls headed home but I did not stay at the hotel. My brother-in-law and I crossed the street for the Red Sox – Blue Jays game. Our seats were way out in right field, amongst lots of drunken, yet happy, Canadians. I wore a Royals shirt, but really wished I had worn a Lorenzo Cain jersey.[1] The day began hot in Cambridge, was breezy and perfect in the North End, and turned into a steamy one when the harbor breezes were blocked in Fenway. It was only maybe 80 or so, but the sun was brutally right in our faces the entire time. But, hey, I was in Fenway! And the Sox beat the Jays, which I enjoyed.
Sunday it was rainy, so we spent the day at the Museum of Science.
Monday was our first departure day. I hit the T to head into town to pick up a rental that we and the in-laws were taking to Cape Cod. It was early, so I figured I would have to fight big crowds on the T. Little did I know…
When I hit Kenmore Station, they were unloading a completely full train and taking it out of service. I waited as two totally packed trains came through the station but I had no chance of getting on either one. So I walked. It was only a mile-and-a-half or so, but it was another steamy morning and I was a little sweaty when I reached the rental office.
Off we were to the Cape, with a stop in Plymouth along the way to look at Plymouth Rock and eat more lobstah rolls for lunch. The girls had their first-ever real clam chowdah. L especially loved it. She said it’s her new favorite food. Shame we can’t get chowdah that good here at home. We also just missed the arrival of the Mayflower II, which was returning that afternoon after its winter stay in Connecticut.
We were staying in Hyannis, right in the middle of the upper arm of the Cape. After the girls had a swim, we went to the Cape Cod chips factory, stopped by the JFK Memorial – which we had visited 11 years ago – and the girls dipped their toes in the ocean. M screamed and said, “Dad! It is literally ice cold!” Literally.
Tuesday was another day of driving. We headed toward Provincetown at the far end of the Cape, with the obligatory stop at a lighthouse along the way. P-town is full of interesting people and sites. The girls still aren’t quite old enough to pick up on the gay-friendly vibe of the town. Or at least I think they aren’t. I never heard them giggling when two men or two women walked by holding hands. As we did 11 years ago, we had lunch at the Lobster Pot, which is another near-obligatory trip.
Then yesterday we had a near-perfect day of travel. Not too much traffic between the Cape and Logan, through security in 10 minutes, an on-time flight, our bags waiting for us at the carousel, and only brief slowdowns as we drove home through Indy’s rush hour.
This was my third trip to Boston, but really the first time I spent any real time in the city. I loved it. It reminds me in some ways of San Francisco, just because so much is packed into such a small space. It’s a pretty easy city to do on foot and with public transit. I love the diversity, the history, and the energy of the city. And I love doing my faux-Boston accent whenever possible.
But the traffic is a nightmare, it’s a city that shows its age in many poor ways, and I’m not sure I could deal with the constant crowds. At (almost) 45, Boston is a great city for me to visit, but not one I could see myself living in. I need my Midwestern space.
Since we rushed out of town right after school began, today kind of felt like the first real day of summer. The girls all slept in. We have nowhere to be before their swim meet tonight. The trip was a lot of fun, but it’s nice to be home and taking a breath for a moment.
To wrap up my Louisville weekend review, some notes about what else I did down there in my brief visit.
My KC homie E$ flew into Indy Friday and we headed south around lunchtime Saturday. He had been to the ‘Ville many times so had a solid plan for how to spend our pregame hours. First, we dined at Mark’s Feed Store[1], an excellent name for an establishment that specializes in smoked meats. I had a fantastic brisket sandwich, along with a cup of the local delicacy, burgoo, which was amazing.
After lunch we headed downtown. Our first stop, as I mentioned yesterday, was the Louisville Slugger factory and museum. It was 2-for–1 on tours if you were wearing NCAA gear, which was quite the coincidence! Speaking of coincidences, they just happened to be making bats for Alex Gordon on the day a bunch of folks from the Kansas City area were taking tours. What were the odds?!?! E$ and I joked about that a little bit. Later we heard from KU friends who took the tour on Friday that, amazingly, they were making bats for Gordon then, too! I mean, the guy breaks a lot of bats but seriously…
There were tons of KU people on he streets. You never went more than a few minutes without seeing Villanova fans, or even the occasional Maryland or Miami fan, but it was definitely a heavy KU town that afternoon. Plenty of Kentucky fans had their gear on, as well. I learned last year that, surprisingly, Louisville probably has more UK fans than UL fans.
We met some friends for a beer at an outdoor bar, which was fun because it was nearly perfect outside.
Next, we stopped off at the team hotel, where we ran into a few acquaintances, saw Uncle Anthony, Greg Gurley, and Wayne Selden, Sr. We watched about half of the team and coaching staff walk through the packed lobby to the bus before we had to depart to meet our ticket contacts.
E$ has KU friends who live in the ‘Ville, and we were meeting them and a friend of theirs who had our tickets. We went to a place called the Troll Pub Under the Bridge, which was, yes, under one of the bridges crossing the Ohio River to Indiana. You had to go down some steep steps to get to the bar, and the interior was this cool, old-looking brickwork. It felt kind of like a subterranean dungeon that had been there for about 250 years. Being right across the street from the KFC Yum! Center, it was the ideal spot for that last beer (or two) before heading to the game.
