I arrived by air on Friday, early afternoon, and without
trouble claimed by bag, picked up a rental car, and checked into my hotel. It
was hot in Kansas City (ninety-seven
degrees!) and humid too!
A short while later, I drove to nearby Leavenworth, Kansas,
where my cousin Greg, his wife Melissa, and their thirteen-month-old daughter,
Ava, make their home. Leavenworth is where they make their new home, I should
add – they just moved there three weeks ago. Melissa gave me the tour of their
house, a comfortable two-bedroom on a quiet street, and then Greg and Ava
returned from a grocery store run.
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| Ava and Greg |
I helped Greg distract Ava (out in the backyard, see the
picture) while Melissa finished dinner, and then we all sat down to eat chicken
tacos from the crockpot. I enjoyed the chance to see them all for a few hours
and hear about their settling into their new home. I headed back to my hotel
for the evening, taking a few minutes to visit the hotel pool before turning in
for the night.
The following day was the wedding day, but not until four,
so I took the morning to explore Kansas City. As I was staying at one of the
official wedding hotels, I had been given on arrival a gift bag from Jon and
Natalie (his bride) containing a few snacks and a welcome letter indicating
some of their favorite tourist spots and restaurants in the area. As I said
above, this was my first visit to Kansas City, so I took advantage of their
suggestions.
My first stop was Loose Park, a large urban park with
extensive gardens and walking paths. My only exercise in the last forty-eight
hours had been a few laps in the pool, so I took a stroll on one of those
paths, circling the park’s perimeter. The path led me past a few Civil War-era
markers (Kansas City being an active location during that conflict).
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| Jacob Loose, the park's namesake |
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| A view of Loose Park paths and some Civil War markers |
Lunch was at a burger place in the Westport area of Kansas
City, also recommended by the bride and groom, and then I headed to the one
place in Kansas City of which I had previous knowledge – the Kauffman Center
for the Performing Arts. Though I love Chicago, one thing it does not have is a
municipal performing arts center, so it is something I only get to see when I
visit other cities. I spent a few minutes at Kauffman, taking pictures and
taking in the grandeur of the relatively new facility.
I drove back to my hotel, changed, and headed to the
wedding, held in a church not far from the hotel. I was almost immediately
greeted by another good friend from college, Nathaniel Olson, who was serving
as an usher.
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| My old roommate, Nathaniel, ushering |
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| Vows |
Given that both the bride and groom are professional
musicians, I was not surprised at the quality and quantity of music that Jon
and Natalie included in their service. They were successfully wedded, and
exited the church to a shower of bubbles.
All of us guests made our way to a nearby country club for
the reception. I found my table with several other Wheaton grads, with an
excellent view of the bridal party’s introduction. It was a fun party – good
food, a DJ who may have been having the most fun of anyone, and a photo booth.
It was also really fun to see some of those Wheaton friends for the first time
in over a year in some cases.
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| THIS GUY IS MARRIED! |
As things were winding down, I said goodbye to my friends
and headed back to my hotel, tired but refreshed by all the day’s activity. The
following day I again without trouble checked out, returned my car, and flew
home to Chicago. It had been a most refreshing weekend.
1 comment:
I've been to every larger venue in the town and this is one of the best. Most of the negative elements of going to a more popular place are avoided here; the staff was really mature and respectful.
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