Mackinac Island, August 2014--Day 1

August 23 we traveled from Lawrence to Springfield, Illinois.  Took us about 6 hours to include all of our stops--breakfast, a pit stop, lunch--along the way. We ate our breakfast at a McDonalds in Kearney, Missouri, then lunch at a Subway in Barry, Illinois.  We had a little trouble finding the Subway so in 5 minutes or less were able to explore most of Barry.

We arrived in Springfield, Illinois,  around 2:30 and checked into the President Abraham Lincoln Double Tree.  We were within walking distance of the Lincoln Library and Museum.  We had time to see the the museum which we both thoroughly enjoyed.  We had planned to leave for Grand Rapids first thing tomorrow morning but have decided to stay a bit longer and visit the Lincoln Home and Visitor center.  After relaxing for a bit, we decided to walk down and see the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.  It was the neighborhood where Lincoln lived in Springfield.  It was a very pleasant area.  Tomorrow we will return and actually go inside a home. We finished our day with supper at Bennigans.  I had never eaten at one.  Can't say I was overly impressed.  All in all a very enjoyable first day.

Mackinac Island, August, 2014

Tomorrow we are leaving for Mackinac Island.  We have been looking forward to this road trip since I booked our reservations at the Harbor View Inn in February.  We are going to stop a couple of nights on our way to northern Michigan.  We are booked for 3 nights on the island which gives us 2 full days for sightseeing.  One cannot take their vehicle onto the island.  We must park on the mainland before taking a ferry to the island.  We have been closely monitoring the weather.  There certainly is rain in the forecast but have done some internet searching for things to do in case of inclement weather.  I do want to ride a bike around the island. Surely we can find some time during those two days when it is not raining too hard.  We will be checking the dog into his hotel, Home Sweet Home Dog Resort, in the morning before we begin our journey.  First stop will be Springfield, Illinois, and the Abraham Lincoln Museum.  Feel free to follow us along the way.

Cox Family Reunion August 2014

Every other year the descendents of Roy and Ilene Cox gather at Western Hills Guest Ranch near Wagoner, Oklahoma.  These gatherings started in 1976.  The Cole members have not missed a reunion since it began.  I am guessing that as we add more and more grandchildren this will not keep happening.  There were 107 in attendance.  We arrived on Sunday, July 27, and were to depart on Thursday, July 31.  But because of the rainy dreary day that we were having on Wednesday, the entire Cole group pulled out that afternoon.  That aside, we had a very enjoyable time while at Western Hills.  The weather was much more pleasant than it has been at any of the previous reunions in Oklahoma.  Usually it was like an oven.  We did all of the usual things such as riding the trolley through the park, visiting the nature center, kids going horseback riding.  Seth brought his boat and the boys went fishing one morning without success.  Seth also cooked hamburgers for us one evening.  We gathered for happy hour with the Olivers a couple of evenings.  We are getting to be too many to meet in their suite.  We need to make different arrangements for the next reunion.  Just as a reminder to myself, James and I stayed in a poolside room upstairs.  The David family stayed in a cabana near the pool.  The Cole Jrs stayed in a cabin for six near the lake.  Oldest grandson, Dominic, had an upstairs lakeside double room.  To our surprise Western  Hills was closing the Sunday after we left.  They are going to do a much needed renovation over the next six months.  We are so glad. There have been a few upgrades over the years but this renovation is long overdue.

Discovery of King Tut at Union Station, Kansas City

My sister and husband often come to see us towards the end of May.  They have twin grandchildren with May birthdays who live in Dallas.  They travel thru Lawrence on their return to Fort Collins.  We are always glad to see them.  We usually see one or two attractions in the area.  This year the Discovery of King Tut was at Union Station.

According to the web site http://www.kingtut.org, "The Discovery of King Tut presents the actual excavation itself, its story and its invaluable legacy. Using painstakingly, scientifically produced reconstructions, the exhibition allows the public to enjoy the magnificent splendor of these priceless Egyptian treasures without ever harming the fragile, sensitive originals – which can only now be exhibited separately and are no longer permitted to tour outside of Egypt."

If I had not read this in advance, I would have had no idea I was not viewing the actual artifacts. It was an amazing exhibit.  When you enter the exhibit, they provide you a recorder which you use to listen to the explanation of each display.  Each display has a number which refers to the appropriate track.  Very nicely done.  There were earphones available for those who prefer to use both ears.  I imagine you could bring your own earphones.

Below is the replica of King Tut's mummy.  It was reproduced using a 3D printer.  I had never actually seen anything that had been reproduced with a printer.  That just fascinates me.  If you enlarge this you will be able to read about that from the bottom of the photo.

