Taking the Long Way Home
We had originally planned to stay in Boston tonight and go see the movie, "The Squid and the Whale" but cancelled our hotel, chose to miss the movie and drove to Portland to get a two-hour head start on tomorrow's drive home instead.
Stopped at our favourite sports store - The Sports Authority - and bought an obscene amount of tennis balls for less than the price of a hamburger. Next stop, Gritty's Brew Pub for a Brown ale, sweet potato fries and a bowl game on the big screen instead of our usual haunt, Grannie's Burritos.
After our light supper we were off the the
Theatre on Exchange where, as luck would have it, "The Squid and the Whale" is playing. The theatre is a little 150-seater dump on Exchange street that shows the
coolest movies! There is only one screen and they play a succession of independant movies for one-week runs.
We just got back to the sweetest-little-deal-of-a-hotel in Portland, the Comfort Inn on Maine Mall Road, and we will sleep in as late as we want and probably make it home by mid evening tomorrow.
It's been an awesome trip. Go Chiefs! Goodbye Dick Vermeil! So long pulled pork sandwiches! Adios to the grass and hello to the frozen tundra tomorrow.
- Rik
Chiefs Last Game of the Season
Kansas City is an absolutely amazing city of football fans. The bus to Arrowhead stadium among all the Chiefs fans was the best way to go, being dropped off at the main gate. The stadium is absolutely incredible!
All of the parking lots are full of tailgaters with the smoke from the BBQ's making us hungry as soon as we arrive. Outside the stadium there are live bands, t-shirt giveaways, a Chiefs shop--and a genuine air of excitement.
Inside the stadium there is a variety of local food like pulled pork (YUM) and brisket. I've been to big stadiums before but none with the variety that Arrowhead offers. It's like a shopping mall going around the stadium.
The game was awesome! We had good seats in the lower section at the corner of the end zone. The fans are LOUD and very enthusiastic. My ears are still ringing tonight even though the game ended over five hours ago. The Chiefs
pummeled the Bengals 37-3. We were treated to three interceptions and, after every touchdown, we got to join in with the classic Chief's fan chant "We're gonna beat the crap outta you! YOU! YOU! You-You-YOU!!" The fans also finish the in-stadium announcer's calls with a resounding "FIRST DOWN!!" everytime there is one. Everyone was so into the game. It was especially nice to see Dick Vermeil coach his last game. The tears were flowing. ;-) Too bad the stupid Lions couldn't beat the Steelers...oh well, we enjoyed the game just as much as if the Chiefs had made the playoffs.
Now that we've finished our pesto-chicken-mediterranean and refried-bean pizzas, it's time to get packed for the 7 AM flight to Philly and then Boston. It's a drag to leave Kansas City because we've had so much fun.
This is the best Christmas present I ever got!
- Rik
Happy New Year!
We spent our New Year's Eve at
Boozefish wine bar. We had a cheese tray with a bunch of cool cheeses that reminded us of Europe. To accompany the cheese, we tried a sampling of their wine--almost as good as the cheese. They had live jazz--the band was awesome but I think their lead singer was on crack or something. At the end of the night, when he was butchering a few of my favorites, I loaded up some good versions of the songs on my iPod. (How rude! I know. But you could only take so much of this guy--really!) The chocolate bar was awesome, though. No complaints there! We saw some fireworks outside the restaurant and on our cab ride back to the hotel. We were the cabbie's first fare of 2006; he had been working for over 24 hours straight and was still in really good spirits! It's an indication of how laid back the folks here are -- and the level of traffic is laughable -- almost as busy as traffic in Boom Road!
Kansas City would be a good spot to live a stress-free life! Not such a bad idea...
Happy New Year everyone!
Rik&Ruth
Kansas City Sightseeing
It's 10 degrees and sunny in Kansas City--a beautiful day for exploring. It's so nice to be able to walk around without bulky winter clothing!
Rik found an "Arrowhead" store and bought up some Chiefs gear. Everything in the store was 1/2 price. Woo-hoo! We also tripped across a Cheesecake Factory and drooled for a while.
