Lots Going On...Friends and a Move...

Wow, where does the time go?  The three weeks have been a blur around here. 

Our friends Bobbie and Jim made a layover stop in Midwest City at the Elks Club where they have hook-ups for RV'ers, so Jim could rest up a few days before they moved on to Lake Texoma in southern Oklahoma (They are now down in deep south Texas on their gate guarding job).  The Elks club is located right in the flight path of Tinker Air Force Base so we were entertained with the AWACS flying overhead all evening. We drove up on a Tuesday evening, October 16th to see them and have dinner. 



Charlie, Dawna, Susie, Dave, Jim and Bobbie

Charlie and Dawna, friends of Bobbie and Jim's came to visit and we all had a grand time reminiscing.  We met Charlie and Dawna up at Big Meadow campground near Southfork, CO the same time we met Bobbie and Jim.  It was so nice to see them again.  As I always say...the more the merrier!



The dinner of Kings!

Jim out did himself on his ribs. The angels really did weep with joy when he lit the grill.  The meat literally fell off the bone and melted in your mouth.  You didn't have to chew it at all.  I fixed a tabbouleh salad but with Quinoa instead of Bulgar wheat. It was really good but needed more Quinoa.  I had never made it that way before so it was on the tad soupy side.  We also had baked beans and coleslaw. It was a great meal.  We also got to see the inside of Bobbie and Jim's Heartland Landmark Rushmore 5th wheel trailer.  It was very roomy with lots of storage. I really liked the lay-out of it.




Pretty Fall Colors in Kansas

On Thursday the 18th of October, I got up a 4 a.m. and readied myself to leave at 5 a.m. or thereabouts to head to Kansas City, MO to help our daughter Christie with her move.  It took me about 6 hours to get there bucking winds all the way.  I managed to miss a dust storm that closed the interstate down due to no visibility. Boy I was lucky on that one.

The week of October 5th she and her dad spent about 3 days trying to find her a place to live.  The movers came on Monday the 15th of October and got her all packed up, she drove up on Tuesday and the movers delivered her belongings on Thursday at noon. It took them about 2 hours the get her things unloaded.  We unwrapped, unloaded, unpacked, put up, washed dishes, cups, pots and pans, did shopping, walked a couple of miles, put together a TV stand, set up her TV and finally collapsed into bed after a yummy dinner of gourmet burgers at Stone Mountain Pizza in the Zona Rosa Shopping Mecca.


A Gouda Burger
 

Tillimouk Cheese Burger



New TV Stand...Assembly was fun

On Friday I woke up so so sore I could hardly move.  I took some meds and willed myself to press on with the unpacking.  We went to Panera Bread and got a couple of cups of their steel cut oats topped with dried apples, cherries and slivered almonds.  It was delish! I also purchased a small loaf of whole wheat bread for her. It was yummy too.  After breakfast we made out a plan, worked some more on unpacking all of her stuff and went shopping in the afternoon.  We discovered that she didn't have any hot water, but we found out the heater in her apartment worked as it had turn cold and was blowing spats of rain. After the maintenance man got her hot water tank turned on we once again had water after a couple of hours and we could wash our faces and not feel the shock of ice or so it felt.

She is fortunate that she lives very close to a wonderful shopping district.  Zona Rosa is a large shopping mecca that has everything you could possibly want. We went to Noodles and Co. for lunch. 

Chicken Penne Pasta with Feta Cheese and Spinich

Tomato Bisque Soup and a Mediterranean Sandwich






         It offers American, Asian and Italian dishes.  It was so yummy.  We found the people in North KC to be very friendly and helpful.

I took her to Big Lots to stock up on canned goods as Progresso Soups were at least .20 to .30 cents cheaper than at Walmart.  The local HyVee Grocery store is totally awesome. I have never seen a meat market that complete and once again the customer service was outstanding. We did more walking, shopping, unpacking, washing of kitchenware, putting up and stowing her stuff.  She decided that she wanted to fix dinner so she made a white chicken chili that was really good with the Jalapeno cornbread we purchased at the HyVee store. 

Me...I collapsed on her bed and took a nap while she decorated her balcony with a pumpkin, orange and purple rope lights and spider webbing. She also decorated her front door.  We had to get her some batteries so she could turn on the purple lights. We watched TV and then called it a night. 

Saturday morning I fixed eggs, sausage and some of her whole wheat toast for breakfast.  It was really good and hit the spot. I remember when I was a little girl my grandmother would fry up sausage or ham and pour some coffee in it and pour it over my biscuits, we called it coffee gravy another name is red eye gravy.  I was so tempted to do that.  I ran another load of dishes through the dishwasher, lined some more of her drawers and found a place for most of her kitchen stuff.  I know the locations of goods will change as to how she wants it but at least it was up and out of the way. 

We made another quick trip to the HyVee store as they had ground beef on sale for $1.99 a pound. I bought four pounds of it plus I found a coupon for chicken noodle soup and tomato soup, you buy 4 for $2.00 and get the 5th can free.  We picked up some other items for her which came to $50.75 and that allowed me to get gas for $3.21 a gallon, .10 off per gallon, can't beat a deal like that. You guessed it...I topped off the tank before leaving Kansas City.  We left around noon, me to come home, her to St. Louis, MO for a national college recruitment gig on Sunday that was host to over 4500 high schoolers searching out colleges.

I had an uneventful drive except for when the check engine oil light came on.  Had to pull over and put a can of oil in to continue the trip.  I arrived back in Norman close to 6 p.m. after topping my gas tank for $3.15.  Traffic was insane at the Dallas junction so I bypassed it by getting off at Robinson and hooking back over to Shields Blvd and heading south. That is when I found the cheap gas at a 7-11 in south Oklahoma City.  So glad I went that way.  I arrived home safe and sound none worse for the wear and tear and settled in to watch the Sooners beat Kansas State for Homecoming. I passed out around 11p.m. and slept soundly. 

I can see more trips in my future to Kansas City as I fell in love with it and look forward to exploring the area further.

Happy trails...