Austin Escapades: A Thrilling Weekend of Food, Fun, and Friends

Flight from KC to Austin

On January 31, Carrie and I headed to the airport for Austin, TX. Carrie and Corrie had tickets for Justin Timberlake on Monday night, so we decided to make a trip of it. We planned to meet Corrie (from Houston) and Javier (from Dallas). Javier and I planned to hang out Monday night and visit some beer spots while Corrie and Carrie attended the concert.

We rented a house for the trip and had a great time. We ate at wonderful spots and had drinks at some good places too. I'll share some of the spots we visited with recommendations if you find yourself in Austin.

Crawfish for Lunch

After Mexican food on Friday night to start the trip, we went for a late lunch at Shoal Creek Saloon, where we had crawfish. It had been a long time since I had crawfish, and it did not disappoint. Corrie had to remind me how to eat crawfish, and we made quick work of 2 lbs. We spent a few hours here enjoying the food and beverages. Corrie mentioned that her brother, Curt, and sister-in-law, Leah, met and worked at Shoal Creek Saloon, which was cool to hear. It was a good spot with good drinks and a fun environment.

Other food enjoyed at Shoal Creek Saloon included Jambalaya, which was fantastic, and a family platter that included soft shell crab. It was my first time having soft shell crab, and I loved it!

Selfie in front of The Garage

Saturday night found us at The Garage, a unique cocktail bar that Javier had found and made reservations for. The Garage is located in an actual parking garage. A good-sized bar with seats around the bar and edges made for a unique experience. It was a little chilly in The Garage because it was, in fact, a garage for parking cars. It was really cool, though. We had a great time trying different drinks and people-watching.

That night, we went back to the house and enjoyed the evening drinking wine and eating snacks. We kept it simple after being out most of the day.

Sunday found us at Jacoby's Restaurant and Mercantile, which was an excellent find by Carrie, I believe. Once again, this place had excellent drinks and food. I had chicken fried steak and waffles. So good! I couldn't finish it all, but we also had some appetizers. Before we left, we got some strawberry cake to take home. As our trip was coming to an end on Tuesday night, Carrie mentioned this was one of her favorite spots of the whole trip. It was really good, and I highly recommend a visit to Jacoby's Restaurant and Mercantile.

Oasis Texas Brewing Company

Sunday afternoon/evening found us at Oasis Texas Brewing Company on the Colorado River. Good beer and incredible views. We enjoyed watching the sun go down and seeing the beautiful views while drinking good drinks. The Oasis Texas Brewing Company was a cool spot with beautiful views of the river and, of course, the sun going down. A lot of seating with various bars and places to eat made for a fun place to watch the setting sun.

We did manage to get some culture while we were in Austin by visiting The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, which Carrie had been wanting to visit. We toured the museum for a few hours and made it to all of the floors. I am so glad we were able to tour the LBJ museum. His presidency was overshadowed by the Vietnam War. He did so many great things for the country, but the war took away from his legacy.

Empty Bottles From Trip

We had a great time with our visit to Austin, Texas. A fun town with a bit of crazy traffic, but we had a wonderful time. Thanks to Corrie for driving us around for much of the time. We usually try to snap a picture of the empty bottles at the end of our trips with Corrie, and we made it through a few bottles. Some really good wine that Corrie brought with her on the trip, which was great!

I realized I did not post any pictures of Justin Timberlake. Well, I will leave that for Carrie to provide. Carrie did say it was a fun concert and they had great seats. I am good with missing the concert and instead touring around Austin with Javier, drinking good beer.

Happy Thanksgiving! Have a Great Thanksgiving 2024!

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend. I may have mentioned this before, but Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I love the food, a little too much, and I love spending time with family and friends.

A friend shared the classic Charlie Brown quote earlier this week: "What if today, we were just grateful for everything?" It's so fitting for Thanksgiving, and I thought it would be a great way to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

I know I'll be enjoying turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and, of course, pie. What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes? Or do you have a different family tradition?

However you choose to celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and get to spend time with loved ones.

