Jiggity Jig
Sep. 9th, 2009 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaitouHome from Kansas City!
I flew in Thursday and spent the day with my grandmother and aunt on Dad's side. I enjoy visiting Dad's side because they're very bookish and intellectual, (Not that Mom's side isn't brilliant, there are at 2 doctorates/college professors, two medical doctors, and so forth, it's just not the main topic of conversation) so the talk is all about books, art, politics and current events.
Friday morning was spent with my grandmother on Mom's side. Mom is putting together a scrapbook for her of the family and all the major events. I found a box full of letters from my great uncles during WWII and copies of the letters she wrote back. They were really great, all full of little jokes like 'powder your nose, Nora, I can see the shine from here!' and her writing about going out on dates with the man who would be my grandfather. I even found a picture of her, her twin sister and a friend sitting on the beach in their two piece bathing suits knitting! I really want a copy of that one.
Then in the evening we went to the hotel where we would stay for the Irish Fest and checked in for duty. The whole clan runs the Sponsor VIP areas of the festival, serving snacks, beer and pop. It took me a little while to get the hang of pulling a good beer from the tap since it's been a few years since I've been back. It rained early on, so not many people showed up. But all the family was there so we had a great time.
Saturday we didn't have to work until the evening, so Dad and I went to Lamar's Donuts (apparently a famous donut place in KC) and to the National WWI museum. OMG It was Amaaaazing. I've never seen a museum use technology so well. When you walk into the museum you cross over a glass bridge over a field of poppies. Each poppy represents 1000 deaths from the war. There were dioramas of the trenches, and when you looked through them there were recordings of letters written by the soldiers about the trench conditions. And another where you walked into the bottom of a crater left behind by a canon shell, so you can really see how big the damage was. There were booths where you could listen to wartime music, poetry and speeches, and interactive light tables to design your own propaganda posters, or learn more about different artillery or airplanes. You know those cards where the picture shifts when you move it? Well they had big panels of those that showed a street before the war, and when you moved you could see the rubble left afterwards. I took lots of notes and pictures.
After the museum Dad and I went to Arthur Bryants, which is THE place to go for BBQ in KC. We got there about 2:30 in the afternoon, but the line still went out the door. You got a little plate, and a lot of meat between two slices of wonder bread. It was fantastic. Then we headed back to the festival where I worked until closing, handing out pop and water since they didn't give me a liquor license for that day.
My mom, Aunt Pat, Aunt Kathy and I then got on a shuttle bus that took us to the Irish pub in the city. I'd love to go back when it isn't absolutely packed to get a better view. Ragland Road pub was originally in Ireland and they took it apart, shipped it to Kansas City and put it back together again. Lots of the musicians kept continuing to jam until the wee hours. We didn't stay nearly so long, with my mom urging me to chug my whiskey so we could go back to the hotel room.
Sunday we got up early to go to Mass. They have an outdoor mass at the festival, which we took my grandmother to. The priest joked about the weather, assuring us that Jesus promised him fine weather by the time mass was over. When it wasn't he said "I just talked to Jesus again, and he said 'Oh you mean here. I thought you meant Ireland, it's very sunny there! I'll get on the weather in Kansas City directly.'" And you know what? The clouds did indeed part later in the day. We worked all day. I stopped to have a late lunch with grandma on Dad's side, and then it was back to work until closing.
We were far too tired to go to the pub again, but we did go to the restaurant bar. One of the women recognized my aunt and mom from their straw cowboy hats (all my aunts and my uncle wore them while they poured beer and joked with the customers) and gave us their leftover pizza for dinner as thanks for working so hard.
Monday we managed to wake up early and drag ourselves over to my Aunt Pat's house where all of my cousins and their children were. It was good to get some time with them, and I got the littlest one to let me give her some banana (she is VERY picky about who she lets near her). We even went out on the lake behind the house on a two person kayak. Dad and I tailgated some ducks until they launched into the air to get away from us.
After we finally left we went down to the Plaza and had some dinner, took pictures of the big fountain (factcheck! The only city in the world with more fountains than KC is Rome) and went to a bookstore. I bought a book about Alexandria that I thought might be good Bronze!punk reference.
And then Tuesday I flew home!
I am so very exhausted.
