Grand Tour - Missouri, Kansas, Illinois - Day Three

One of my memories of growing up in Kansas City was going downtown to view the American Royal parade.  The American Royal is an eight week long event in Kansas City that celebrates the city as a center of agriculture and all its associated commercial enterprises.  It is a horse and stock show complete with rodeo and cattle shows and sales as well as internationally recognized horse shows.  The parade was a community event to celebrate all that.  It is the same today with some notable changes.  In addition to innumerable equine units, there were biker groups with magnificence machines with their throaty growls and loud rumbles, stepping groups with their unique and now more main stream displays, and African-American horse riding groups.
This year's parade honored American service men and women and so there were a number of military and veteran units.  It was beautiful sunny day with moderate temperatures, perfect for watching an 90 minute parade.  We went with my sister Mary and were joined by my niece Kate and her husband Ryan who cycled down from their house. It was great to see them on this trip.  You can see some photos of the parade here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/111139278872202723241/AmericanRoyalParade  I also took a lot of video which I will get posted on YouTube in the coming days.  For now you can view one of the bike clubs below.

My brother-in-law bob and my sister Louisa joined us for lunch after the parade.  We lingered over lunch out doors and then realized we had to hustle back to Mom's to get ready for Mass and more celebrations at Rockhurst.  I, of course, had to take a little nap which made us a bit late for Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church, the Jesuit parish across the street from the University.  It was celebrated by Fr. Tom Curran, the president of Rockhurst.  It was very moving experience for me being back in that church in which I had spent so much time as an undergraduate:  we had mandatory Mass every Friday there.  I was also moved by Fr. Curran's homily that was Ignatian to the core.  He spoke at length about the instructions Ignatius gave to the Jesuits attending the Council of Trent which are still relevant today.

After Mass, we attended an alumni reception and heard Fr. Curran's excellent report on the state of the university.  It was final chance to be with the members of the class and make our farewells with promises to stay in touch.  We joined Ralph and Buffy Richardson for dinner on the Plaza for some excellent barbeque at Jack Stack's.  While we waited for our table, Marilyn and I walked around a bit and found plenty subjects for our cameras.  That moon was there again and I couldn't resist a shot of it as it rose over the Plaza.
It was a late night and we found that Mom had gone to bed.  I worked on the photos a bit and then hit the sack.  Tomorrow we head to Maize, Kansas for two days with my cousin Andy Sciolaro and his wife Lois.
You can view the updated Rockhurst photo album here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111139278872202723241/RockhurstGoldenHawks2012#

Grand Tour - Missouri, Kansas, Illinois - Day Two

We drove from Terre Haute to Kansas City uneventfully.  At a rest stop, we met Bob, a very interesting person.  Sadly I didn't think to take a photo of him.  He was 83 years old and had lost his wife a couple of years ago.  He had been retired for 20 years.  He and his wife during those years had gone through three motorhomes and 300,000 miles. He was on his way to New Mexico to visit his Zuni friends.  he had driven from Pennsylvania and said this would probably be his last trip to visit them.  He urged us to make good use of our retirement together as he and his wife had done.  He was a wonderful presence.  The three of us held hands and prayed for God's blessing on the three of us and our travels and lives.

Tom Gosebrink, Charlie Braddock, and himself.

Once we got to Mom's, we visited, showered and got ready for the festivities at Rockhurst college (now University.  It was a lovely evening, seeing old friends and classmates, most of whom I had not seen in many, many years.  We had a campus tour.  Much had changed in 50 years and we had fun trying to reconstruct the campus as we remembered it!  After the tour, we gathered for a dinner and our induction into the Golden Hawks.  We told lots of stories including the infamous Robert Frost appearance as a Visiting Scholar.

After dinner, each of us was called forward and presented with a medalion for still being alive 50 years after our graduation.  We were honored at the half time of a men's soccer game.  Well, at least Ralph Richard, Charlie Braddock, and I were since the rest had apparently gone home to get to bed.  We are old, you have to realize.

You can see photos of the evening on my Picasa site:  https://picasaweb.google.com/111139278872202723241/RockhurstGoldenHawks2012

Grand Tour - Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois - Day One

This is our first trip since Marilyn's actual retirement, i.e., since school has started and she isn't getting up and going to work. Needless to say, she is really enjoying this!
We left early Thursday and drove uneventfully through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and spent the night in Terre Haute, Indiana. We drove through a persistent but fairly gentle rain but that should be the last we see for the duration, at least according to the weather forecast. We took her car this time and the Sonata is quite comfortable a bit more fuel efficient than my 2004 CRV.

We treated ourselves to a tasty lunch at a Steak 'n Shake in Mansfield, Ohio. Apparently we are not counting Weight Watcher points on this trip, at least at the beginning.
We will leave early in the morning for the six hour drive to Kansas City where my fiftieth college reunion at Rockhurst University awaits us along with a Saturday morning viewing of the American Royal Parade with my sisters, Mary and Louisa.
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Location:US-41,Terre Haute,United States Starbucks