Capitol City Charm: A Des Moines Weekend

Trip to Des Moines, Iowa

We left for Des Moines, Iowa on Friday morning. We dropped Oliver off where he would stay through Sunday and we were on the road by 7:30. We drove to Des Moines with Erin and Greg and then met up with Laura and Jason where we had lunch and stayed at a Airbnb. We had a great time! We toured the capitol, went to antique place, did a lot of walking, and then we ate and drank a few different places. So much fun! Carrie and I were so tired when we got back home that we both took long naps Sunday afternoon into the evening and likely going to bed early this evening.

State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa

We met Laura and Jason at El Bait Shop and then we headed to the capitol to look around. Carrie and I had been there before (back in 2016), but we wanted to show the others the beautiful capitol in Iowa. The clear blue skies made the capitol stand out against the dark blue background. It was fun going through and seeing the different areas of the capitol. We toured all the floors we could access which was cool. We decided doing a guided tour and looked around on our own which is what Carrie and I did back in 2016 when we toured their capitol.

Drinks at Speak Easy

Oysters on the Half Shell

Group Selfie

We finished the weekend Saturday night at a speak easy. A few of us had a wild night on Friday, so it was low key on Saturday night. The drinks were good and we had a good time hanging out together. We are already looking forward to our next trip back to Des Moines, Iowa and talked about going earlier in the season. We lucked out with the weather for our trip as it was sunny while we were there. A random rain shower moved through on Saturday late afternoon, but that was about it.

Great time and Des Moines was good to us once again. I look forward to going back in the future.

A Dog's Love for Heat, a Fan's Hope for Victory, and a Delicious Feast: A Summer Weekend to Remember

100 out... Oliver Loves it!

Last week was another hot week with temperatures closed to 100 degrees the first part of the week. It found Oliver out enjoying the warmth of the sun in our back yard. Yes, he goes out and sits in the sun to warm up from being inside our house with air conditioning. He will sit out there until he starts panting and then head back to the door to go back inside. What a knucklehead. The picture to the right is from late in the week and as of Sunday temperatures have dropped to acceptable temperatures.

The weekend has been beautiful since Thursday with weather in the seventies or eighties. I am sure Oliver is not liking that as he wants more heat when he is outside. Looking at the forecast for the next week and the trend is supposed to continue. No complaints from me.

Shrimp, Crab, etc., Boil

Carrie and I had a treat planned for Friday night dinner. Our friends, Laura and Jason, invited us over for a shrimp boil. Ok, that was an easy answer. The dinner was tagged as shrimp boil and while it did have shrimp it also included crab legs. What a night! It was so good! Poured it right out on the kitchen table and grabbed whatever we wanted to eat for dinner. The potatoes were excellent along with all the other fixings. Following dinner, we went outside to hang out at the fire pit which was a lot of fun. A perfect way to kick off the holiday weekend!

Hoping the Royals can turn around the losing streak we have been on since Wednesday. A four-game losing streak going into the game this afternoon. We need to turn it around and snap this bad skid. It started late in the week when two players got hurt and we have not been able to turn it around since then. I will be wearing all of my lucky Royals gear today to try and push us in the direction of a win and point us in a new direction.

Have a great rest of your Sunday and Labor Day.

Nashville Birthday Bash: Honky Tonks, Brunch, and Bourbon Steak!

On Our Way to Nashville

Here we are in the middle of July and it is hard to believe that a month ago we were in Nashville, TN for the 50 birthday celebration for Corrie. We had a great time. I meant to write this following the trip, but we were busy following the trip and did not get it done. We had a wonderful time in Nashville and plan to go back in the future. We went to so many great spots to listen to great music, drink, and of course we ate at some great spots too. This will be a few of the places we went but not an inclusive list.

Drinks at Assembly Food Hall

We were in Nashville from June 13 - 17. We packed in a lot during our time there. We would sometimes sleep late to about 9:30 or 10, but we were out the door and doing things in Nashville everyday we were there. We would not head back to take naps or breaks, but it was nonstop and a great time. Picture to the left was a spot we ended up a few different times called Assembly Food Hall. A variety of places to eat or get drink. Fun spot!

Group at Brunch

There were ten of us total on the trip although all ten were together I believe only two days together. Picture to the right was brunch at Adele's where we went Saturday morning on June 15. We all came away stuffed and happy. I want to go back there in the future for dinner. We spent that day going between drinking spots while the ladies went shopping. 

