Residence Inn By Marriott Independence

... The first night was spent at Sakura with everyone including Ricky and Kim. Of course Sakura is a sushi train with all the fixins. The rest of the trip was spent at the Legends Shopping Center and The Books A Million book store. The last evening was dinner at Oklahoma Joe's Bar B Que. The french fries were great but everything else paled in comparision to Rudy's.

... butt across five states until stopping in KC.

We arrived around 4am. I got up around 7am to capitalize on any time with my sisters, nieces, and nephews. Brett slept in until around 12nn. We ate breakfast and the kids played for a couple of hours. Then it was on the road again..

... considered...one bag each (plus the golf clubs) which served as a nice spill over for all the bulky items that didn't make it into the regular bags......hair dryer, shoes, life jackets et al.

KC to LAX on Southwest went well. Aubs didn't sleep much so she was pretty exhausted when we got to LAX. now we just hope to get on the plane tonight! We're on standby with staff travel. More about that in the next blog.

Last night I got the last of my supplies packed in the bags, got the bags weighed, rearranged, and packed and weighed again. I think I am at 49 and 47 lbs each on the checked bags and will top out my carry on with 40lbs and then cram whatever is left into a backpack. I will be hauling more than my weight in luggage so I hope we don't have to run through any airports! Who knew a couple of ounces here and there can make such a difference?!

Overland Park, Kansas, United States annahennes

... clinics and housing for recovering surgery patients as well as their family members who may have accompanied them from far away. The Hospital is within walking distance to the Centro and the CEO Betania (where we will be eating) is also within walking distance. The CEO Betania is where the Sisters of Mercy teach local women skills to break the cycle of poverty. They operate a bakery, make cloth and other textiles ...

I'm counting down the days until we leave and I can't believe how much I've got to get together! Packing the supplies that didn't make the August cutoff for our container to be shipped, thanking everyone who contributed to my efforts, setting up this site, figuring out how to pack everything so that I don't get hit with monstrous baggage fees...going to have to get strategic! They say we only need 3 days worth ...

... where we had a soda at Clinton's Soda Shop. It's where former president Harry Truman was first employed. The Courthouse may look fairly new, but it actually is built over the original one from the 1800s. On the square around the courthouse are lots of cool shops and restaurants. We also went to an antique and craft fair that took place across the street from the museum on the day of my ...

... 9 was there to cover Bryan conducting. Bryan told the Choir and Orchestra that he had originally begun studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music until he decided he wanted to go into something “a little less competitive”—(he laughed at the irony!)—and chose broadcasting. What a wonderful conducting style for a weatherman! Bryan is hoping to come to Salt Lake to sing a Thursday rehearsal with the Choir some time soon.

Our guest ...

Well, I have officially made it home after a whirlwind of an adventure in Washington. My last two weeks flew by. I can hardly believe that I am home already. It seems as though I blinked and the summer was at a close. My last two weeks consisted of a lot of sight seeing including the National Archieves, Supreme Court, a Capitol Dome tour, Library of Congress, Folger Shakespeare Library, Jazz in ...

... he'd been in Afganistan working with French Special Forces - wierd. He also reckoned that Mad Max Bush is going to bomb the Iranian nuclear sites before he leaves office - watch this space. Finally we went to the local goal where Frank James (brother of Jesse) had been incarcerated - and very solid it was as well. Seems as though the Union enacted a code which required everyone to ...