Miles 8352-8368: Northland and Kansas City, MO
8/7
Yesterday morning, Mom and I got up early to go with Leanne to her Jazzercise studio, where she taught a class. We stopped by the grocery store and at Caribou Coffee and headed back to the house. We hung around watching Liar Liar until lunchtime. As Jackson and Dad had gone to play golf, the four of us (Mom, Leanne, Reese, and I) drove into Kansas City to lunch at Mexican (Ponak’s) with Reese’s boyfriend, Luke. The Mexican food was amazing: chicken taco, cheese enchilada, rice, and beans for me. We went by a coffee roastery, Crown Center, and Union Station. Back at the house, we swam in the pool and when I came down from showering and getting dressed, the rest of the cousins from nearby had arrived: Reed, Chad, Doris, and Uncle Bobby. So Uncle Bobby is my grandfather’s (my mom’s dad) favorite uncle (his mom’s brother), so he’s my great-great uncle. Reed, Chad, Josh, and Leanne are his four children. Doris is Josh’s wife (he was out of town yesterday). It was really cool to meet family from far away and that I had never met before. I got to hear plenty of stories from my grandfather’s first cousins (tremble and be afraid, Grumpy!!!). We had a feast of a dinner, with juicy grilled chicken, fruit and yogurt salad, corn-on-the-cob, baked beans, and cookies, peanut butter and chocolate chip (by Doris). I’m so grateful to Leanne for organizing that gathering and for everyone taking the time to drive up and see us. We talked, ate, and watched the KC Royals game against the Red Sox. As we’re Denver Broncos fans, we had to endure some teasing from hardcore Chiefs fans, but it was all in good fun. After everyone had to leave, we showered and got in bed relatively early, in preparation for another +8 hour drive to Nashville in the morning.
“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?”