I am jumping around a bit, but on Thursday we spent the day on Broadway going around to the various bars. It was so fun with great bands at each and every stop. Some places would have multiple bands playing at the same time, but the way the bars were set up, you could only hear one when in the vicinity of that band. Most bands would take donations with a bucket or with a QR code to send money. We did both methods while we were going around Broadway listening where we would drop cash into a bands bucket or send Venmo through their QR code.

Dinner at Bourbon Steak

The highlight of the trip was the birthday dinner for Corrie at Bourbon Steak. We had reservations for ten and we had talked about doing a private dining room but ended up leaving it in the main dining room. When we arrived, we were surprised they took us to the private dining. It was incredible with the views, the food, and the company. The picture to the left, or the others in Flickr album, do not give it justice. We had our own wait staff that took good care of us. Javier was in charge of the wine and we had three bottles of wine through the night. It was a fantastic evening! 

To see all photos from our trip, you can browse them using the images below.

Fun memories to celebrate the birthday for Corrie. It was fun hanging out with everyone to celebrate big birthday weekend for Corrie. Carrie and I hope to go back to Nashville sometime soon.

Celebrating 55 Wedding Anniversary with Driver and Fun at Lidia's in Kansas City

Family Photo at Lidia's

Joan and Eddie celebrated 55 years of marriage on Thursday. Eddie planned a trip to Lidia's on Saturday with the whole family. He got a driver to drive everyone into the restaurant and we had a wonderful time. This was our second time to Lidia's with the last time being a few years ago to celebrate Eddie's birthday at the time.

We left Topeka at 6:30 with reservations at 8, so it worked out perfectly. Saturday happened to be prom weekend in Topeka, so Eddie got us an SUV to ride in style. Worked out well and we had a good time riding into Kansas City for our celebration dinner.

Anniversary Dessert

I realized after we got home, I did not take a lot of pictures while we were on the trip. I intended to do so, but did not get many. The pictures we did get were taken from our driver at the entrance to Lidia's. He did a good job with taking a lot of pictures to capture the moment. The only picture I snapped was of the dessert that was served to Joan and Eddie to celebrate their anniversary. 

Selfie of Our Driver and Shirron Family

When we finished eating, there was rain and wind for us on the drive home. Glad we had SUV and driver that did a great job getting us to and from Kansas City. A memorable night to celebrate the 55 anniversary. I will remember this night and celebration as it was a wonderful evening.

Coming up this week is the celebration of Carrie as she has a birthday this week. She has not said where she wants to eat her birthday dinner, but I believe it will be a place in Lawrence. I think she is still deciding where she would like to go to celebrate.

Until next time, have a great week and watch for next weeks post about celebration for Carrie.

Trip to Palm Springs, CA November 30 - December 4 Update... Note, we had a great time!

Mountains and Palm Trees

I did not have a chance to write up our trip to Palm Springs, California after we got back. We went to Palm Springs, CA November 30 - December 4. We met Javier and Corrie in Palm Springs. We got together a few weeks ahead of our trip to pick a place to go. We wanted to go some place that none of us had been before. This took a few messages back and forth and discussions before we finally landed on Palm Springs, California. Palm Springs did not disappoint! We had a great time! It was beautiful and we ate at some good places as well as had drinks at some good spots too.

Breakfast at Farm in Palm Springs

For breakfast the first day, we went to Farm in Palm Springs. A breakfast spot that was amazing. The set up of Farm was cool with indoor and outdoor sitting. The drinks were amazing! The Bloody Mary here was so good, I could have had a few of those. Breakfast was simple and delicious with some really good fried potatoes.

We wanted to get an early start to the day as we had plans to visit Joshua Tree National Park, do some bar hopping, and then have dinner at a fancy place that night. A lot planned for our first full day in Palm Springs, California.

Tree Behind Joshua Tree

During the day, we drove out to Joshua Tree National Park to look around. Beautiful to see it and yes it was a bit chilly. We saw people climbing the rocks and on top of the high cliffs which was cool, but mainly, we enjoyed looking at the mountains against the sky with Joshua Trees mixed in and around the area. I am so glad that we decided to go out this day instead of waiting until the weekend to get out to see the sights.

