EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Kansas
Distance - 326 Miles
Time - 6.5 Hours
Ahh, so nice to have a short drive of only 6 hours! Jan and I had another late night (I've been introduced to the Big Bang Theory, Too Cute, Pawn Stars, and several new cooking shows), then had a breakfast of yogurt and fruit before I packed myself up, mailed some postcards, and headed out on US-36. Thank you to the people who kept me company on the drive - it was nice to have cell reception for so much of the way!
I made it to Springfield around 4:30, arriving at the home of my cousin Juliaette, her husband Jerry, and their two adorable boys - William and Jake. Juliaette had to travel for work, but the boys were a great welcome committee and Jerry and I chatted while William showed off his racing skills on his train and Jake grinned and toddled around after him. We all went out for dinner at the Springfield Gourmet Taco Company, formerly called the Santa Fe Grill - same chef but different menu is how they put it. The child-friendly options had apparently decreased dramatically but they still had a 'customize your guacamole' menu and the options for tacos were truly impressive - I had a chicken taco with portobello mushrooms, feta, spinach, caramelized onions, and balsamic reduction - crazy but tasty. The only downside? If you don't want tacos, you're out of luck, that's pretty much the only thing you can order besides appetizers and dessert.
After baths and bedtime for the boys, Jerry introduced me to the most amazing cookbook - "How To Cook Everything". It's perfect for someone like me because it covers a lot of basics - what different technique names mean, how to choose pots/pans/gadgets that will be versatile and last, and focuses on basic recipes (like 10 base sauces) and offers a lot of variations off of those. I felt a little crazy reading a cookbook like a novel, but it's really interesting!
Yesterday was the laziest, most productive day ever - I loved it. For the first time in longer than I care to think I didn't even get into a car! I slept in, went running, played with the dog, watched a slew of wedding/cooking/how it's made shows while catching up on blogging and emails, talked with a few friends, and made dinner (including a kale recipe from the amazing cookbook!). Still trying to convince myself to stop procrastinating and work on my applications to Vanderbilt and Mass General, but otherwise I'm almost caught up on life and even in making travel arrangements for the next few weeks. Whew!
Pictures on the road:
Clouds in Kansas
Missouri state line and another new time zone!
Cool bridge :)
Decidedly moving into a more lush and verdant part of the country
I hear the unicorn tears are particularly good with the seafood...
How to cook everything is a great book. Unicorn tears on seafood...I would give that a try!
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