I am happy to announce that we are all starting to feel better! FINALLY! Aaron has been on antibiotic for a few days and is doing WAY better. I am feeling pretty good. Cough is ALMOST gone...hopefully will be in a couple of days. Still lacking energy, but finally feeling like doing stuff! I am so happy to be where we are after 3 long months!
Since we are finally feeling better, we have finally been able to start adventuring again!
Friday we drove to Lawrence, KS where we visited the Watkins Community Museum of History. It was an interesting museum, but the highlight for us was an interactive exhibit about the Quantrill raid on Lawrence.
After the museum we made our way to my favorite place in Lawrence...The Yarn Barn. For a fiber artist there is no better place to visit. I bought some pretty mottled dark blue wool yarn to make a hat for Aaron for next winter.
Unfortunately, I don't have the opportunity to participate in fiber arts like I used to. I need a spinning wheel and a floor loom, but have not found either at reasonable prices.
After we left Lawrence we made our way a few miles west to Lecompton, KS and visited the Lecompton Constitution Hall...the building where the documents were signed that made Kansas a state. It was just a small building, but for me the highlight was so much woodwork (including the floors) that were made out of cottonwood. How unusual!
 |
| Lecompton Constitution Hall - Lecompton, Kansas |
On the way home we detoured to The Legends to visit the Jerky Experience so Aaron could try some wild game jerky (venison, bison, alligator, ostrich, pheasant, kangaroo, etc.). It was a fun day all around.
It was a good easy day for just getting our strength back.
******************************************************************
On Saturday afternoon Aaron and I decided to pull our date book out and see what our next date was adventure was. The date was titled "Small Town Kids". Once we scratched it off, it said that were to find a small town nearby that we were not very familiar with, go there and eat dinner, and then take a walk in a park and imagine what we believe the history of the town could be, make up an imaginary backstory and rename the town.
For those of you who know Aaron and I you will know two things...first - this was a date that was right up our alley, and second - it is hard to find a place nearby that we are not very familiar with due to our love of adventuring.
I pulled out a map to start looking out small areas around us, and the only thing I could find in a fairly short distance (35 minutes) was Orrick, MO. At Orrick was a small restaurant called Jayder's Cove. I actually have a friend who works there, but I had never been there before. We arrived there, and went in to eat. The food was delicious! I will definitely go back again someday, but next time will have to ensure my friend is at work when we go.
 |
| Aaron and Amanda at Jayder's Cove - Orrick, MO |
After we ate we went to Cooley Lake Conservation Area and walked around the lake a bit. We decided that pre-Civil War the town was started by just a couple of families that had moved into the rural area and decided to form a township. During the war the town was almost completely unknown, so Quantrill hid there when he was in the area as it was within easy distance to Kansas City, Liberty, Independence and other major strategic areas. After the war the area became known for it's good cropland, and the town started growing as a business center for the local farmers. We decided the name of the town was Jaydersville, which is why the restaurant was named Jayder's Cove.
Now the truth is afterwards I looked up the history of Orrick, MO and it was interesting to find out that the area was originally called Albany. William "Bloody Bill" Anderson was killed in the Battle of Albany during the Civil War so maybe our history thread wasn't too far off.
Albany formally incorporated in 1871 by the Wabash Railroad and the community of Orrick sprung up. It was named after W.W. Orrick who had drawn up the plat.
In most recent history it is known for 2 severe tornadoes (one in January 1967 that killed two students when the highschool was destroyed, and the second in 2014 when it reached EF2 intensity as it went through town.).
It was a fun date, and we learned something, so all in all it was great. Low-key and laid back. We enjoyed it.
Tonight I am grading my daughter's school assignments (she had 4 tests today), and then I'm going to work on more school planning, a spring/summer to-do list, and I don't know what else. I'm in the mood for some Chinese food, so that will be yummy!
In the meantime, I hope you all have a good evening!
See you soon!
Amanda
No comments:
Post a Comment