I flew in Thursday and spent the day with my grandmother and aunt on Dad's side. I enjoy visiting Dad's side because they're very bookish and intellectual, (Not that Mom's side isn't brilliant, there are at 2 doctorates/college professors, two medical doctors, and so forth, it's just not the main topic of conversation) so the talk is all about books, art, politics and current events.
Friday morning was spent with my grandmother on Mom's side. Mom is putting together a scrapbook for her of the family and all the major events. I found a box full of letters from my great uncles during WWII and copies of the letters she wrote back. They were really great, all full of little jokes like 'powder your nose, Nora, I can see the shine from here!' and her writing about going out on dates with the man who would be my grandfather. I even found a picture of her, her twin sister and a friend sitting on the beach in their two piece bathing suits knitting! I really want a copy of that one.
Then in the evening we went to the hotel where we would stay for the Irish Fest and checked in for duty. The whole clan runs the Sponsor VIP areas of the festival, serving snacks, beer and pop. It took me a little while to get the hang of pulling a good beer from the tap since it's been a few years since I've been back. It rained early on, so not many people showed up. But all the family was there so we had a great time.
Saturday we didn't have to work until the evening, so Dad and I went to Lamar's Donuts (apparently a famous donut place in KC) and to the National WWI museum. OMG It was Amaaaazing. I've never seen a museum use technology so well. When you walk into the museum you cross over a glass bridge over a field of poppies. Each poppy represents 1000 deaths from the war. There were dioramas of the trenches, and when you looked through them there were recordings of letters written by the soldiers about the trench conditions. And another where you walked into the bottom of a crater left behind by a canon shell, so you can really see how big the damage was. There were booths where you could listen to wartime music, poetry and speeches, and interactive light tables to design your own propaganda posters, or learn more about different artillery or airplanes. You know those cards where the picture shifts when you move it? Well they had big panels of those that showed a street before the war, and when you moved you could see the rubble left afterwards. I took lots of notes and pictures.
After the museum Dad and I went to Arthur Bryants, which is THE place to go for BBQ in KC. We got there about 2:30 in the afternoon, but the line still went out the door. You got a little plate, and a lot of meat between two slices of wonder bread. It was fantastic. Then we headed back to the festival where I worked until closing, handing out pop and water since they didn't give me a liquor license for that day.
My mom, Aunt Pat, Aunt Kathy and I then got on a shuttle bus that took us to the Irish pub in the city. I'd love to go back when it isn't absolutely packed to get a better view. Ragland Road pub was originally in Ireland and they took it apart, shipped it to Kansas City and put it back together again. Lots of the musicians kept continuing to jam until the wee hours. We didn't stay nearly so long, with my mom urging me to chug my whiskey so we could go back to the hotel room.
Sunday we got up early to go to Mass. They have an outdoor mass at the festival, which we took my grandmother to. The priest joked about the weather, assuring us that Jesus promised him fine weather by the time mass was over. When it wasn't he said "I just talked to Jesus again, and he said 'Oh you mean here. I thought you meant Ireland, it's very sunny there! I'll get on the weather in Kansas City directly.'" And you know what? The clouds did indeed part later in the day. We worked all day. I stopped to have a late lunch with grandma on Dad's side, and then it was back to work until closing.
We were far too tired to go to the pub again, but we did go to the restaurant bar. One of the women recognized my aunt and mom from their straw cowboy hats (all my aunts and my uncle wore them while they poured beer and joked with the customers) and gave us their leftover pizza for dinner as thanks for working so hard.
Monday we managed to wake up early and drag ourselves over to my Aunt Pat's house where all of my cousins and their children were. It was good to get some time with them, and I got the littlest one to let me give her some banana (she is VERY picky about who she lets near her). We even went out on the lake behind the house on a two person kayak. Dad and I tailgated some ducks until they launched into the air to get away from us.
After we finally left we went down to the Plaza and had some dinner, took pictures of the big fountain (factcheck! The only city in the world with more fountains than KC is Rome) and went to a bookstore. I bought a book about Alexandria that I thought might be good Bronze!punk reference.
And then Tuesday I flew home!
I am so very exhausted.
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Date: 2009-09-09 05:09 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-09-10 12:58 pm (UTC)