First KU Game and Irish Fest

My fella and I went to see my gparents over Labor day weekend which was also the first football game of the season for KU. Thankfully we avoided downtown and the traffic wasn't horrible, so everyone survived. We learned a lot about each other and our different road trip styles. I am a destination-oriented traveler. Google says 7.5 hrs, I should get there in 7. Stops are for gas and toilet, food is eaten in the car. Zoom zoom. HE is a trip-oriented traveler. Google does not drive him, he will get there PRECISELY when he's meant to. We can wander around a truck stop, stop for stretching the legs, stop and eat, stop to change a tail light, etc. The destination will be there when we arrive, no need to rush. To say that I was shook is an understatement. However, when he was driving he was driving and I reminded myself many times that we would get there. And we did. We got there, we had a lovely visit, even got to see my aunt C on Saturday. (Driving was brought up and she asked "Oh, you don't do like your dad does, DO you??" So i smirked, looked at my fella and went "See! Hes famous and he taught me! The lead foot didnt fall far from the tree!" Gma mentioned at least we didnt start out at 4am... we left at a much more reasonable 6:30.) We drove down the main drag on Saturday morning cuz we figured all the college kids would be hungover then. It was still pretty busy downtown. Sunday we headed to KC.

For all that our driving styles are VERY different, we definitely came to realize that he is better at city driving than I am. I maintain that the 2 lanes were really more like 1.5 lanes due to cars being parked IN THE LANE, whereas he maintains there was room in the .5 lane for us to drive. He felt incredibly vindicated as I had given him some grief regarding not driving the speed limit on the way up to KS (as in, BELOW the speed limit, people). We are both equally stubborn however, as he waited until we were about an hour away (both up and down) before switching drivers. For those who are wondering, we took his car, so he was primary driver. I will say, taking the Fiat definitely saved us $ on gas. We are a city rat and a country mouse trying to find a middle ground. Hehe... stay tuned for other shenanigans 🤣

We were headed to KC for Irish Fest. I had decided it was likely we would enjoy some adult beverages, so I got us a room at a hotel within a block of Crown Center. Turned out that was a VERY good thing because within the hour of arriving I realized that every bar was sponsored by a different Catholic parish... so OBVIOUSLY we needed to support each one! Most served beer, some had other drinks, and there were a couple whiskey bars that served Jameson cocktails. We wandered around and looked at beautiful art, listened to fun Irish music, perused the stuff for sale, and both ended up getting shirts to mark the occasion. After all, the Fest just turned 21, so it was of legal drinking age! Hehe.

First drinks of the day... they let me dress my own bloody mary. First time my fella had Five Farms Irish Cream.

Obviously I loved this booth.

KC is famous for its fountains, and of course had to dye them green.

Jameson cocktails 😁

Temporary tattoo. I did get some sun, but it was all tanned by the next day.

Ruben Tots with a whiskey sauce. Soooo gooooood!!

Last drinks at the Fest. Mostly I drank Boulevard's ah sure look which was a dark ale.

We decided to enjoy some of the A/C in our hotel room and relax a bit since it was a VERY hot day. Eventually we got hungry and decided to see what the hotel's restaurant offered. We ended up with a very nice spinach and artichoke dip, I had a Mediterranean bowl, and my fella had a brisket cheese sammich and garlic fries.

All was VERY good.

The next day we got up and headed south. That's when I learned he does not share my "leave early" strategy, as we were up at 9 but didn't leave until 11. He did maintain the speed limit on the way home, which made me think he was in a hurry to get home to TX as Texans lose power the longer they are out of the state. We still stopped for food at a Cowboy Travel Plaza in OK. They had a store, restaurant, arcade, and even a petting zoo outside.

Indoor pirate ship play area for the kiddos.

free pickle bar

We got to his place around 9 to check on the bestest kitty EVER, who certainly seemed to have missed his human. On the way to my place we stopped for some groceries so I'd be good for the week (salads for lunch, bfast sammiches for dinner), then he dropped me off. I put stuff away, boiled my eggs for my lunches, prepared my gym bag, and went to BED! I gotta tell ya, that 6am alarm clock was ROUGH!!!

I'm super stressed at the moment because things are too good. You know? Like, I'm up for a promotion which would come with much more financial freedom, things are getting pretty serious with the fella, I feel stable, grounded, and blessed... and yet I feel like something is going to come along and mess it all up!!! I'm sooooo close to having the life I've been working toward and I'm afraid I'm going to lose it somehow. Just... kinda freaks me out, not gonna lie. Guess we'll have to see how it all pans out.