Kansas Travel Blog
September 2007
Chronicling
changes to KansasTravel.org and Keith's exploration
& photographing Kansas restaurants, attractions, museums, festivals
and art. Contact him.
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Saturday - July
25, 2009: L & M joined me for lunch at Cordoba's Family Restaurant
in Baldwin City, Kansas. Most of the items offered are sandwiches, typically
costing less than $7 including French fries.
About a third of the
menu was Mexican dishes, but the only one sampled was chips and queso.
The queso was pretty bland to my taste.
The favorite item tried
was a hamburger, though it wouldn't bring me in to a restaurant in a town
with more locally owned choices. The Cordoba Special grilled chicken breast
topped with ham and cheese looked & sounded interesting, but didn't
have much taste.
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Cordoba's Family Restaurant |
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Friday - July 24,
2009: L and had supper at Ari's
Greek Restaurant In Olathe, Kansas. Ari's is one of several restaurants
that have improved significantly in the years it has been open. We enjoyed
pricey ($22.95) but good Friday evening Seafood buffet. I particularly
enjoyed the BBQ lamb ribs, though they were fatty.
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Tuesday - July
21, 2009: This was the final day of my trip. It took 13 hours to return
to Kansas, from leaving Mackinaw City, driving to Green Bay and flying
through Chicago to O'Hare.
As I was starting to
drive out of Mackinaw, a boat in the Straits of Mackinac caught my eye.
It was the Coast Guard
Cutter Mackinaw, coming back from shepherding the sailboats in the
Chicago to Mackinac Race. I drove down to the shore and took a few photos
of the new Mackinaw, with the old
Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw (which is now a museum
ship) in the foreground.
As I started onto the
5 mile long Mackinac Bridge,
I saw the unusual sight of a Mennonite couple stating to walk across the
bridge. It is closed to pedestrians everyday but Labor Day. I am sure someone
had an interesting conversation with them.
I arrived in Green
Bay with a bit of a time cushion before my flight. It was a good chance
to try Chili John's, which was established in 1913. The chili had good
flavor, but was pretty expensive. A large bowl without beans or noodles,
costs over $12.
For anyone wondering
about my use of the spellings Mackinaw and Mackinac, they are both pronounced
so they rhyme with "gnaw." The Bridge, Straits, lighthouse and Island are
spelled with the "c." The mainland city, Coast Guard Cutter, fish, coat
and small boat are spelled with the "w." The fort at south foot of the
Bridge is spelled Michilimackinac, though the old documents show it being
spelled more than 50 different ways.
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Old & new Mackinaws
Chili John's |
Monday - July 20,
2009: We got a lot done today. The only touristy things were meals
and the Jack Pine Lumberjack Show.
Dad and I had lunch
at the Carnation Restaurant in Cheboygan, Michigan which has been in the
Pappas family since 1926. I had a chef's salad which didn't much impress
me, but Dad enjoyed his eggs, sausage, toast and hash browns. The Carnation
Restaurant serves breakfast anytime.
I was on my own for
supper, and had broiled whitefish one last time, at Cunningham's Restaurant
in Mackinaw City. The oldest restaurant in Mackinaw, I first dined there
with my Grandmother, 45 years ago.
The chicken soup could
have used a few less noodles and a little more chicken, but the flavor
was excellent. The serving of broiled whitefish and French fries was huge.
The fish was good, but the fries were pretty ordinary. The meringue
on Cunningham's pies may be piled up to about 6 inches and looks quite
impressive, but I think the pies have better flavor at Darrow's Restaurant
a few blocks away.
I attended the Jack
Pine Lumberjack Show in the evening. It opened last summer, and I hadn't
heard of anyone that had seen it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that
host of the show was someone who I went to high school with, Denny Beach.
About 45 people were at the show which lasted a bit over an hour. It is
simple family entertainment, at its best for 12 year olds or those who
still feel 12 years old at heart. The audience was divided into two halves,
to cheer for their contestant and boo the other.
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Carnation Restaurant
Jack Pine Lumberjack Show |
Sunday - July 19,
2009: Today was spent on family business, but there were opportunities
to see and do a couple of Mackinaw City, Michigan attractions.
In the morning I walked
to the Church of Straits. The Church of the Straits is federated Presbyterian
PCUSA and United Methodist. I was baptized in the Ames Memorial Methodist
Church that became the CotS and grew up in this congregation. The guest
pastor do an excellent job.
