I-70 Adventure!

August 09, 2016 by Patricia Farmar

I am blogging while watching the Olympics! GO USA!!! I am always sad when it's over. I go into a few days of withdrawal. But we are doing great - and there's a 41 year old gymnast from Ukraine so maybe I still have a chance!

If you know me then you know I LOVE museums! Art museums in particular. So it came as a bit of a shock to me that even though Keeley lived in St Louis for 7 years between college and working - and I made a hundred trips over to see her there - I have never been to the St Louis Art Museum! I'm ashamed. So that needed to be rectified. I suggested a weekend trip over to St Louis and Jim agreed. He asked if I had ever stopped at some of the historic little towns along the way and I had to say no. Of course I have been to Columbia but other then that just back and forth to St Louis. Jim's idea was to stop at Arrow Rock on the way over and Hermann, MO on the way back. Since I embrace the "Just Say Yes" philosophy I had to say YES! Great choices so let me tell you a little about the trip.

The whole town is designated as a historic landmark. Top right picture is the Arrow Rock Bluff which used to overlook the Missouri River. Bottom right sign commemorates the start of the Sante Fe Trail.

Arrow Rock is very historic and very tiny. Population sign said 56 people but it seemed a little bigger then that. The Missouri River used to flow right past so Arrow Rock was very important for explorers and settlers heading west. But then the Missouri River moved which is always hard for me to grasp - and growth occurred elsewhere. The town is really cute and very well maintained. It was fun to drive around and see the historic sites - but it doesn't take very long.

Original log cabin open for viewing. One room and a family with 6 children lived there! It would be perfect for me since I don't need much room!

Bottom picture is the Courthouse restored for the period of 1840.

Arrow Rock is probably best known for the Lyceum Theater. A professional theatre for 56 years! I have heard it is excellent and only about a 90 minute drive from Kansas City.

There are a couple of restaurants there that got good reviews so it would be fun to drive out for dinner and see a show some night! We had a light bite at a cute little bakery in town and headed on to St Louis.

We really lucked out on the weather. For early August it couldn't have been nicer. Sunny and in the low 80's! We headed right to the art museum which is in beautiful Forest Park.

Main entrance to the museum but it has two large wings that extend in both directions. Gorgeous building!

The museum is excellent. We spent about 3 hours there and gave serious thought to returning on Sunday. I will definitely be back. The restaurant looked very nice as well so a nice option for lunch. I won't bore you with all the great pieces we saw - but wanted to share that they house the largest public collection in the world of pieces by Max Beckmann. He is arguably the greatest German painter of the 20th century. He is described as a German Expressionist - but I read that he opposed that label.

The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912-13.  Max Beckmann 1884-1950. — The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912-13. Max Beckmann 1884-1950.

Then we were off for dinner in the Central West End! Love that area. Keeley lived pretty close so I was a little familiar. Shops, galleries and restaurants. We had a drink at a place called Herbies.

Believed this guy when he said they had a great bar.  True! — Believed this guy when he said they had a great bar. True!

Dinner outside on the patio - excellent! Shrimp for Jim and Salmon for me under that beautiful tower of shredded veggies.

Sunday we ate breakfast at Companion in Ladue - one of my favorite places in St Louis! Great homemade bread, breakfasts and lunches, coffee, etc. Then on our way to Hermann, Mo. I have been hearing about Hermann for years. Lots of people go for the weekend as they have quite a bit to do and see. It's probably best known for the wineries - there are 4 or 5 so you can take a tram and go to all of them and do wine tasting. Plus there are lots of historic buildings, shops, bed and breakfasts and restaurants. The town was settled by Germans in the 1800's and they settled there because it reminded them of the Rhine River valley. It's a beautiful town with hills overlooking the river. Population is about 2400.

Stone Hill Winery is the largest in the state.

We only had time for one winery so picked Stone Hill and did the tasting and took the tour. So interesting to have someone walk you through the process.

Our tour guide Steve did a great job! Some of the buildings are original from the 1800's.

We walked around in town a bit and decided to stop at a local brewery. I definitely prefer wine but decided to give a little love to their microbrewery called Tin Mill.

That was it for the weekend! Lots of fun, history, food and wine. What's not to like. Now back to the Olympics!!!

Make it a great week!

City of Fountains!