We spent a couple of hours exploring the Country Club Plaza area -- a pretty little section of KC beside a canal, with tons of stores to shop and restaurants. After lunch, we visited the
Nelson-Atkins museum. It's got a pretty good collection of European art and sculpture. The sculpture garden outside the museum is pretty cool...but my favorites are the shuttlecocks. Only in Kansas City.
First Night in Kansas City - Bryant's and the Blue Room
Uneventful flight. Slow-talkin' cab driver who gave us a guided tour of the city on the way to our hotel. We are in a nice hotel that plays jazz and blues over the sound system. Everybody is nice, everybody is relaxed. Everybody has a slight accent that makes them very easy to understand.
First we cabbed out to Arthur Bryant's for some BBQ'd burnt ends and ribs. The place was amazing! All of the reviewers weren't just hyping KC BBQ - it
is the most amazing flavour for BBQ that I have ever wrapped my taste buds around. It has the ambiance of a truck stop and the flavour of a gourmet restaurant that serves french fries and beans - and everybody seems to like to add pickles to their order.
Next, we walked to the Blue Room for some jazz only to find a funk band playing tunes like "Jumpin' Jumpin" and Toni Tony Tone's "Anniversary". The were tight and had one "experimental guy" who played chimes, bongos, tambourine, rain-stick and many things that I didn't recognize, adding depth to their sound in very interesting ways.
A few Blue Room martinis later we heard the most amazing Jazz/Blues singer belt out what can only be described as a Nina Simone-esque sound. Ida McBeth treated standards like they were her own. She dropped lyrics like warm blankets all over the eclectic crowd, causing a sea of applause and one fan in front of her to convulse with pleasure. The audience didn't give her polite recognition after each song, we clapped and cheered sporatically throughout. Amazing.
This is the strangest city I've ever seen. It appears deserted all the time even though there are almost two million people here. Everything is so spread out that a cab ride from the airport to the Sprint headquarters costs $80. It's as though there is a bylaw that states "you must leave every other building lot empty". Even the jazz district at 18th and Vine is a long cab ride from our hotel... as a matter of fact, a long cab ride from anywhere.
The bonus is that there is no traffic, you have the sidewalk to yourself and could always find a parking spot. Anywhere.
Oh yeah...there is Chiefs paraphenalia everywhere. This fan is home.
Laisser les bon temps rouler!
Movie Day in Boston
Today was a day of total R & R. hahahahaha!!
All we did was go to movies today, which was great because it rained off and on all day. We saw three movies: Brokeback Mountain, Capote and Munich. All of 'em were good and the Loews 18-plex on Boyleston street is a quick subway ride on the green line - that stops right beside our hotel.
The theatre sells popcorn and the usual fare but also sells quesedillas, chicken strip dinners, Starbuck's coffee and a TON of other stuff. This was great because we didn't have to leave the theatre to eat!
After the movies (8:30 or so) we wandered up Tremont street, through the theatre district, to the dumpiest looking hamburger stand you ever had nightmares about, where I had one of the best hamburgers in my life.
Tomorrow we are off to Kansas City!
- Rik
Arrived in Boston
Our flight to KC isn't until Friday morning but, to be safe, we left for Boston today. It was a nice drive, bare highways after Bangor - no snow at all in Boston.
Only one person tried to run us off the interstate so I guess we're quite lucky.
Tonight, in anticipation of Kansas City BBQ, we ate 30 tons (each) of Brazilian BBQ at a local eatery. An acoustic jazz guitarist entertained us and the rest of the carnivores. Mmmm.
After supper, we rolled on over to Kendall Square cinemas for a screening of
"Paradise Now". It gave us an appreciation of the Palestinian perspective--and made us really grateful to be Canadians!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Ruth Gives Rik Chiefs Tickets for Christmas
Yup! Woooohoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's the dream of most any football fan.
We are off for a drive to Boston, then on a plane to Kansas City for the January 1st season finale of the Chiefs' season at Arrowhead stadium. The Chiefs still have a slim hope for a wildcard spot in the playoffs as they play the Bengals.
Stay tuned for the play-by-play and photos of the trip starting around December 28th.
Did I mention WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!????
- Rik
