Wave the Wheat

LRK and I arrived back in PA late Wednesday night. Props to AirTran - their service was good, flights were smooth and the price was right. Southwest may well become the Wally Pipp of TINWA air travel to Kansas.

Some highlights:

+ Awesome home cooked meals that frequently featured vegetables straight from the H garden.
+ Watching Gran Torino - awesome.
+ Rock hunting with Mr. H.
+ Dinner at the Brookville Hotel. If you don't know, you better ask somebody.
+ Temps in the 100's.
+ Being in Kansas during harvest.
+ Riding in a combine.

My prior experience with combines was seeing Frank the Combine in the movie Cars.

Kansas Redux Recap

LRK and I ventured out to Kansas for a long weekend last week. We had grand plans and I'm proud to say we accomplished all of them! We saw these stragglers on the side of the road on our way to Manhattan Saturday. They kept moseying on their way.

Friday we woke up and visited the H's at MJSHS. Mr. H had a planning period. Afterwords, we hit up Pizza Hut lunch buffet. It was quite nice and filling. We tooled around for a few hours before eating dinner and heading over to the Minneapolis HS football game. The curiously coached Lions fell to Ellsworth 34-17.

Saturday morning we all headed to Manhattan for K-State gameday. We lunched at Mr. Goodcents and then walked around campus. We visited Aggieville and I bought two purple K-State sweatshirts for LRK and me at Varney's. LRK correctly predicted Call Hall would be open for ice cream, and sure enough it was. The ice cream was good, and Mr. H seems to run into someone he knows at every stop. We then tailgated with two of LRK's former professors. We visited for a little while, then headed off to Bill Snyder Family Stadium for the pregame festivities. It was Ft Riley Day, and K-State pulled out some stops to honor the local army base. BSFS featured a raucous atmosphere, a lot of purple, and K-State won.

Here is K-State QB Josh Freeman at the goal line before he handed off to Dold! for the TD. Thanks for playing, Montana State. 69-10 final.

Sunday we went to church, watched football and walked around the neighborhood.

Overall, H hospitality is second to none. We woke up Monday morning not wanting to leave. To quote The Hawk, we "were pretty bummed out about not getting three weeks." So now we're back here, left with memories of another great Kansas stay.

Kansas Redux

Sadly, I will miss Oldy Olderson's acceptance speech tonight. I'm really broken up over it.

NOT!

Lolz. Really, I am counting down the time until LRK and I depart for KS this evening. Big time stuff going on. Friday lunch buffet at Pizza Hut. We got Minneapolis High v. Ellsworth High in some Friday night lights. Go Lions! Then we have an afternoon in Manhattan concluding with Kansas State hosting Montana State in some Division I football. Go 'Cats!

Originally, the game was supposed to be against Fresno State, but K-State (wisely) wussed out.

I really enjoy my time in KS, hanging out with LRK and the H's. So I'm going to enjoy my long weekend in KS and make the most of it.

When I return, hopefully I'll have some sort of news to report. Developing...

+ Catch Barry O at my old stomping grounds today!

Wide Open Spaces: Wednesday

Wednesday marked my last day in the great state of Kansas. I woke up early, to get in as much time as possible together with LRH and the H's. Mrs. H cooked up some sausage breakfast burritos that were absolutely dynamite. I had at least two (they were big) and told Mrs. H afterward that they "were 1,000 times better than Sonic's". That may have been an understatement.

We headed over to MHS to tour the school and see Mr. and Mrs. H's respective classrooms. I also shot some hoops with LRH in the MHS gym. That was really fun. We'll have to continue our games in PA. Bring it! : )

We made our way back home, and I started getting my stuff together for my drive back to KCI. After such a wondrous time in KS provided by LRH and her family, it was tough to say goodbye and begin my trip back to PA. As I was about ready to leave, Mr. H presented me with a die-cast John Deere tractor. There is a back story involving the H family...suffice to say, I was again genuinely honored and quite touched.


It is now prominently displayed on my window sill/shelf.

On the way back to the airport, I snapped some photos...






[In the background, is the hugest grain elevator I've ever seen. It was massive!]

...I also heard Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" twice early on, and listened to country music the rest of the way to remind me of LRH and Kansas (hey, Keith Urban...not bad). After the absolutely wonderful time that I cannot really find the words to describe how great it was, I was not the happiest of campers during the ride back to KCI.


And I guess that's why they call it the blues / Time on my hands could be time spent with you

I have so many great memories of my time in Minneapolis, KS. I cannot thank enough LRH for inviting me, and the H's for hosting me. The absolutely great times, love and warmth I experienced during my time there will stay with me forever. The next time I am back in KS cannot come soon enough!

