Vacation time

Well we took two weeks off and drove to NY to visit our families. Closed down the B&B and gave ourselves some R&R time.



We left Leavenworth on the 12th of August and drove to Vadalia, IL. We stopped at a private campground and pitched our tent. The grounds were well kept and we settled in for the evening. We got some sleep but the tent area was too close to the road so we heard cars all night. We had great temps. though in fact we got a little cool. Should have thrown in another blanket.



The next day was a long one as we wanted to be close enough to NY to get to Bob's brother's place ahead of rush hour. We also had to make a stop at Bob's favorite Brewery to pick up a supply of beer from them. So we drove late into the night and found a hotel in Harrisburg, PA. Which by the way is where the Brewery is. http://troegs.com/ (Troeg's Brewing Company)

For dinner that night we were near Wheeling, WV. We asked our GPS for recommendations and it came up with Union Grill in Washington, PA. It is an old bar and grill in the basement of what looked like a renovated building. The restaurant has been there for many, many years but looked like it was renovated along with the building. The food was great and the locals friendly and helpful.



After we got his supply of beer we headed on to Long Island and the Topping Family Lobster Fest that was to take place on Saturday. Weather was perfect although the locals thought it was too hot. Bob and I were comfortable. We enjoyed more food than we should have and had fun watching our great niece check out the lobsters. One of Bob's brothers tried to let one escape but we made sure he ended up as our dinner anyway. It was a great day.



We spent the rest of the weekend with Bob's family and even got to visit his 93 year old uncle who doesn't like to travel anymore and didn't make the Lobster Fest. Bob's mom was there and doing wonderful.

Two of his brothers with their spouses and Bob's mom made plans to visit us here on Oct 2,3,4 to attend a KC Chiefs vs NY Giants game at Arrowhead. We, however, are booked as that is NASCAR weekend here in KC area so I had to book them into The Smitty House, another B&B here in Leavenworth. Bob's mom will stay with us a week, the rest will just stay the weekend.

On Monday the 17th we drove on to my parents who live in Deposit, NY. It is a very small town on the NY/PA border. Going through much the same hard times as our small towns here in Kansas. The major industries in the area are logging, diary farms, and stone quarries. They aren't lucky enough to have a great organization like the Kansas Sampler Foundation and Marci Penner to help them keep going. Talking with one of my aunts about it she thought buying stamps in her small town would be a great idea. She said the people were friendlier in the bigger post office but the small one was more convenient and she would start going there again.

Spent the week with my mom and dad. Helped them fill the woodshed for winter. Dug potatoes to bring home, picked and brought home fresh blueberries, and set my mom up on the Internet.

We ate in some of the local restaurants. One was my sisters in Endicott, NY. She and her husband have a pub called Harry Tuft's Publick House.

We left there on Monday the 24th. Drove west through NY and stopped in Corning NY and had lunch at a little brewery pub in the Historic Downtown area. Didn't take a tour of the Corning Glass factory as we had when we lived in the area.

Monday night we stopped at Geneva State Park and pitched our tent. It's right on the shore of Lake Erie. That night we went into Geneva on the Lake, a small resort town, and found ourselves at The Old FireHouse Winery. You eat looking out onto Lake Erie. We stayed around and saw the sunset and listened to some live music. A wonderful place to visit and enjoy.

Drove westward the next morning and just enjoyed the sights of Ohio and Indiana. Stopped for the night in one of Indiana's State Parks. Traveled route 36 all the way to Cameron, MO. and then dropped down to KC and home.

It was a great trip and we had a relaxing time. Good to get away but good to be back too.

Leavenworth Farmer's Market

This past Saturday I was able to run down to the Leavenworth Farmer's Market. http://leavenworthfarmersmarket.com/ It is held Wednesday from 3-6pm and Saturday from 7-10 am. Well worth the trip. I usually go on Wednesday afternoon as Saturday morning is tied up making breakfast.

They had a wonderful choices of fresh sweet corn, melons, peaches, geens, herbs, onions, potatoes, beets, peppers, bread, homemade soaps, eggs, pork products, beef products, and fresh honey. I probably missed something but you get the idea, lots to see and bring home.

Leavenworth has just finished building a new covered area at Haymarket Square to replicate the old version that use to cover it many years ago. It is a wonderful place to hold our market and other activities.

While I was there I got to talking with one of the vendors as I usually do. Ray and his wife have seen a lot of Leavenworth's history including Haymarket Square back when. Ray use to sell produce there with his Dad. He couldn't wait for the cover to be finished so he could once again sell produce there. He also told me he use to rake leaves and shovel snow here at the B&B when he was a boy. His wife had stories about the other family members who lived over on Broadway in a home that was remodeled around 1914 at the same time and by the same architect that remodeled our home; now the Prairie Queen B&B. It has many of the same features that we have here at the Prairie Queen. When we bought this house people told us that that home was considered the sister house to our. The wives were sisters and had the homes remodeled similarly.

It is so much fun to find out neat facts about our place and Leavenworth history. I hope to have more time to chat with this couple but the market is such a busy place that I only get tidbits at a time. As I find out more I'll let you all know.

ScrapBookers Return

We just finished up the weekend with our annual scrapbook ladies. We truly enjoy when they come and this year was no exception. Even the weather cooperated and we were able to serve them breakfast out on the Pergola.

Usually when they are here the temps are in the upper 90's and it's so humid you could cut it with a knife. Even at breakfast time it's too hot and sticky to eat outside so we create a special area in the foyer to have them eat breakfast so they don't have to move their projects.

We had six ladies working from Friday afternoon until around 10 am Sunday. They jump into their projects on Friday night, bringing their own dinners. I heard they didn't go to bed until 2:30 am, just in time for a passing thunderstorm.

They were up and at it again by 8:30 breakfast at 9:00. Saturday morning they had frittatas with twisted bacon. On Sunday, as I had found beautiful peaches at the farmers market the day before, they had peach stuffed french toast with sausage that I make with herbs from my garden and a few other spices.

Some of the ladies took breaks to explore Leavenworth for an hour or so. The rest worked away on their books.

Dinner was a trip to one of our local Mexican restaurants, Tampico's. http://www.eattampico.com It's a wonderful place to eat. One of many great places here in Leavenworth, family owned and operated.

Come stay and explore we'd love to have you.