Ate BBQ at the Original Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, Missouri!!

My daughter and I were heading to Topeka, Kansas and, when I realized how close we would be to Kansas City, I just had to take the opportunity to cross off another item on my list and eat at the Original Arthur Bryant's restaurant! (There are a couple of locations in Kansas, but it had to be the original in Missouri!)

It was packed when we got there a little before noon, and the line was out the door by the time we got our food and found seats! When we first walked in, we weren't too impressed. The place is old, outdated, and had an odd smell. But the food was really good, especially the ribs!! They were, by far, the best ribs I've ever had! And that's saying something because Texas has some great BBQ!! However, if I ever go back, it will definitely be to one of the newer locations!

Pointed to a place on a map and went there!

During last school year, I closed my eyes and my students spun me around in front of a map of the United States. The first two tries, I ended up in the oceans, but on the third try, I landed on Topeka, Kansas! Of all places!!

It was about 6 months before I finally made it there in person, but my daughter and I spent the day in Topeka on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I can't say that it was anything special, but we enjoyed ourselves!

Roared at the Ocean!

Standing on the shore and roaring at the ocean on my trip didn't feel right because it was too calm and beautiful. So, instead, I had ended up having a big argument with the person I was traveling with and decided to yell at the ocean from the balcony of our stateroom at night because I wouldn't be heard by others on the ship over the loud music, strong winds, engine noise, and noise of the waves. It helped to be angry for this one because yelling like that isn't something that I feel comfortable doing. But, part of the point of this blog is to get out of my comfort zone!

Message in a Bottle Sent!!

While I was on my cruise this last week, I went to Jamaica and Grand Cayman. I bought a cute little bottle with a cork in Jamaica that had sand and shells in it. I emptied the contents into a little baggie and wrote a note about sending it for this blog with the blog info and my email, so that if it's found the person(s) can contact me and let me know. I threw it into the Atlantic Ocean between the two islands while standing on the balcony of our stateroom at night, so I wouldn't be seen!

I Guess This is Turning Out to Be 41 for 41, Instead of 40 for 40!

It almost seems meant to be that I'll be finishing this list (hopefully!) while I'm 41, instead of 40! I was going through the original list this morning to count how many items I had left and realized that I had made the mistake of numbering two items with the number 23. So, I actually have 41 items on the list!

I only have 18 more items to go!!

Finally Made it to the Texas State Fair!!

Although, we couldn't really afford it, I didn't want to let another year go by without crossing this item off my list! It really is a BIG fair! After 5 hours of walking, eating, and riding rides (not necessarily in that order!), we were all exhausted and had sore feet. So, we left early and made the two hour drive home and relaxed the rest of the afternoon!

At 41, I attended my first protest!

The Occupy Wall Street movement has been spreading across the country, and around the world, over the last month. Almost 50 of us demonstrated in our small city of Tyler, Texas on Saturday, October 15th! It was an interesting experience and I think we'll probably be doing it again! The picture was taken by the local newspaper and I didn't even know it until I saw the link to the article!