Sioux Falls to OKC

We took off from Sioux Falls in 58 degree, rainy weather to head down I-29.  My goodness, the standing water from this spring's flooding was unbelievable.

We stopped at the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs to boondock the night.  It was Sunday and the Bengals had the 4p slot, so we went into the newly remodeled sports bar and book.  It was great.  They had a tailgater sample platter that was too much.  Loved it.

Monday, we arrived in Kansas City and stayed at the Worlds of Fun Village.  It's a part of an amusement park (that was closed on weekdays).  Great park. 

Nice long concrete lots with patios and your own trash can.




We were there in part to see our BDM (Business Development Manager) for Carnival Cruise Lines, Amy Shortall.  Amy's been with Carnival for 30 years, and our BDM for South Dakota since 2013.  For the first few years, all of our correspondence was through emails.  Amazingly, I found out she thought I was kind of cold, gruff, and for some reason she thought I didn't like her.  I get that a lot.  Not sure why.  🤣🤣

A few years ago, we got to meet on a Seminar at Sea that she was hosting from Galveston.  Had a great time, and she got to realize what a nice guy I am.  🤣🤣   Of course, like everyone, she loved Connie.  Promised her the next time we were in KC, we would look her up.  

She couldn't have been more generous with her time.  She came over to the rig to "see how we roll" on late Monday afternoon, had bakery goodies for the girls, and KC beer for Connie and I.  We went out to Strouds restaurant, famous for their fried chicken.  Was a really neat place.  Part of it was over 200 years old.

Tuesday, Connie and I did a brewery tour at Boulevard Brewery.  So fascinating. 

Also, had some really good brews.  Every part of the brewery was top notch.







Amy joined us to tour and taste some Kansas City BBQ.

We started off at Arthur Bryant's BBQ.  Every President that's come through KC has stopped there.  I wasn't crazy about their sauce, but the meat was great.  We also got fries at each place.  In the end, Arthur Bryant's had the best.

Next we went a short way up the street to Gates & Sons BBQ.  Got a rack of ribs so we could sample the bones.  Something got screwed up, and we got their spicy sauce.  Good Lord.  If you know Connie and I, we just don't do hot.  Thought their fries were below average.

Finally, we went to Joe's Kansas City BBQ which was located in a working gasoline station. Went with brisket and pulled pork.  Both were great, and they got my vote for the tops.  Fries were 2nd to Bryant's.

Before she left us, Amy gave us a gift of other KC BBQ sauces.  

She's a peach.  Will see her again in December out in Los Angeles for the inaugural of the Carnival Panorama.

Days on the road

We traveled to our home town of Wilmington (OH) Monday late afternoon, and stayed through Wednesday morning.  Visited with Connie's dad (forgot to take pictures!!!) and also stopped by an old friend from HS that opened a new shop, the Wooden Moose.

Wednesday and Thursday were total travel days. 

Wednesday, we boondocked in a WalMart parking lot in Normal, IL  There was a Pizza Hut across the street for dinner, and (bonus) a bakery inside the WM for fresh donuts!

Thursday, we boondocked at the Isle Casino in Waterloo, IA.  They had a nice restaurant (one of four), The Brew Brothers, inside that had local craft beers, and some pub grub. 

I had some loaded fries (pulled pork, BBQ and cheese sauce) that were fantastic.  Couldn't finish it, but they were so good.  Not sure why else people go to casinos if not for the food and drinks?



Friday we rolled into Sioux Falls, SD and the Sioux Falls KOA.  Had an appointment at 5p to renew our driver's license that we just barely made due to some construction.  Our Google GPS taking us to a closed exit (thinking it was open) then having to follow a detour back to an open exit (that was what Google thought was closed).  Let me tell you, we zipped in and out of the DMV in 32 minutes.  They were the nicest DMV workers I've ever encountered.  What a pleasant experience.

After the licenses, we went downtown to a "First Friday" event put on by Downtown Sioux Falls and met our new BDM (business development manager) for Sandals (Adults Only All Inclusive Resorts) and Beaches (Caribbean All inclusive resorts for families), Monica Huether.  Great weather and company.  Talked a lot about our business, our backgrounds, ways Sandals and Beaches is growing and thoughts for expanding our niches.

Really enjoyed the small town feel of the event.  Also got introduced to Monica's friend, Julio Espino.  Great story.  Came to Sioux Falls as an engineer, noticed there wasn't an authentic Mexican restaurant in town, so he started it.  The restaurant did well, but people started wanting his salsa.  So, he started marketing his Inca salsa and sold the restaurant to his sister.  He's getting outlets at Hy-Vee, Wal Marts and working on expanding elsewhere (including H-E-B in Texas).  Fascinating conversation on the ins and outs of his business.  Was nice enough to give us some samples, looking forward to trying them.

Need a day of rest, and what better way than to watch College Football.  Weather is supposed to get crappy, so that will make it even easier to hang in the rig.