I’ve spent the past week running around getting ready for our trip. I feel like time sort of just snuck up on me! Sarah arrived to Kansas City bright and early on Thursday morning. I picked her up from the airport and we grabbed a quick breakfast before heading to my apartment to drop off her stuff. We then, naturally, headed out to do some shopping. I feel like we ran ALL over the city! We went from my apartment to the Plaza to Zona Rosa to Liberty. We took a shopping break to meet one of my good friends from high school, Lacey, for lunch. I felt like our list of places to go and things to get just kept getting longer and longer! I hadn’t even thought of half the things we started to remember! We spent all day running around buying things like bug spray, sleeping bags, backpacks, flashlights, walkie talkies, batteries, sunscreen, and a light, waterproof jacket. We decided the walkie talkies were a necessary after losing each other in Dick's Sporting Goods!!
We finished our busy day just in time for me to take Sarah for some good ol’ Kansas City original barbecue: Gate’s! MMMMM nothing like KC BBQ!! We met up with some friends and headed to Power and Light to enjoy a free Craig Morgan concert. I haven’t seen P&L that packed since the NCAA tournament was in town! I had a hard time describing P&L to Sarah, but I think she had a pretty good time!
Craig Morgan Concert presented by KC Live.
Power and Light district in downtown Kansas City
The view of P&L from upstairs
Sarah and I enjoying the evening Even after running around all day on Thursday, I felt like our list of things to do on Friday was longer than it was on Thursday! We got a late start after sleeping in until 10:30 (that is highly unusual for me, I'm an early riser). We spent Friday running to the post office, the bank, paying all my bills, drawing up a Power of Attorney for my dad in case my house sells, and going to North Face to look at backpacks (yes, we bought some on Thursday and returned them!). While back down on the Plaza, Sarah wanted to walk around and see some of KC. I was telling her how Kansas City is known for its fountains (all 250+ of them) and it is rumored to have more than Rome!
Sarah and I in front of the JC Nichols Fountain
A perfect day in Kansas City
I've been trying to convince Sarah she would love living in Kansas City and should consider coming here for grad school (UMKC, Masters of Accountancy... sound familiar??). I told her I knew just the thing to spark her interest.....
I took Sarah to the Nelson Adkins Museum of Art to show her the shuttlecocks!! She fell in LOVE with them!
It was too heavy! :)
Sarah couldn't lift it either!After tearing Sarah away from the Shuttlecocks (I'm hoping they did the trick), we headed to Liberty to meet my dad at Olive Garden. It was much easier to say good-bye this summer than it was last summer for some reason. I think it helps knowing what to expect a little bit with international travel. I was a MESS when I left for London last summer!! We ran to Target to return my broken camera (I have no clue...) and ended up at Best Buy so I could purchase another one. After much debate, I left with a FujiFilm Finepix. (I will admit how much of a blonde I can be... I was determined it was broken because it wouldn't come on. I brought it to a Best Buy in CA for the geek squad to look at. They told me it was no good and I could switch it out. Thank you customer service man for pointing out I had the battery in backwards!! At least the famous "geek squad" couldn't figure it out too!!!) I have my big Sony camera, but I wanted some smaller and compact to travel with too. I love that this is a WATERPROOF digital camera!! I thought that feature might come in handy this summer!!
We FINALLY made it back to my apartment t 9:30 Friday evening. Guess who hadn't STARTED packing yet?? Ahhh yes, yours truly!! I finally finished packing at 2:30 AM, fell asleep for 2 hours, and got back up to get ready to head to the airport! I was so proud of myself for fitting everything I wanted into 1 suitcase and 1 backpack.... So proud until I got to the airport and realized my bag weighted 70 pounds!! I paid the $25 fine and didn't stress about it. I knew I could purchase a smaller suitcase when I got to my sister's house (imagine that, I'm back in Huntington Beach!) and do some rearranging. Mind you, between Sarah and I, we have 4 digital cameras, 2 laptops, 2 Flip video recorders, 3 cell phones (both of our US phones and our shared Australian phone) and an iPod..... cut off huh? :)
We enjoyed an evening hanging out at my sister's and grilling out before heading to downtown HB. We then woke up at 4:45 to head to the beach this morning to watch the sunrise (yes, I knew it wouldn't rise over the ocean!!). I love the smell of the ocean first thing in the morning. We drank Starbucks and enjoyed a nearly empty boardwalk and beach.
Almost empty Huntington Beach Boardwalk
There were quite a few surfers we watched for awhile
Lifeguard tower
Huntington Beach Boardwalk and an empty beach... rare!
I love the reflection the water made!
Downtown Huntington
Fred's (best margaritas!!) and HSS on the corner of downtown
I'M READY TO TRAVEL!!
Great pics!! Looks like you're going to have a great time.
ReplyDeleteWe hope you have a great time. We love you.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! I just found your blog. I was born in KC but I'm living in Columbia, MO now. Your pics make me want to go roam KC (and definitely HB, too!)
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