Our ticket contact had a very cool story. He was a Louisville native and UL season ticket holder who played baseball at Kentucky. I didn’t get that whole story until later so I didn’t get the chance to ask him how that works when UK and UL play each other. Even more interestingly, his dad was UL’s first basketball All-American, the #2 pick in the 1957 NBA draft, and still the school’s all-time leading rebounder. Which seems crazy.
After the game, we headed to our friends’ house just outside downtown. We commiserated over the game while drinking some very good bourbon. I’ve always been more of a Scotch/Irish whiskey guy, but based on what we drank that night, I could be convinced to drink more bourbon.
In all, I spent less than 24 hours in Louisville. Aside from the 2.5 hours that were taken up by the KU game, it was a pretty fun trip. It is a cool city, with lots to do downtown, especially on days when something big is drawing lots of folks that direction. E$ has been to the Kentucky Derby several times over the years. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to do that sometime in the future and spend another weekend exploring the city.
Highlands location, for those of you who know the area. ↩
Leave Indy early Saturday, just ahead of a quick burst of snow, heading west through rain and dreary skies. Our traditional lunch stop at the St. Louis Bread Company in Maryland Heights. Into sun and warmth in western Missouri. Finally arriving at our home base for the weekend in Overland Park.
That evening, dinner with friends from S.’s days as a resident. Minsky’s pizza and Boulevard beer.
Sunday morning, an early trip to Legoland in Crown Center. We were a little frustrated by the ticket purchasing and entry process, which takes way too long. But once inside, the girls loved it. I thought the area where many of the architectural landmarks of Kansas City are recreated using Lego was fantastic.
I tried to push a couple of my favorite spots for lunch, but the girls weren’t having it. So, much to my chagrin, we ate at Kona Grill. I say chagrin not because Kona isn’t good; it’s perfectly fine. But we have one about 10 minutes from our house. We can go there any time. The saving grace was it was a gorgeous day so we were able to eat outside. Followed that with a quick stroll around the Plaza and swings by S.’s and my old apartments. Sadly M. remembered that there had been an explosion not too far from S.’s old place so we had to point out the remains of the late J.J.’s as we drove by.
Next, our friends the Belfords were kind enough to host the big get-together of the weekend. We saw lots of good people there. The catching-up is always far too brief, but I’m grateful we get the chance to do it. It was fun watching the 50 or 60 kids that were running around.
All three girls were pretty quick to find kids to pal around with. But M. was especially funny to watch. See was super excited to see her old friends Caroline and Mia. Then throw new friend Liza, who she had met before but not spent much time with, and suddenly there was a flock of 7-9 year old girls acting like they were the oldest of friends.
Everyone was worn out as we headed back to the hotel, but we needed some food. Fortunately, there was a D’Bronx right around the corner. First time I’ve had a hot Wild Bill in six or seven years. And it was taaaaasty.
Monday, lunch at Oklahoma Joe’s. As much as I wanted to go with one of my usuals, it was a burnt end day, and I had never sampled their burnt ends before. So I got the platter. They were awfully damn good.
We did some light shopping afterward. Well, light at first. The girls got new outfits at the Gap since it was warmer than we expected and we hadn’t brought clothes for the heat. Dad got another KU shirt for his collection.
I also made a rather controversial choice for my hat for the spring. I bought a plain Royals hat. I honestly don’t remember the last time I had a (replica) hat like the team wears. I’ve had a whole swath of KC Monarchs hats. I’ve had a couple “fashion” Royals hats in non-traditional colors. But it seriously may have been since high school, or even middle school, since I had the royal blue cap with the white KC on the front.
The Royals promptly blew a two-run lead and lost their season opener 4-3. Blame the cap.
Then it was over to Oak Park Mall, where the shopping got serious at the American Girl Doll store. We didn’t plan on going, so the girls had not brought their dolls. They still managed to spend some money despite that hurdle. They also rode the two-story carrousel, which they thought was amazing. And I ran into a guy who grew up across the street from me. Which wasn’t awkward at all as he A) recognized me and I did not recognize him, B) he remembered my name, and C) I now realize he’s probably either mildly autistic or has Aspergers or something. It was an odd conversation. At least it wasn’t one of the hundreds of scorned women I left in my wake during my single days! Amirite?!?!
And, finally, Monday night we visited the Nesbitts of Jackson County, or at least a good chunk of them.
We were up before the sun Tuesday, to ensure we didn’t get stuck in rush hour in Indy on the way home. We rolled into the neighborhood after seven-and-a-half hours, a new record with kids in the car.
We are grateful for all our friends who took time to host us and/or spend time with us. These trips don’t happen often enough, nor last long enough. In fact, as I write this on Tuesday night, I’m realizing I only took a few photos all weekend, and those are mostly of the kids in front of things in Legoland.
The girls had a great time. In fact, between the weather – they think every day in Kansas City is sunny and 70 – their friends, and the American Girl doll store, they think it’s the best place ever. C. even said when she grows up she’s going to live there.
And now we’re in the midst of the mad dash to get the house ready for the girls’ four-year-old and two-year-old cousins who are visiting from Denver.