July 30, 2016 by Patricia Farmar

Kansas City is a beautiful city, and one of the things that makes it so special is the hundreds of fountains in and around the entire metro area. In fact Kansas City has more fountains than ANY city in the world except for Rome, Italy - that's a fact!! The first fountain was built in 1899, and it served a practical purpose - to provide water to horses, birds and dogs. In 1904 the Humane Society of Kansas CIty built the first memorial fountain - and the City of Fountains began. In fact there is a special foundation here that is committed to the restoration and preservation of the historic fountains and sculptures, and they do a great job! The last two years when the Royals made it all the way to the World Series the water in ALL the fountains was dyed blue from the start of the playoffs through the World Series - so fun!!

The Country Club Plaza is a beautiful area of the city with architecture modeled after it's sister city Seville, Spain. It is full of wonderful restaurants and upscale shopping. So I thought it would be interesting to find out more about some of my most favorite fountains that are there.

JC Nichols - best known fountain! Sculpted in 1910 and installed in 1958. 4 Heroic Horsemen which represent the 4 Rivers of the World - the Mississippi, Volga, Seine and Rhine.

Seville Light Fountain - an exact replica of the Plaza de Los Reyes fountain in Seville, Spain. I love the faces!!

Neptune - Roman God of the Sea. 8,000 lb. cast lead created in 1911 and installed in 1953. His chariot is pulled by the trident, dolphin and sea horse. Made in England.

Mermaid Fountain - installed in 1930 and restyled in 1968. White marble mermaids rest on either side of a curved basin. Each statue blows into a shell sending a single stream of water. The center has a small bronze statue of a kneeling praying child… — Mermaid Fountain - installed in 1930 and restyled in 1968. White marble mermaids rest on either side of a curved basin. Each statue blows into a shell sending a single stream of water. The center has a small bronze statue of a kneeling praying child surrounded by a spray of water. Coins from this fountain are donated to Children's Mercy Hospital.

Pomona - Roman goddess and protector of vineyards and orchards. Imported from Italy and installed in 1969. The life-size bronze figure of Pomona is elevated on a shallow saucer resting on a polished marble pedestal.

Fountain of Bacchus - the Greek god holding court. 10,000 lbs. of lead purchased in 1960 and installed in Chandler Court right outside The Cheesecake Factory - where I buy all my cheesecake!!

Allen Memorial Fountain - Imported from Italy and dedicated in 1962. Purchased to remember the Allen family that perished in a fire.

Four Fauns Fountain - four children of the Roman spirit Faunus. Purchased in Brindisi, Italy in 1928. A very peaceful spot on the plaza.

Boy and Frog Fountain - one of my favorites! An original bronze and Verona marble fountain by Raffaello Romanelli. Purchased in 1929 in Florence. A frog showering a boy - not the opposite!!

On a nice day it doesn't get much better then taking a walk around the plaza and stopping for a coffee or a glass of wine with a friend. Makes me feel like I'm on vacation!

And speaking of stopping for a glass of wine - I met up with some of my running friends at a great place in the Waldo area of town one night this week. Not a new place - but somewhere I had heard good things about and wanted to try. Louie's Wine Dive - and as usual we had a great time!

Not sure what the pig symbolizes but it's kind of cute!

We were celebrating the July birthdays - out of the 10 of us 4 have July birthdays! That just demands a party!

Birthday girls - Cheryl, Amity, Deidre and Ashby!! Great and very fun friends!

Why not try everything on the appetizer menu?? I think we will!

Wings, deviled eggs, margarita flatbread, birthday cupcakes and tacos! All excellent!

Louie's has another location on 119th St in Overland Park and I hear it's great too. I will definitely be back!

I saw a good movie this week - Captain Fantastic. It's an Indie movie and those are pretty much my favorite. An interesting story about a Dad raising his 6 children out in the woods. They live off the land and he home schools them along with training them physically as if they were in boot camp. If you ever saw Little Miss Sunshine it kind of reminded me of that - quirky but good.

I tried another cheesecake! This week was Lemon Meringue.

Lemon cheesecake topped with lemon mousse and meringue. It was a warm day so on the drive home the meringue slid a bit - but still delicious!

I like lemon and that is necessary to like this cheesecake. I would rate it a 3. Delicious but not making me wish I had more right now. Now that Tiramisu one is STILL on my mind!!!

In my "pursuit of happiness" I came across a quote I thought worth sharing. Something I want to remind myself of often. I was reading an article about the biggest happiness mistakes that people make, over and over again.

"One lives in the naive notion that later there will be more room than in the entire past." - Elias Canetti

He goes on to say "I continually remind myself of this truth. Too often, I tell myself, "I'll have time for this when summer comes," "Things will slow down in the fall, and I'll be able to tackle this," "Next year, I'll do it."

