Home on the Range

The beginning of our Flint Hills Journey

As my blog posts states, I have a passion for those things simple and genuine, which is why I love that I'm a Midwestern girl through and through - you don't find the kinds of people and experiences you find in the Midwest anywhere else in the world. I have long been a huge fan of the Flint Hills - the largest remaining tract of tallgrass prairie and one of America's truly unique places. Flat? No. These rolling hills are unique in the way they smoothly transition from one ridge to the other and seem to meet the sky like heaven meets earth. And so, it was on this day that I took off on an adventure I've been wanting to try for years - to listen to the Kansas City Symphony playing on a Flint Hills' rancher's land. Down a long track of dusty road, but opening to a vista that was incomparable.

On our way, we decided to stop and have lunch in Council Grove at the Hayes House - the oldest operating restaurant west of the Mississippi. We knew it was going to be a long day, so I decided to start it off with a little Kansas beef in my belly.

The end of the road

At the end of the long dusty road, we come to a parking lot, where from there, it's a 40 minute walk among wildflowers to the spot where the symphony has been set up to play. A stark contrast to see white tents dotting this green (thanks to all of our recent rains) landscape.

Our crew

Four of us piled into my convertible (which we weren't able to use on the way due to Mother Nature getting the rain out of her system on our way down). You come comfortable and pretend like you're camping....big hats, sunblock and bug spray.

The special guest

An extra special treat this year was Lyle Lovett joining the Symphony for a few songs and to talk about his passion for this area. His favorite quote of mine (from a poem I believe): "Nowhere can we find a closer correlation of landscape and character than in the Plains states." The sky is so big in the Flint Hills with no mountains or trees to block the view that is becomes a huge part of the landscape. There is nothing more special than listening to the symphony as dusk falls, watching cowboys move large herds of cattle behind the stage and across the gently rolling hills. It was a pure feeling of peace and contentment for me. Derek was lucky enough to introduce himself to Mr. Lovett who posed for the picture (no labels needed I'm sure - talk about a unique look!).

One angle of the stage and audience

Overall, 5000 people attended the event, and with the exception of long lines for drinks (it was a warm and muggy day) and an impatient wait to exit the parking lot, we were very lucky with the weather, food and company (and no bugs or chiggers was a huge bonus!)

Cottonwood Falls

On our way back to Emporia where we were bunking for the night, we stopped at a friend of Brenda's - the Revare's - and were able to continue our sightseeing. This is an ambient shot of their home - a converted church at night. Their renovation was breathtaking.

Inside the old Cottonwood Falls church

The inside was spectacular, with a large living space shot from an upstairs loft area that contained additional bedrooms. And after drinking boxed wine during the day, it was nice to have a chilled and refined glass of vino.

The back deck by lightning light

Instead of enjoying the back deck by moonlight, we instead watched the lightning in the distance as Mother Nature decided to continue with her fireworks. It was a long day of good friends, beautiful vistas and a really good night's sleep. I'll be back.

Italy Through Leah's Eyes

Italy Through Leah's eyes and her crazy "Roma" hat

Because of my addiction to Italy, I have had several chances to visit this beautiful country, but this trip would be extra special because I was taking Leah with me. Would it likely be a culinary and superb wine experience? No. But I was so anxious to see if Leah would fall in love with this country as I have. And so we set off on a 10-day trip that took us through Italy and Germany with my church choir. Leah was the only "kid" that went, but she was a blessing to all of us as she has been to me for close to 12 years now.

Colosseum in Roma

We took literally hundreds of photos, so I've chosen those things that Leah told me at the end of the trip were her "favorites". She had studied the Colosseum in Rome in Social Studies earlier in the year and was anxious to see it for real. I think the size of it amazed her.

Dead Popes?

OK, there was one thing I had to include that she DIDN'T like - dead Popes really creeped her out! This is inside St. Peter's in Rome.

Fanta Fanatic

Now we move on to the food category. My favorite meal was an evening where I "ditched" the group meal in Florence and had a lovely plate of pasta with lobster and skipped dessert for my favorite liquid refreshment - limon cello. This however followed a group dinner the night before where we had meatballs and french fries. I'll just let you guess what meal was Leah's favorite.

The Fanta phenomenon was interesting though. As you can see in the picture, it was more yellow than our orange version in the states, and more fizzy and light. Imagine an orange-flavored Pellegrino and that's what it tasted like. She couldn't get enough of it and it followed us everywhere we went (and was often more expensive than my glass of local house wine!).

Gelato!

And of course, no trip to Italy would be complete without gelato. I told her we'd try to have some everyday, but we didn't quite pull it off. This was perhaps the most elaborate and the same night I enjoyed my lobster.

Fruit Bowl?

So, when you are dining for lunch in Greve in Chianti and order a fruit bowl, this is what comes out (and we'd already eaten some of it when I took this picture). Leah and I quickly discovered we needed to split food, so I grew very fond of fruit, pizza and spaghetti.

Leah's Friend Tom

Our tour guide Tom was great with Leah and even offered to swap hats in St. Mark's square. Leah really enjoyed all of our impromptu parties and hung with the adults like a trooper.

But the all-time favorite?

So, on the plane home when I was asking Leah about her favorite things, I asked her who her favorite "person" was. Allyson wins by a landslide, and I'm guessing the fact that she has little ones was something Leah recognized right away. Everyone in my choir was so gracious to Leah and I really love them all for how they welcomed her on the trip.

Now, let's talk water

Out of all of the things Leah mentioned as her favorite, there was one common theme - water. My little fish loved it everywhere we went. Here we are on our gondola ride in Venice.

Brrrrr!

Leah insisted on trying out the pool at our Lake Garda hotel despite the fact that it wasn't heated. How can a 12-year-old pass up a pool after all? Let's just say it was a short swim followed by a long and very hot shower!

Time to relax and kick back

Before we left Italy and headed to Germany, we had a wonderful day on Lake Garda. A leisurely lunch, a little shopping, gelato and we finished it with a boat ride. I told Leah this is how I like to experience Italy - at a slow pace, away from the crowds, and in the small communities where you really learn more about the Italian culture. I think she's convinced and ready to come back! It is definitely a trip we will both remember for a long time.