Road Trip Adventure, Part I

Recently S and I had occasion to take a road trip to Colorado in a lovely Dodge Caravan secured by S's friend Z, who is our hook-up at Enterprise. It turns out it's extremely difficult to rent a minivan in the summer and our other option was a small U-Haul, so Z really came through for us.

We left on a Thursday afternoon and stopped at Char Bar in Kansas City for dinner.  The interior was mind-numbingly noisy, so despite the gnats and 90-degree temps, we sat outside.  At least they had seats in the shade.

The food was good. We had the Trifecta platter with potato salad and an extra side of mac 'n cheese. My favorite of the meats were the burnt ends, but they were all good. The potato salad was made with very small pieces of potato, which is unusual but was a nice touch. Mac 'n cheese can't be bad.  We had an energetic waiter who gets extra bonus points for bringing us a free beer.

We hit the road after dinner and stopped for the night at the Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson, Kansas.

It was built in 1899 and was a frequent stop for railroad travelers, but the interior was destroyed by a fire in 1902.  It was renovated and reopened, and operated more or less continuously (including during the Great Depression), until it closed in 1978.  The 1973 movie Paper Moon, starring Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, was filmed there.  (P gave me Paper Moon several years ago for Christmas, and I highly recommend it.)  In 1997, the Wilson Foundation bought the building for $35,000 and then spent $3.2 million renovating it. It's now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Our hotel room was small but we'll appointed. There was a nice comforter on the bed and good-smelling shampoo, but I had a problem that I don't often have when I went to take a shower: I couldn't get the water cold enough!  Yes I know, that seems impossible. But true. I guess that's what happens when you're in the middle of Kansas in the middle of the summer.

The beautiful main staircase in the hotel.

 

Though it is a small town, Midland has an Opera House (under renovation) and a museum.

The hotel had continental breakfast, which we helped ourselves to before hitting the road again.  The remainder of the trip across Kansas and into Colorado was uneventful, though the scenery improved drastically as we neared and then entered the mountains.

Upon arrival, we traded our minivan for a camper and headed to points north.  More on that to follow...

What I Watched -- Nightcrawler

S picked out Nightcrawler at the library one day while he was waiting for me to get off work.  I didn't really know what we were getting into, but it looked like an action film of sorts from the cover.

It is not an action film.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Lou, a "night crawler" who listens to the police scanner then goes zooming off to crime scenes as a freelance videographer hoping for juicy footage he can sell for top dollar to the local news stations.

What makes the movie interesting isn't Lou's line of work or the stuff he sees; it's he super creepy ability to manipulate everyone he comes into contact with.

Bottom line: this is not a happy movie, but if you're in the mood for disturbing (and who isn't, really?), it's good for that.

Goals 2017 -- October Edition

It's a new month, and I need a new project.  A change of pace.  So here it is:

Clean off my desk.

My poor desk - which is a lovely, large, flat surface - has been the repository of much paperwork and other miscellany lately, and I have been too busy or uncaring to deal with most of it.  Now is the time.

Goals 2017 -- September Recap

Guys, huge success!  I didn't have one truckload of stuff for K&J, I had two!  And thanks to S for driving the second truckload of stuff to their new house on his day off!

What I Watched -- The Godfather

Many find this difficult to believe, but until this past weekend, I had not seen The Godfather. 

Sure, I had seen a few clips here and there, and knew some of the more famous quotes ("Leave the gun; take the cannoli"), but I had never seen the whole things start to finish.  I didn't really know much about it other than what one knows about every mob movie just by knowing that it is a mob movie -- vendettas, murderous rampages, etc.

When S and I got to our B&B in Louisville on Friday, we were greeted with a giant wall of DVDs lining the second-floor landing of the staircase up to our room.  We discussed many possible options, but lighted on The Godfather because apparently I am not the only person in the world who had not yet seen it!

We made it through the first half on Friday night and the second half on Saturday.

It was everything I expected from the movie -- vendettas, murderous rampages, etc.

Bottom line: after all these years, it meets expectations.  In a good way.

What I Watched -- Amour

S picked up Amour from the library a while back.  I had it on my list of movies to see, but I couldn't remember the details of it.

Having now seen it, I remember why I wanted to, and I can say that it is heavy. It's the tale of a long-married couple, whose lives in retirement are lovely until Anne suffers a stroke.  Georges takes wonderful and delicate care of her in her limited state.  The end of their relationship leaves so many questions and so much space for reflection that even many weeks later I don't know how I feel about the film.

Perhaps that's the sign of a well-made movie.

Bottom line: a story of life and love and loss that will leave you thinking for a long time to come.

Goals 2017 -- September Edition

We are nearly halfway through September (as we also were when I published my August recap), but no matter.  I can still have a goal.

And my goal is to have a truck load of stuff for K&J's new place by the end of the month when J drives into town.  I worked a bit already on packing up some kitchen goods, and I'm hoping to have more fun stuff to fill the truck before October starts.

I hope you guys are ready!

What I Watched -- The Bad and the Beautiful

The Bad and the Beautiful is another one of those film classics that I never saw, since somehow in my younger years I never developed a taste for old movies.  Now that I'm trying to correct that oversight in my cultural development, I've moved this one from the "haven't seen" to the "seen" list.

What I liked about it immensely were the multiple story lines.  The story comes at you from three different points of view: an actress, writer, and director.  Each one recalls his or her interactions with a director they all worked with in one capacity or another.  The common thread: each one refused to take his call when he reached out to them in need, because he or she felt slighted by him in the past.  As they share their stories, we find out why.

Bottom line: there's not much that's terribly surprising about this film, as is true with so many of the classics.  But watch it at least once, so you know what it's all about.

Goals 2017 -- August Recap

I have a craft table!  And most importantly, it has a rug underneath, a chair in front, and a sewing machine (or two) on top!

I have organized some of my gift wrapping supplies in the notions cabinet, though many of my sewing tools and supplies are still in my old box.  I have relocated several fabric remnants to the drawers of the notions cabinet, though.

And I get great natural light so I can really see what I'm doing!

What I Read -- Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders

While S and I were on vacation, I finished reading Another County. 

As a second read, I wasn't quite as impressed with it as I was the first time I read it.  But it did still have several useful lessons contained within, namely:
1. Help each other;
2. Be kind and compassionate; and
3. Don't be afraid.

What's interesting about those lessons, though, is that they're really not specific to the demographic identified in the subtitle; they could just as easily be applied to anyone.

We are all busy, rushed, and have too much to do.  But wouldn't it be nice if we could take some time to slow down, relax, spend a little more time talking about life than we do scrolling through Twitter?

Something to think about.