No. Now is the time to do the things that are important to me. It's false to believe that there will be more time in my future than there has been in my past.

I am getting much better at this, but it's something I focus on. Living up to my responsibilities but also living without regrets. Do more of what makes you happy. Make it a great week!

The Return of Cheesecake!

July 24, 2016 by Patricia Farmar

I am thinking of adding a subtitle to my blog - Patti Part Two - "The Pursuit of Happiness." Traveling makes me happy it is true. I love seeing for myself all the places I read and hear about - but I also find happiness in some of the little things in my day. I am in the habit of writing on my daily planner - in a fun color - "Do more of what makes you happy." I try every day to take a few minutes and appreciate what I'm doing, eating, who I've talked to, and how lucky I am to have my wonderful kids, family and friends. I believe it is called "being in the moment." I had a great moment yesterday when I received a lovely note from my dear friend Cindy. Enclosed in the note was this great card which she said made her think of me.

I have great memories of standing on the pier in Seattle by the famous Ivar's chowder shop and buying French fries for Tom and Keeley to hold up for the seagulls to swoop down and take right from their hands. I can't say for sure how happy the seagulls were but my kids were having a blast. I love the sentiment that it's important to enjoy the small moments and keep things in perspective as to what really matters. So thanks for making my day Cindy!!

I had a couple of interesting events this week that I got to experience. The first was on Tuesday night when I was at the beautiful Kauffman Center to hear Malala Yousafzai along with her father Ziauddin speak. What a privilege that was! I know she needs no introduction - the 15 year old girl that was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan for attending school.

The Kauffman Center as I approached - a spectacular facility!

Here it is from the inside!

I can actually see my building - hello Western Auto!

This was my first time attending the Chat series where famous people come to town and speak. There is a moderator and a Q&A. Last year Amy Poehler and Geena Davis were two of the speakers. Wish I would have gone to that! Malala has just turned 19 and was a wonderful humble speaker. She didn't really dwell on the shooting itself - more about what the experience has lead her to do with her life. Since her recovery along with returning to school in the UK she has along with her father devoted herself to fighting for education around the world for not just girls but all children. She said that there are over 2 million children in the world that have zero access to any education - and that they turn to guns and violence because they don't know they have other options. She has met with world leaders to hold them accountable to work toward this goal. It was really an inspirational event and I can't think of anything more important. I am hoping to find opportunities where I can contribute in even a small way right here in KC.

On Friday evening I attended a fun Arts Alive event. We started at the Rigby Ranch - a beautiful historic home in the Loose Park area that was built in 1910.

3 stories and a double porch on a large shaded lot.

The house changed hands a number of times and the present owners purchased it in 2007. They are big movie buffs and we had the opportunity to tour the entire 3 stories and see their extensive collection of movie memorabilia which included lots of original movie posters. The 3rd floor has been converted from a ballroom to a movie room which has a 13 foot movie screen with digital projection.

The picture of the Frank Capra cast of "It's a Wonderful Life" - my favorite movie - has a personal note written to Butch Rigby by Jimmy Stewart!!

We had wine and appetizers while we browsed the collection, and then headed to Unity Temple on the plaza to hear the award-winning folk-pop duo called Barnaby Bright.

Becky and Nathan Bliss are Barnaby Bright.

I wasn't familiar with the duo but I am a fan now. They performed almost all original music and played all the instruments themselves along with singing. They had a guest cello player from the KC Symphony playing with them and that made it even more special. The venue was small and intimate - my favorite song was "Old Coats" which is available for download on iTunes. Listening to it right now! A great start to a fun relaxing weekend.

One of my favorite things is Sunday brunch - and today got to have it at one of my favorite places here in KC. It's called Baked and it's right on Westport Road. A beautiful French bakery in the front and a great restaurant in the back. Everything is made from scratch daily and they have the best biscuits I've ever eaten. Worth checking out and they do take reservations. Good thing we had one today as it was busy!

Scrambled eggs, ham and the famous biscuit for me!

And last but not least - the next Cheesecake I tasted! Drum roll please...............

I'm sad it's all gone. I rate this a 4 - fantastic! A lady finger crust soaked with coffee liqueur topped by a coffee flavored cheesecake and a mascarpone topping with a dollop of chocolate frosting. Would you be upset if I tried this one again?? Sigh. My mouth is watering just to see the picture.

Hope your week is great!! Thanks for joining me on my adventures!

Pacific Northwest Adventure!

