Peaceful Lake Jacomo
Help us…we are being stalked. Watching our every move and following us constantly are grey skies and its trusty companion, dreary, cold weather. We have tried to escape them, but our efforts have yet to be successful. Thankfully, the bitterly cold temperatures seem to be leaving us alone (although the Airstream is still trying to thaw out from our ice encounters). Overall, however, our week in Kansas City was, well, somewhat gloomy.
Jack and Millie (and, Buddy...violating Millie)
Despite the dreary weather, our week was not without highlights. I was able to catch up with an old friend of mine, Jack, who lives in Kansas City. Jack and I met while in Oxford, England for a study abroad program eleven years ago. We have stayed in touch via e-mail and a few visits over the years. It was great to see him again, see his new home, and meet his adorable black lab, Millie. Jack is super-talented. He’s an artist who works for Hallmark, does freelance work (including the illustrations for the Hungry Girl books), and has a comic strip. I was an art major in college and quickly dropped that major when I realized one actually needed artistic ability to do well in the field so I greatly admire Jack’s talent and wish I had even a smidge of his ability.
While we were visiting with Jack, he also happen to be dog-sitting so Buddy and AJ were happy to have some quality play time with other furry friends. My dogs were actually behaving well, until I decided to take some pictures. I wanted a picture of Jack and Millie and it was at that time when Buddy decided to take advantage of Millie. I attempted the photo several times but Buddy somehow snuck in there every time. That’s my boy! I hope Millie doesn’t feel too violated.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
For the remainder of our week, we stayed at the fabulous Lake Jacomo campground where we had beautiful views, fabulous large sites, and friendly camphosts. While the weather was cold and dreary, it was nice to look out our windows at a beautiful lake, trees that still had some wonderful fall colors, and even some wildlife. At one point, I looked out the window to see three deer and seven or eight wild turkeys. Even with gray skies, the campground’s surroundings provided a very peaceful setting.
Now, that's a large shuttlecock!
By the end of the week, however, cabin fever started setting in and the super-large pot of almost-homemade chicken noodle soup was not enough to cure it. We decided to go for a drive and that night found the perfect remedy: Large shuttlecocks. On the lawn of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in downtown Kansas City are four large shuttlecocks, each reaching nearly 18 feet in height and weighing 5500 pounds. The lawn of the museum is itself impressive and we enjoyed a brisk walk around the museum admiring the buildings, the beautiful street lights, rows of perfectly-lined trees, and of course, the sculptures. Unfortunately, we had little time as Chris had to return home for a conference call, but if the exterior of the museum is this impressive, I suspect the interior is amazing! After such a dreary few days, this outing was the perfect cure for our cabin fever and great end to our week!
