Bullet hole memorial from Union Station in KC

 

We are still in KC.

We’ve toured the WW1 Museum, the Berlin Wall exhibition plus the Harry Truman museum and library. It’s exposed me to much history from that time from different perspectives-- the rise of the U.S. as a major military power, the dynamics leading up to WW1, WW2, the Cold War, the rise of nationalism and the rise of civil rights....

Some things stand out. First, Seattle doesn’t have museums that cover military or political history like this. Seattle could up its museum game.

Second... history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme. The rhymes of today make me uncomfortable.

Good news on the dog front. Her diarrhea went away.

We are now in Kansas City. The city has done a great job preserving its older buildings.

We have a surprising number of accidental connections to KC. My friend Clem grew up here. My dentist is from here. My husband worked here and still keeps in touch with his old coworkers. My brother-in-law earned his degree here. His grandkids reside here. Also my husband's sponsor from AA retired here.

They all have conflicting opinions on who has the best BBQ in Kansas. I’ll stay out of that debate. 

Wednesday evening we had dinner with one of my husband's old coworkers. She has family here. She and her husband found KC to be far more affordable than the West Coast and moved here for retirement.

We spent Thursday catching up with my husband's old sponsor. We've known her for long enough that I also consider her a friend.

We still have much to see in KC… museums, river walks, haunted houses. For some reason KC has a small industry in haunted house attractions. I don't know if I'm looking forward to that.

We are headed out for a week to visit friends in Kansas City. The night before our departure our dog developed diarrhea. As my husband and I travel over the next year, this is the kind of challenge that we will need to manage through. Should one of us stay home? Should we foist more obligation onto our dog sitter?

In the end we decided to inform the sitter and instruct him to cut back on the dog's diet until the symptoms calm down. We also collected our stash of diarrhea medications (does every dog owner have a stash of diarrhea medications?) and put it someplace conspicuous. We shall see if this is enough to prepare the sitter.

We took our aunt out for dinner at a highly recommended local restaurant. It was at a working fisherman's wharf in a rundown older building. The crowd there looked worn down. Fishermen? Homeless? Looking around, everyone was drinking wine and eating plates of gorgeous sushi. The contrast between the ambience, the customers and the food made me smile. 

The food and drink were wonderful.

We talked to our server about the history of the restaurant. Apparently there is a good culinary school down the road. The restaurant is run by one of the instructors and partially staffed by the students. 

Kismet’s Landing. Well worth the visit. 

The fog ebbs and flows around the beaches and coves near Florence. For a few moments the sun will be out and the sky blue. Ten minutes later you are walking in a misty dream. 

The area is a tourist and retirement heaven. I can see why my husband’s aunt settled here— gorgeous beaches, golfing, fishing, nice restaurants and a healthy retirement community. 

 

We are driving down the coast to Florence Oregon to visit my husband’s family. A friend suggested just I say we are traveling to Florence as it sounds more exotic.

Florence Oregon may not be Florence Italy, however the beaches here are beautiful. I’ll let the sunset speak for itself. 

 

Happy October all.

Fall is setting in. The clouds and drizzle have returned though there are still plenty of sunny breaks in the afternoon.

Wednesday we had a video call with A&E. Some happy news from them. A month ago they took in a foster dog. More specifically their son, who lives with them, took in a foster dog. This dog had been neglected and was untrained. It didn’t know to potty outside and had never been on a leash. Fortunately, the dog was smart and trainable. After a month of patience, the dog is now friendly, cuddly, leash trained and goes to the bathroom outside. A permanent owner has been identified. Soon he will be in a new home. 

I slept 8 hours last night. Hallelujah!

Weather wise fall has set in. Much cloud. Occasional rain. Temperatures no longer reach the 70s. 

Sunday was a social day. Lunch with Evan, Allen, WS & PT. We have all been traveling of late and shared our experiences. WS & PT also caught colds while traveling in Europe. This marks seven people that I know who, in the past two weeks, have caught travel colds. Thankfully this cold is more of an inconvenience than anything. You cough. Your nose runs. You are a little more tired than usual. No aches, pains or nausea.  

Dinner was with my brother-in-law. We haven't seen him in months. All is going well there. He plans on retiring in two years. He has grand-kids in KC. We will visit them in a few weeks.

We received a frustrating call about a friend. Apparently the friend has flaked out twice about meeting with the caller. The caller had the feeling that more is going on with this friend than just being scatter brained.

I've been worrying about this friend for sometime. If this were work,  I'd characterize the problem as "Executive Disfunction." He has problems prioritizing and keeping commitments without being managed.

Thankfully he doesn't use drugs or alcohol. 

I have to proceed carefully. I must bring this topic up in the right way at the right time. 

This jet lag is pernicious. These mornings I am awake by 3:30am. I do enjoy it though. I can finish my morning routine, exercises, household chores, research, paperwork and take the dog on a long walk all by 8:00am

Our second day home from our trip and both of us are very jet lagged. Last night we were in bed by 6pm and up by 3am. Waking up that early is... interesting? Our daily chores are all done by noon. 

And we are on our way home. I enjoyed every day even though I had a cold

Travel notes for the next time we go…

The whole French coast, from Italy to Spain, is gorgeous, safe and first world. Don’t feel compelled to stay in a well known city. Similarly bus and train systems work well. Use them. 

Jet lag and heat make afternoon naps necessary. Plan around it. 

Build in a few beach days. 

Restaurants don’t really open till 7pm. Museums sometimes close from 1 to 2 pm. Plan around that. 

Church in Antibes…

View from Picasso Museum…

Picasso…

View from the apartment where we stayed…

The Ramparts at Saint Paul de Vence. 

 

I have been under the weather though I am in the mend. Today I did some exploring with the others.

Nice is gorgeous. I understand why so many artists have made there homes here over the years. 

Wednesday,  we took the high speed train from Paris to Nice. My phone says peak speed was 185mph. 

Thursday we explored the city. For centuries Nice has built towards healthy street life. There are miles of walkways along the Mediterranean and dozens of streets hosting street cafes. The crowd is a bit younger than I expected. The streets are filled with people in there 20s

Somehow I managed to pick up a cold. We are resting on the beach today. I am optimistic the cold will pass soon. 

We’ve lucked out and had wonderful weather for our Paris visit.

… the OG Lady Liberty…

At the Monet Museum.