Feeling extra proud of myself this last week. A solo trip with Stevie can be an anxiety-inducing experience. Sometimes even just driving two hours to Disneyland or the beach is enough to do me in. So a cross country flight, topped off by a 3 hour drive in either direction, was makin’ me nervous. But after our great trip to Salt Lake City in June, I had high in the sky apple pie hopes.
And I was not disappointed! The flight to Kansas City, MO was long and riddled with questions, but not impossible. Stevie played with his iPad and his cars, and even got out a kick out of the tray tables. (Luckily we were in the front row so he wasn’t rattling anyone’s chair.) He even did a great job and wore his brand new hearing aids for most of the trip. Upon our arrival, he excitedly chose a blue rental car and we arrived at our hotel with no notable issues! Phew!
Our hotel was in the Country Club Plaza area, so that evening, we walked around and ended up at a restaurant called Brio. I only chose it because from the street I could see that it had a beautiful outdoor balcony. You know I love that! We had a lovely dinner and then walked some more to find dessert. We ended up nearby at one of our favorites True Foods Kitchen. I was trying to avoid eating at places that we have in LA, but you can’t really go wrong with a little vegan ice cream. Actually, that’s a bold faced lie. I’ve had a lot of bad vegan ice creams. But this one was good.
The next morning, we grabbed some coffee and pastries and hit the road for Joplin, MO. It’s about 2.5 hours away from the city and I definitely thought I was lost trying to find my brother’s house. He moved recently into a great little place that feels very secluded. Surrounded by trees (and very loud insects). I loved it and thought it was so nice that he’s off the beaten path… except when I didn’t know where I was going. Haha.
We spent a couple days hanging out with my brother and his new baby, along with my dad. Eating lots of food, feeding the neighbor’s horses, playing at the park, and taking the scenic route — because everywhere is scenic. It was really enjoyable. Tricky to keep Stevie occupied, but after a rough first day, he got the idea that we’d just be hanging out.
On our last morning, Stevie got to have breakfast and a swim with grandpa while I packed up our stuff. We headed back to Kansas City to prep for the flight home. Of course I was determined to try some authentic KC BBQ before we left and I do NOT regret anything about that. When I pulled up and saw that the restaurant was attached to a gas station, I suddenly felt very judgey. But aren’t those weird little hole-in-the-wall type places always the best? Mmmmm. It was fantastic. I even enjoyed driving through the nearby neighborhoods and looking at homes in the area, along with a quick visit to Union Station. We didn’t have much time to spend there, but I was pleasantly surprised how much there was to do. The flight home was long and I felt like my brain was melting from “are we almost there?” But safe and sound, we made it.
PACKING LIST
denim jacket | homemade linen dress | homemade linen shorts
print tank (sold out) | button down (referral link) | cutoff shorts (similar)
jumpsuit | sunnies | sandals | birks | necklace (10% off w code FRIENDS10) | earrings 1 | earrings 2
No outfit pics this week, but I’ll post my latest looks in the next couple days! Thanks for checking in.
loves,
jaana