A Church of the Straits
tradition which dates back to the 1970s is to have visitors come up and
form a volunteer choir during the service. Most of the regular members
of the choir are working in tourist related businesses on Sunday morning.
I joined about 17 others in singing a traditional hymn.
Following the service,
I walked along the shore to the foot of the Mackinac Bridge where I took
a few photos of the 1892 Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. I also stopped
by the nearby gift shop which is operated by the Great Lakes Lighthouse
Keepers Association.
Dad and I ate out twice
today. Lunch was at the Driftwood Restaurant in St Ignace Michigan. I was
disappointed to learn that the menu they use at lunch time is much changed
from the dinner menu on their website. The low carb items I was planning
to eat were not available, but the waitress worked with me and I had a
good baked whitefish.
Supper was at Audie's
Restaurant in Mackinaw City. I prefer the menu in Audie's Chippewa Room,
but didn't feel like being that fancy tonight and we dined in the main
family dining room. I had whitefish for the 3rd time during the visit -
Almondine (broiled and topped with slivered almonds).
I finished the day
with the sunset Vesper cruise. Straits Area Resort Ministry has operated
the Vesper Cruise in the summers since 1969. As a teen I did the several
times a year, each of the first few years. The cruise includes quite
bit of a cappella singing, detailed views of the Mackinac
Bridge, and a brief sermon. It concludes with a spectacular sunset.
Although all of the
promotional info for the Vesper Cruise says there are two cruises each
Sunday evening, be advised that accept for Labor Day Eve, there is only
one cruise each Sunday this summer at 8PM. Be sure to arrive at least 30
minutes early, to make sure it isn't full.
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The Church of the Straits
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
Mackinac Bridge
St. Helena Island |
Saturday - July
18, 2009: Making an unplanned last minute trip to Mackinaw City, Michigan.
This morning I changed planes at O'Hare and flew to Green Bay Wisconsin,
where I rented a car for the 5 hour drive to Mackinaw.
Lunch was at the 1942,
Mickey-Lu Bar-B-Q in Marinette, Wisconsin. They do not serve BBQ, that
refers to the charcoal grill. I loved the atmosphere, but wasn't impressed
by the hamburger or bratwurst. In all fairness, since I can't have the
carbs, I didn't have the hand dipped malts that Mickey-Lu is known for.
Supper was with my
father at Darrow's Family Restaurant in Mackinaw City. They are weaker
on the atmosphere, but have great food, particularly fish, salads, soups
and pies. I had cajun whitefish and a good sour coleslaw.
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Mickey-Lu Bar-B-Q |
Friday - July 17,
2009: L joined me for lunch at Gringo's
Restaurant in Olathe, Kansas. It isn't very authentic Mexican food,
but I enjoy their Wednesday & Friday Mexican buffet.
In the evening, we
went to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, where we caught the
last part of the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame game and first part of
their 7-8 loss to Tampa Bay. Our seats were behind home plate, but only
8 rows from the top. It is hard for me to get into the games when I am
not closer to the action.
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Sunday - July 12,
2009: I had planned to visit some Leavenworth area locations Sunday
morning, but rainy weather kept me home in the morning. L and I used a
Christmas gift card for lunch at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant
on the County Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a pleasure eating
somewhere I could stay within my carbohydrate guidelines, but have food
I really enjoyed. I had a pan fried oyster appetizer and salmon penne with
wild mushrooms, Hazelnuts and sherry cream.
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Saturday - July
11, 2009:
Saturday morning, L and I were off early so she could attend a meeting
with the Kansas East Conference of the United Methodist Church in Topeka,
Kansas. Unfortunately it had been canceled, and since L was filling in
for someone else and isn't on the regular email list for this committee,
we didn't know.
We would have done
a better job of salvaging the trip, but I had accidentally left my camera
at home. So we headed back, with only a couple of stops in Lawrence - the
farmer's market and lunch at Free
State Brewing Company.
Free State is one of
my favorite Lawrence restaurants and a recent winner of the 8
Wonders of Kansas Cuisine. It is still good, but not nearly as much
fun since I have had to restrict my carbohydrates.