Early evening found us at The Parker Palm Springs for drinks. We took an Uber to start our evening with drinks before heading to dinner. It was a cool spot where we later learned that movie stars would frequent for an after party for an event that takes place each year in Palm Springs. We only had drinks here and a lot of laughs. It was a fun spot and glad we were able to make it there before our evening of dinner.

Group Picture at Bar Cecil

That night, we had reservations at Bar Cecil that Carrie had found and got up early a month earlier to get reservations. As I mentioned, Carrie had to get up early a month prior to get reservations. She had read some place that reservations were hard to get and they opened a month in advance, so she got up early one morning in October to get our reservations. I am so glad she did! We had a great time!

Palm Springs reminded me a lot of Albuquerque, NM that we have visited a number of times for vacation. The mountains, look of the homes in the area, and the weather made me think of Albuquerque. In the evening, it would get rather chilly and we especially felt the cold when we traveled up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway which took us to the top of a mountain to overlook Palm Springs. We had drinks at the top of the mountain while looking at the views before heading out to see the rest of Palm Springs.

To see all pictures from our trip, please use the viewer below to browser our pictures. Note, there a lot of selfies and silly pictures as we had a blast! The full album can be viewed on Flickr at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB5Zwg

As you can see from our pictures and description, we had an excellent time. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, we plan to do this on an annual basis where we pick a location where none of us have been. We recognize this will become a tough task as it took us a while to land on Palm Springs that none of us had been to before, but it is a good challenge and I look forward to see where we go next year when we make the trip to the unknown.

Until next time, I hope you have wonderful travels and are able to visit some place new each year.

Anniversary weekend in Lawrence, KS celebrating 21 years of marrige with eating, drinking, and having fun in Lawrence

Free State Patio

Carrie and I are celebrating our 21 wedding anniversary on September 21. We decided to celebrate early by getting a room at the Eldridge in Lawrence, KS. We picked this weekend to celebrate based on KU football being away and Washburn playing at home on Saturday, September 23 this was the best selection for our celebration.

Selfie on Free State Patio

We stayed two nights coming in on Friday afternoon. We have had a wonderful time eating and drinking up and down Mass Street. Friday night we decided to play it by ear and see where the night took us. We started off a Free State Brewery where we sat on the patio where we could enjoy the true spirit of drinking beer on the patio. 

Bar at 715

Following our time on the patio, we made our way to 715 for a drink or a few drinks. We hung out at 715 for a while before we headed to The Mad Greek which has been a favorite of ours for years. 

Saturday morning we slept a little later than we were planning but we were out the door by 10 am. We went to 1900 Barker on Mass which is a coffee and breakfast spot. We out there for a while eating breakfast and enjoying coffee. It was a good spot and I would go back!

Art in the Park and Popcorn

Following breakfast, we walked to the park for Art in the Park where we wandered around and bought a lot of earrings (5 sets), so I think Carrie is set for a while. I tease, but happy she finds them at art shows. It was a good way to wish her a happy anniversary by finding earrings at Art in the Park.

As we were walking back to our hotel, we decided to stop into Louise's Bar Downtown where we stayed for a while watching Missouri beat Kansas State. Had a fun time at the bar and watching the people.

Picture from our Hotel Room

We had planned to have dinner Saturday night at 715 on their patio, but it was forecast to rain in the evening, so we decided to try a new spot for us. We went to Mass Street Fish House and Raw Bar. We enjoyed our time and had a good dinner. I would go back! I know it has been on Mass Street for a while, but it was the first time we had been there.

After dinner, we down to the Wine Dive for a drink or two and then over to Merchants Pub and Plate. We have eaten at both spots, so we just wanted to stop by for a drink and get ready for our reservations John Brown Underground. 

We had reservations at John Brown Underground for 10:45. Drinks were really good but I could not tell you their names. It was a fun spot and it did feel like I was in a speakeasy. We had great seats at the bar and they took good care of us.

Ramen Bowls for Lunch

Sunday morning we were moving a little slow and slept late. We at Ramen Bowls on Mass. Delicious and perfect for helping with a little bit of a hangover. 