Wide Open Spaces: Tuesday

Tuesday really cemented the fact that my Kansas trip was my best trip/vacation ever. It didn't really make the other days pale in comparison - far from it - but it just built upon the epic time I was having. We started the day with another great breakfast (don't worry, the topper comes Wednesday) followed by 9 holes at the Minneapolis Golf Course with Mr. H (LRH and Mrs. H played 3).


The Minneapolis Golf Course was a very nice and challenging (for me) course. Mercifully, we didn't keep score. Playing significantly more par 3 golf in my life, I was fairly comfortable with my short game and putting, but my drives and long game left much to be desired. It definitely was a change from Wii Sports Golf!


In taking this shot, I actually missed Mr. H chipping in from the fringe on the 9th hole. Ugh!!

After golf, we had another marvelous lunch, followed by some relaxation. We had to rest up a little bit for our trip to Abeline, KS in the evening.

On our way to Abeline, Mr. H took the scenic back way where I viewed some more of Kansas' great scenery and open spaces. We were headed to the Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Center and a special dinner, but...


LRH and I couldn't pass up a chance to photog the Abeline Sonic!

The Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Center was really neat with some great sites and quality information.







After the DEPC, we made our way to a restaurant that had been much-hyped prior to and during my visit to KS - the Brookville Hotel.


It did not disappoint. The Brookville served a family style fried chicken dinner that also featured mashed potatoes, creamed corn, homemade biscuits, various starters and an ice cream dessert. I'm happy to report that I absolutely destroyed it. I'm also happy to report that I am one of the few people the H's have taken to the Brookville. I was genuinely honored. I only wish I would have gotten the waitress to snap a photo of us all at the table together.

Please note: the Brookville dinner was absolutely tremendous, but I want to make it clear that it in no way overshadowed Mrs. H's flat-out awesome meals.

On our way back to Minneapolis, we stopped by State Lake where I snapped this cool shot of a heron on the lake.


It was quite nice.

Tuesday was a totally excellent day. LRH, the H's, golf, great food, great sites and great company equaled the best. But by the time my head hit the pillow Tuesday night, I started feeling melancholy, realizing that tomorrow would mark the end of my time in Kansas with LRH and the H's.

Wednesday to come...

Wide Open Spaces: Monday

Monday brought a bevy of Minneapolis goodness, beginning with a hearty breakfast, obvs. Afterwards, we all headed out to Rock City, to view its spherical boulders (click pics to enlarge):


Top of the world!


You're getting your first look at a thrice-verified duo that "makes a good couple". It's official.

After Rock City, Mr. H took us on a countryside tour, filled with beauty (provided by LRH), good information and scenic views.


Nice!


Scrubs redux, people. On a clear day, I can see, see a very long way. Yes, that's a dirt road. I love dirt road traveling. Wish I had my Jeep out there.

After a great lunch (rave), I caught another viewing of Breach. LRH conked out during the previous night's screening, and I was more than happy to watch the movie again with her. We then took a bike ride around town to return the movie to the grocery store. Shortly before dinner, I walked over to Minneapolis High School's track to get a 5-mile run in.


Go Lions! Their logo is a modified K-State logo, with U of Kansas colors.

Dinner was awesome (rave), natch, and after that we all took a walk around the neighborhood to check out a new house being built. After that, I hung out on the H's front porch with Mr. H, watching some MHS football camp, before heading in to watch Age of Love with LRH. It was a another awesome day.

Tuesday to come...

Wide Open Spaces: Sunday

After an unexpected night in Chi-town (thanks "mechanical issues"), I arrived back in PA Thursday afternoon. My trip to Kansas with LRH was wonderful, epic and beyond any expectations. Minneapolis, KS is beautiful with wide open spaces and minimal traffic, and Mr. and Mrs. H were so nice, so welcoming, so everything - I can see why LRH is so special, amazing and wonderful. Without further ado, here are some of my pics from Sunday:

This is my favorite shot of the trip:


Early on during the drive from KCI to Minneapolis, I had the feeling that this was going to be something special, on so many levels.

This made me think of one of my favorite scenes from Scrubs:


On a clear day, I can see, see a very long way. On I-70, there were many great shots to be had, once we got past Topeka.

Once we arrived at Mr. & Mrs. H's lovely house, I was surprised to see a blue jay in the backyard. Turns out, the blue jay is Mrs. H's favorite bird.


I had to snap a shot. We blue jays stick together, especially in Kansas.

Sunday was spent traveling to Minneapolis, sitting down to lunch (what would be the first of Mrs. H's unworldly delicious meals - believe me, you will grow tired of me raving about her cooking) topped off by zucchini bread (I'll vouch for that), taking a short drive around town and making a run to the grocery store, having a scrumptious dinner topped off by some more zucchini bread plus some homemade ice cream, followed by watching the movie Breach.

Monday to come...