Supper that evening
was at a Infused, a recently opened bar & grill in western Shawnee,
Kansas near Johnson Drive and K-7. Infused has lots of interesting infused
liquors. It is more bar and less grill. The food was OK, but I probably
won't return.
At midnight, I did
the Lenexa Midnight Bicycle Ride, which had to move this year from the
streets of Lenexa to Shawnee Mission Park. Despite moving to the location
with the highest concentration of deer in Kansas (400/square mile - not
a typo), I didn't see any deer.
I only intended to
do the hilly route once, but, there were many spots with light trucks and
generators along the route and I didn't realize I had passed the finish
of the circular route, until I was a half mile past the end. They wouldn't
let me turn back, so I did it twice, along with perhaps a fifth of the
other riders. Only 10 miles total ride, but did I mention it was hilly?
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Infused |
Friday - July 10,
2009: L and I drove to Lawrence on Friday evening for the banquet and
presentation of the Sturgeon and Campbell Awards for the best science fiction
short story and novel of 2008. They are presented at the University of
Kansas as part of the Campbell Conference each year. This year's banquet
was held on campus at Mrs. E's Kitchen.
James Alan Gardner's
"The Ray Gun: A Love Story" won the Sturgeon award. The Campbell award
was a tie between Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and Ian MacLeod'sSong
of Time. All three authors were present to accept their awards.
Following the acceptable
meal (L loved the desserts), there was a reception in a nearby dormitory.
Though we didn't return, the Campbell Conference activities continued through
the weekend and included a mass autographing session at Oread Bookstore
on Saturday afternoon..
My Photos of the Campbell
Conference Awards Banquet are posted at another of my sites, the MidAmerican
Fan Photo Archive.
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Campbell Conference |
Tuesday - July
7, 2009: Visited Tannah's new restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas.
The menu is changed from the old Olathe location. I enjoyed the flavor
of the Spicy Hoisin Wrap (wok seared with mushrooms, carrots and green
peppers in a golden wheat tortilla wrap), but with that description, I
didn't expect it to be filled with rice. So much for avoiding carbs:-(
Added a new page devoted
to the Wildlife Education Center,
Aquariums & Fish Hatchery in Pratt, Kansas.
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Tannah's |
Monday - July 6,
2009: Visited Deanna
Rose Children's Farmstead in Overland Park, Kansas. for the first time
in 3 years. The place is hopping on a week day morning. The gardens and
other features look more finished than when I last visited. A nice prairie
dog town has been added and a large food concession in a 5,000 square foot
dairy barn.
It doesn't look like
the new Deanna Rose entrance will be ready in time for the scheduled August
28, 2009 opening.
I had lunch at Wai
Wai, the Overland Park fast food style operation by the Thai Place chain.
The Thai spicy stir fried chicken had good flavor, but was not "hot" as
ordered. I made up for that with a few ladles of the Thai chili's [sic}
in fish sauce, which heated it up nicely, but added a lot of sodium.
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Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead
Wai Wai |
Saturday - July
4, 2009: Started Independence Day with a pancake and sausage breakfast
with hundreds of people at Lenexa United Methodist Church, a 45+ year July
4th tradition. Then walked a half block watch the Community Days Parade
- a nice medium sized event. The units in the parade were stopped twice
by trains passing through town. The Lenexa UMC lawn chair drill team was
a hit!
Finished the Lenexa
4th of July with lunch at the annual VFW BBQ dinner. Smoked chicken, ribs,
corn on the cob and other sides.
In the evening, I joined
about 25 friends in Leawood, Kansas for a cook out followed by watching
the Leawood fireworks display from the deck. One of the families brought
sparklers and other mild fireworks and I enjoyed setting them off with
the kids.
Added a new page with
photos and a review of the Kansas
Meteorite Museum and Nature Center near Haviland, Kansas.
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Recent discovery at the Kansas Meteorite Museum |
Thursday - July
2, 2009: Returned to Jumpin'
Catfish in Olathe, Kansas for lunch. I was planning on trying the smoked
catfish, but when I saw the sign on the door saying they had 5 live lobsters
available for $9.99 for a complete meal, I was hooked.
It felt decadent, having
lobster for lunch.
In the evening, we
saw Legally Blonde The Musical at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri.
It was a lovely evening and the show was fun, but it didn't end until after
11PM.
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Wednesday - July
1, 2009: Added a review of Bomber
Burger in Wichita Kansas.
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