For those of you who enjoy this historical era, it is certainly worth visiting.

World War 1 Memorial and Museum in KC

Saturday, May 17, there was no car show that James was interested in attending.  Feeling like we needed to go somewhere headed to Kansas CIty and the World War 1 Memorial and Museum.   This year is the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War.  Not knowing very much about this war, I found this to be a quite informative museum.  It was a good day to travel.  On our way home we decided to eat a very late lunch in The Legends shopping center.

The Plaza in KC

About a month ago when I was so fed up with winter, I tried to find a way to get to Key West.  It would be warm there.  Well, planes and hotels were full.  I have learned one needs to plan ahead when wanting to go to warm places in February.  I will do this next fall and hope to be able to head to Key West in February, 2015.

In the meantime, I really needed to get out of town.  I made reservations at the Sheraton on the Plaza in Kansas City.  Just for one night but it did get us out of Lawrence.  I was afraid we were going to have to postpone because of the forecast.  Fortunately, mother nature must have been thinking of me and the day was very pleasant.  A bit windy but among the buildings just not that bad.  At this point, I should mention that the Kansas winter has been nothing like the people in the eastern portion of the United States have had.  They probably think I have nothing to complain about.

We arrived yesterday around 2 pm and our room at the hotel was ready.  Nice room with a plaza view, although it would have been better if we would have been above the 5th floor.  I must admit the view wasn't great.  Not bad, though.  The Sheraton was towards one end of 47th Street and there happened to be a parking garage across the street.  We still had a nice window and could look down the street to see the lights.  The suite was very quiet.  Must have been well insulated as we could barely hear street noise.

The first order of business was to go to the Apple store.  James was needing a newer machine. Greater speed but his main issue had been lack of memory.  Take that any way you want.  Hee-hee.  Once that was set up, we wandered through some stores.  James looked at a sweater at Gap that he really liked but wouldn't try it on.  He kept thinking about that sweater.  After our supper at Tomfooleries, we walked back down to The Gap where he tried it on and made the purchase.  Looks exactly like something he would wear.  Glad we went back.

We ate our complimentary buffet breakfast at the hotel before heading over to The Legends shopping center.  I had seen a Cabela's ad for some crop pants that I thought I would like.  Well, that didn't work out.  Stopped at Kohl's and found some on sale.  After that we headed back to Lawrence.  Picked up Boz at Home Sweet Home Dog Resort.

It was a nice way to get out of town.  We are both looking forward to some road trips during the next few months.

Fall, Colorado, 2013--Trip home and final thoughts

We headed home very early Monday morning.  It is a long day's drive.  We do like to get this behind us.  We usually grab a hot cup of coffee from a nearby McDonald's before heading on down the road.  Need something to keep us awake so early in the morning.  We usually stop for breakfast a couple of hours down the road.  We also need to get into Lawrence before 6 pm to pick up our dog from the "dog hotel."

One of the disadvantages of driving east is that the sun comes up over the horizon quickly.  We both thought we were going blind.  We stopped for breakfast shortly after the sun hit us in the face. By the time we had our fast food breakfast, the sun was high enough to not be a bother the rest of the trip.

We were cruising east on I-70 without a care in the world.  There was a car sitting in the median in the far distance.  Not another car to be seen.  James, as usual, is driving in the passing lane.  He does love that lane.  Lo and behold, car is a Colorado state trooper.  Oh no.  James is going 4 mph over the speed limit.  That's not enough to get a speeding ticket.  Well, he does stop us.  He informed my husband that in the state of Colorado one does not drive in the passing lane except to pass.  (I think we knew that.)  Thank goodness, only a warning.  Consequently, James did not drive in the passing lane except to pass the rest of the way to Lawrence.  I personally think the trooper was bored and just wanted to stop and chat for a bit.  Guess I shouldn't complain.  No ticket.  Just a waste of our time.

I am getting better with the navigation system.  Nissan needs to do something with their estimated drive time, though.  When we left Fort Collins, it said it would take us 11 hours and 18 minutes which would have us arrive at 6:12 pm.  We pulled into our house at 4:45 pm.  An hour and 27 minutes less than the estimate.  That is driving time.  Our 4:45 arrival time also included 2 stops to eat, 2 stops to purchase gasoline, and several stops to take advantage of roadside rest areas.  I am guessing another hour off of the original drive time.  That is basically ridiculous.  Our portable Garmin has a much closer estimate.  Nissan must think we are going to have a car problem every time we take to the road.

All in all it was a great trip.  I look forward to visiting my sister and her husband again in the next couple of years.  I certainly would like to see the inside of the Air Force Academy Chapel.  We have also talked about driving up to Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Thank goodness we didn't head that way this trip.