KaMo

After a great trip to Colorado, we were on the road...yet again.  You'd think that after all this driving we'd be sick of it, but nope...not yet!  Our next destination was Iowa, but to get there, we had to go through Kansas and Missouri.  Since we had a few days to spare before we were supposed to arrive in Iowa, we decided to stop in Missouri and Kansas to visit some family and friends.  

Our plan was just to have supper one evening with my Great Aunt Ardith as we passed through, but she graciously invited us to spend the night at her house, and then insisted we stayed for an extra night.  Somehow us sleeping in our car didn't sound very appealing or comforting to her...and, how could we turn down a nice warm bed and delicious, hot, home-cooked meals?!

The unfortunate thing about living so far away from home is that I always miss visits from family members.  I hadn't seen Ardith, or my cousin, Dee, for at least eight years.  Is was SO wonderful to spend some time with them.  They were great hosts, and we had such a fun time!!!

And, of course, a visit with any Dvergsten isn't complete without a game...or two...or three...or more!...of cards.  I finally even learned how to play Pinochle!  :) 

Another highlight of our time in KaMo was that we got to meet up with some old friends from New Brunswick!  From KC, we drove an hour up north to have lunch with Guillaume's old boss from Oromocto who is on course in Fort Leavenworth for a few years.  What are the odds that we'd be able to reconnect with them?!  

We had a lovely lunch, followed by a tour from Beth of historic, old Fort Leavenworth.  If you ever get a chance to visit the base, I would highly recommend it...especially in the fall.  It is absolutely beautiful there with lots of history (and, of course, a few haunted ghost stories.)  :)  It was so great to get together with them...they're such wonderful people!  Thanks again, Derek and Beth, hope we get to do it again sometime!!!  

Although the scenery in Kansas and Missouri in November wasn't the greatest, our time spent with family and friends was.  Who would've thought that a plan to spend a few hours in the two states would've turned into one of our stops for a few days, and a highlight of our trip?!  Thanks again to Ardith and Dee, and Derek and Beth!  It was great to see you all!