July 04, 2016 by Patricia Farmar

I just returned from a wonderful trip out to the Pacific Northwest - specifically Bend, Oregon and Seattle, WA. And places in between! I think it has to be one of the most beautiful areas in this great big beautiful USA! If you haven't explored it what are you waiting for??? It has something for everyone!

Bend Oregon is kind of in the middle of the state of Oregon. It sits on the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountain Range and right along the Deschutes River. There is a small regional airport in Redmond which is right by Bend which has flights from the major closest large cities such as Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake, Denver and San Francisco. I have been there twice and both times flew into Portland, rented a car and drove the 3 and a half hours through the mountains to get to Bend. The drive is beautiful. You can go right past Mount Hood and through the Ponderosa Pine forest and then climb to the high desert where Bend is situated. There is so much to do there - biking, hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, paddle boards, tubing, golf, shopping, great food, tons of breweries, and even scorpion hunting!! (My brothers did that last year and caught some!) The weather is very much like the desert - warm and sunny during the day and cool at night - perfect!!

I am so fortunate to have good friends that have a vacation home in Sun River which is about 20 miles south of Bend. Their home is lovely and sits right on the Deschutes River - hard to imagine a prettier place to wake up to!

A deer family was out early every morning! We ended every night at the fire pit right by the river.

Nancy invited some of our sorority sisters to get together for a wonderful 5 day visit and was an amazing host! I hadn't seen some of these Theta ladies in many years but it was as if we had just left the sorority house - so fun to catch up on the current and also relive the past. It was an action packed super fun trip - so here are the highlights!!

Welcome drinks on the pier! I wasn't the only one drinking - just the last to arrive so trying to catch up.

Nancy and Bruce took us all out kayaking on the beautiful Deschutes River. The River is so clean and while fairly calm it has a wonderful current that flows so makes the whole experience very relaxing.

I love that my friends are so active and fun!

We all took turns on the stand-up paddle board. And the weather could not have been more perfect!

My first time and I didn't fall in! No one did so it's no special talent on my part but it's lots of fun!

Then a late lunch at Twin Lakes Lodge.

Everyone looks exactly like college!!! What a beautiful setting - and good food too!

Then a small hike on the Fall River.

There were pretty yellow flowers growing on all the trees floating in the river.

Back to the house for dinner and drinks on the deck!

Kim dazzled us everyday with her amazing collection of Theta apparel!!

Sunset on the river - spectacular!!

Have I mentioned that Nancy and Bruce are gourmet cooks?? This was our breakfast one day!!

A sweet and a savory Dutch baby - both delicious!!

We spent the whole next day in Bend. The town is so cute. Filled with interesting boutiques and lots of cool restaurants, coffee shops and bars. We decided to look for something that we would each buy to remind us of our time together - and settled on some cool silver earrings at a wonderful store called the Silverado Jewelry Gallery right on Main St.

Next lunch at one of the most well known places in town - 10 Barrel. A brewery but also has fantastic food! I did poorly on taking pictures of the food but we shared some amazing beef tenderloin and Gorgonzola nachos, fresh grilled tuna salad and hummus and pita.

Bend is one of the first places in the US where you can pedal from brewery to brewery on a cycle pub that accommodates either 6 passengers and a driver or 14 and a driver. Nancy said it was fun so we had reserved the bike for 6 for late afternoon so that was our next destination. The company is called Bend Tour Company and they rent other things as well like Segways. No slackers allowed - you need everyone pedaling!! And the driver is there to navigate for you. Our driver was a college student named Lacey and she couldn't have been nicer or more fun. But there are rules you have to abide by. Adhere to all traffic signs and lights and no drinking off the bike!

Beer tasting at McMenamins and the famous Deschutes Brewery!

We got a pretty good work out so headed to Greg's Grill for a light dinner and drinks. Sat right along the Deschutes River and got to watch the sunset on another great day - then back to the fire pit for s'mores!!

We decided on our last full day we would take a big hike. There are so many great places to hike - really for all levels and all distances. We were feeling pretty confident so chose the hike to Green Lake which is considered moderate as there is some climbing involved. What we didn't account for is that there is still so much snow!! The hike was listed as 4 miles to the lake - but with all the snow parts of the trail were covered so we took a few wrong choices and ended up going 6 miles before we got to the lake! But is was so beautiful it was worth it! And then of course it took us almost another 6 miles to get back - but we made it and no complaints from anyone!!

Even the lake still has ice on it - but there were a few brave souls we saw that swam in it - not us!!

We headed for a VERY late lunch at Elk Lodge, and I think it was the best burger I have ever had!! We were starving!!