We had a great time on our extended weekend in Lawrence. Oliver had a blast staying at my Mom's along with my sister Dina. We were all so tired when we got home that we all took naps and went to bed a little early.

So happy to spend our 21 anniversary in Lawrence and to spend it on Mass Street with the love of my life. Happy anniversary, Carrie! I cannot wait to see what we do next year.

Cooking on Big Green Egg, Carrie in Houston, and Looking Forward to Smoking Ribs Sunday Night

Flank Steak and Fried Potatoes

Carrie is in Houston for the weekend so it is my time to grill as much as I can. Unlike last year when she was gone, I did not plan out all kinds of things to cook. Instead, I am using things I find in the freezer although I did go to the store on Saturday to pick up some things. More on that later.

To start, I did a flank steak with fried potatoes. The flank steak was in our freezer and I took it out of the freezer Friday at noon to thaw out. Turned out good slightly pink. The potatoes were some that we had on a shelf in our kitchen and we must have had them for a while as there were a few rotten ones in bag that about made me lose my appetite. Overall, it turned out great! I did this on Friday night for dinner and I did not eat it all. I meant to eat leftovers on Saturday, but that did not happen.

Saturday morning I had a haircut in the morning, so I went to Circle Coffee afterwards where I spent an hour or so reading and planning out what I would be cooking Saturday night. I decided on wings as I had not done those on the Big Green Egg. 

Wings on the Grill

The recipe I found for wings worked out well. Fairly easy consisted of patting the wings dry, salt, and baking powder for a brine that I let sit for a few hours through the afternoon in the fridge. I set the Big Green Egg at 350 - 400 degrees and put the wings on the grill with indirect heat. They cooked for about 40 minutes before I removed from the grill and put them in a bowl where I added Louisiana Hot Sauce coating the wings entirely before putting the wings back on the grill for another 10 - 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Wings Ready to Eat

Yes, I made a lot of wings. They come in packs to feed a family, so I bought almost 4 lbs of wings. Luckily, they turned out good and I ate about half. I plan to have them for lunch today.

When the wings were ready, I did not time things right as I bought a bag of steak fries to go with the wings. Took a little while for the fries to finish in the oven but finally had them out and I was ready to eat. 

Ready to Eat

Turned out well with a lot of food leftover.  Of course I had to have Ranch to go with the wings. I like how they turned out with a little crunch on the skin in some spots and then the sauce was good as it gave them a kick. I might have let them be on the grill after they were sauced for a bit too long, but grilling is always a learning experience, so next time I will do them only for another 5 - 10 minutes.

Tonight I am planning to do ribs. We have had two slabs of ribs in our freezer for a long time. It was a mistake when we ordered back in 2020 from Wal-Mart where they changed out what we had requested for two slabs or ribs. I have been wanting to try out ribs for a while, so I am excited to try them out tonight. I will leave the cook tonight for another post.

Until next time, have a great Sunday and a wonderful week!

Busy weekend and then got the yard mowed so Oliver can enjoy our back yard again

Tongue Out and Sleepy Oliver

Busy weekend with things happening both Friday and Saturday evening. It was a busy week too with meetings, a two day conference, and trying to get some lawn work done.

Picture of Oliver to the left is from Saturday as he was very sleepy from being up late on Friday night. He likes to go his kennel which we leave open all the time and never shut him in there any more, but it is his "safe" place when he needs to get away from us and sleep. On Saturday afternoon, he was so sleepy is little tongue came out and stayed out most of the afternoon. When his tongue comes out, you know he is sleepy and likely a bit grumpy too, so give him his space and let him do as he pleases through the day.

Friday started summer hours at work which is nice. Had a work gathering that evening and then already had plans for a trip to Lawrence for dinner. Had fun celebrating graduation by some colleagues as well as outstanding staff award for another colleague. Congrats to them all! I was only able to stay for about an hour before I had to head out to pick up Carrie and head to Lawrence. We went to Merchants Pub & Plate which if you have not been there, I highly recommend a visit. Good drinks and fun with family and friends.

Carrie Reading with Oliver

Saturday morning Carrie, Oliver, and I all slept later than normal which was nice. Saturday afternoon was so beautiful that Carrie went out and read for a while with Oliver. Oliver loves it as he can watch for people, and dogs, that are walking by and protect our home.

Saturday night we were meeting family for dinner at Blind Tiger and then Soliloquy for drinks. This was my second time to Blind Tiger in the past month or so and once again the food service was very slow. We waited for about 45 minutes for food and had reservations at 8:30 at Soliloquy. The last time I was at Blind Tiger took 45 - 60 minutes for food to be at our table. With no mention it was taking the kitchen either time a long time, this time we could not wait and decided to leave just as it was coming out to the table. Blind Tiger might want to start warning customers if it is going to be 45 minutes plus for food to be ready as that is just too long to wait for food.

We did have some apps while we were waiting for food which was good as that turned out to be the meal for the table. We left and arrived just in time for our 8:30 reservation at Soliloquy. If you have not heard of Soliloquy, be sure to check them out. They are in the same building where Circle Coffee is located, but with Circle Coffee being closed Saturday evening and not open on Sunday, Soliloquy is able to use the space to serve spirits, cocktails, and creating memories with a pop-up place to enjoy some drinks, snacks, and company on Saturday evening. So fun and what a great idea! It was our first time to Soliloquy and we will go back!

Sleepy Oliver... Keep 
Those Eyes Open!

After being gone last weekend to Texas and not having mowed the lawn in over two weeks, I had to mow on Sunday. Oliver does not like to go in the yard when the grass touches his belly. He will stand on the cement and do his business on some grass overreaching to the pavement. The only time he will go out in the grass, when it is long, is when there is someone walking with a dog. He forgets and runs out to the corner of our back yard to bark at the dog. Then, you can almost see him realize the grass is touching his belly and he will jog along the fence back toward the back patio where he will sit and watch for the next person to cross the street in back of our house.

Now, he can go in the back yard without blades of grass touching his belly. I got the lawn mowed, trimmed, and I used the blower to get other yard stuff away from the house. Oliver is set for another week in our back yard.

I trust you had a great weekend and hopefully you were able to enjoy the nice weather we had this weekend here in Kansas. Hoping we have some more nice days to come before it gets hot. Until next time, have a great week!

Weekend Trip to St. Louis for Food, Drinks, and Fun

 

This past weekend we took a trip to St. Louis which is turning into an annual trip. Greg plays in a fantasy baseball draft that drafts in-person, so we have made a trip of it the past two years. We headed to St. Louis on Thursday, March 16 and we returned on Sunday, March 19. We had a wonderful time and managed to get to two Italian places to eat.

 

We did go to a new Italian place to eat our first night in St. Louis. We went to Paul Manno's Restaurant. Great food, wonderful service, and had the best time eating there Thursday night. Our night here as a perfect evening where we continued to talk about it on our way back on Sunday. Wonderful spot!

Friday we had a long day of going to different spots around St. Louis. We started off with an early breakfast and then went through the day until we dropped Greg off at his draft. Erin, Carrie, and I found a good spot to eat as we knew it might not be a spot Greg would like, so we made reservations and had a delicious meal in a cool spot. The name of the place was jalea.

The drinks were good and then dinner was also delicious. I could not finish all of my food, so I took some of it home, but ended up not having the leftovers either. We loved the look of the place and our waiter was excellent. He shared with us that he played baseball in Kansas, so he was familiar with Kansas. It was good to eat some delicious food, have some fun drinks, and try out a new spot.

Carrie was doing some artsy pictures while we were in St. Louis, so a few of those to share here.

We are already looking forward to next year when we will go back and go to new places. I was able to meet with my friend, Mark, and his wife, Shauna, while were there. We met them for lunch on Saturday and had a chance to catch up.

Saturday night, we went to Charlie Gitto’s which we went to last year. It was good, but we had a better time, better food, and drinks at Paul Manno's. We look forward to trying a new spot next year when we return.

For now, this is all as I did not get this posted on Sunday as my regular schedule as I was so tired from the weekend, I slept most of the evening and went to bed early. Playing catch up on our weekend trip of staying up late, getting up early, and having fun.