That was our trip to Bend. The next morning everyone was out the door early heading to the airport or on to their next adventure. It was a fantastic time! Everything was perfect - great friends, food, fun and activity. When we pledged Kappa Alpha Theta all those many years ago we always said Theta for a lifetime and it is true!!! Thanks for a wonderful time Nancy and Bruce!!!

The next part of my trip was heading to Seattle to visit family and have more fun! My brother Dave offered to drive south from Seattle and pick me up in Portland - it's about a 3 hour drive. So nice of him!! I hitched a ride with Nancy and Kim who were heading back to Portland and met up with Dave. We made a side trip to a beautiful area in Oregon called The Gorge. It's a spectacular area of waterfalls and dams right along the Columbia River which divides Oregon and Washington - and starts only about 30 miles east of Portland. It extends all the way to Mount Hood but we stopped to see Horsetail Falls and the biggest waterfall called Multnomah Falls.

This doesn't do it justice - so beautiful!

Multnomah Falls is spectacular!!

620 Feet from the top! Second highest year-round waterfall in the US!

We climbed the switchbacks - all 11 of them all the way to the top! Worth it!! We are both afraid of height so the sheer drop offs on the path on the way up were scary - and then neither of us could look over the side when we got up but I held my phone over to snap the picture. The bridge you walk over is about 70 feet from the base.

Thanks Dave - it was wonderful and we always have fun together!! Now off to Seattle!

I have been to Seattle many times as my brother has lived there for over 30 years. And now that Keeley and Matt are there I've increased my visits - I just love it there. I've been to many of the places you think of as Seattle - Pike Place Market, the Piers, the ferry, the islands etc. This time I wanted to head down to Tacoma and see the Chihuly Glass Museum and Art Bridge. Dale Chihuly is one of the most well known glass blowers of our time. I love seeing it whenever I can. There is a beautiful museum of his work in Seattle right by the Space Needle which I have already seen. It's wonderful and worthwhile. In Tacoma they actually have the studio where the glass is blown so that's where my brother Dave and niece Angela and I headed. First we stopped at a great little restaurant and brewery in downtown Tacoma called The Forum. It's in a beautiful building that used to be the Olympus Hotel.

The bar and stained glass were made in France in the late 1800's and shipped over to Tacoma.

The art bridge has 3 installations of Chihuly glass.

That's our selfie under the Chihuly ceiling!!

Top is Chihuly sculpture in front of the museum and bottom is the art bridge extending over the highway - very cool!

Some of the glass inside the museum. I'm standing by one just to show how large it really is!

This is of the Hot Spot where they blow the glass.

The inside and the outside of the ovens.

Met up with my good friends Pam and Lance at a great little bakery/cafe in Kent called Wild Wheat!

Picked up Keeley at Starbucks World Headquarters and went for drinks in West Seattle at Beveridge Place Pub. Lots of the breweries here don't serve food so they allow you to order food from where you want and have it delivered - so we did! Pizza from Zeek's - Yumm!!!

My next and last day was action packed. Dave and I headed into the West Seattle area to pick up Keeley and Matt for some house hunting - but stopped on our way in to have coffee and split a scone at a cool Coffeeshop called Fresh Flours.

Cherry Almond Scone and Stumptown coffee!

Went to an open house and then a great place in West Seattle for lunch! Whenever I'm with my brother we eat often!! I'm going to make him take the blame.

Another open house and then a trip to the famous Fremont Brewery!

A very cool place with lots of indoor and outdoor seating - and the weather was perfect!

Fremont - a neighborhood on the north side of the downtown area is also famous for the Fremont Troll!

A huge stone carved troll underneath the highway.

I was gone 8 days but it's never long enough. It was a wonderful trip and I can't thank my family and friends enough for hosting me and being a part of another great Patti adventure!!

Just Say Yes!

June 23, 2016 by Patricia Farmar

This is a mini blog post - just wanted to post one fun place I went mid-week. I can't tout "Just say Yes" and then not do it myself - so when a couple of my very good friends here in town wanted to meet for happy hour and check out the new Lidia's bar - how could I say no??

Lidia's as in Lidia Bastianich the famous New York Celebrity Chef!

Lidia's opened here over 15 years ago, and is only the second location from this famous chef. Her other restaurant is in New York City. They redid the bar area and made it much larger. We all loved it! The food is and always has been fantastic! It's Italian and all the pasta is made from scratch. And it's right in my neighborhood!

There are some very cool wooden tables in the bar area also - good happy hour prices and selections!

I always have fun with these two! Here is our attempt at a selfie!

One more work day and I am off to Bend!