Kansas City Ethnic Festival

Heather and I visited Kansas City’s Ethnic Festival (the 35th Annual) and had many delicious things to eat.  
Here you can see Aebleskiver from Norway being made.

There were also crafts sold at many of the booths.

I ate these delicious Swedish Meatballs wrapped in lefse and garnished with Lingonberry sauce.  It was salty sweet and delicious.

Heather got Potatas Brava from Spain.

Really awesome shields. 

The Serbia booth.

Where I got Serbian style potato salad.  Which was delicious!

Irish dancers not yet in full costume.  I don’t blame them.  It was hot and that hair must be crazy conductors of heat.

The Slavic Group demonstrates some Czech and Slovak dancing.

Guess what was delicious?  Egyptian Hibiscus Iced Drink.  I had several different drinks and this was my favorite.

Their booth was awesome too.

This was the first of three Empanadas.  This from Bolivia and was with cheese.  It was my favorite empanada too.

We sat for a while and watched dancers.  I snuck pictures of people in the crowd.

Like these two, paying attention to what was happening on stage.

Irish dancers are now costumed.

Head in a hole!

And another!  I approached these from the back, so had no idea what head I was committing to.

Heather went for the geisha.

Post-dance Irish dancer, identified by her hair.

My second empanada, this one from Ecuador and filled with beef.

The Blautaler Folk Danceers had these great half socks that I loved.

I liked the blue skirts too, but those calf socks!  So cool.  And the feathers on the caps.
It was rainy, so Heather got a subscription to the KC Star and we got an umbrella.

We watched the Tamuritzan/Hrvatski Obicaj group perform Croatian music.

This was a fun sing along.

Sneaking more pictures of the audience.

This lady brought her own chair.  Which I bet she’s owned since the early 1980s.

Summer rain watched from under a covered roof is a-okay with me.

Self-portrait of bag.

CARL, Buffalo Soldiers Monument, more of the Fort, the PX

On any vacation, I enjoy visiting libraries and this was no different.  Heather took me to CARL the Combined Arms Research Library, which was my first army library experience.
They had a good YA section.  Here’s where John Green’s books would be if there were any on the shelves.   Also note that Go Ask Alice (by Anonymous) is mis-shelved.

A nice display encouraging one to not join the book burners.
There was a good collection of DVDs to choose from.  Also, because a lot of soldiers come to Ft. Leavenworth to go to school, there was also a section of the library that looks just like university bookstores look, although the books were available to lend, not buy.
They also had a very nice children’s section which was wisely walled off from the regular library.
Outside of the library we took a walk.  Most bikes weren’t locked up and many riders just left their helmets dangling. Very different from Portland.
A long covered walkway.
Look what we found!

More example of prison iron works.
Here is the Buffalo Soldiers’ Monument.
L & E look at the monument.  Right after I took this picture E walked under the bar and onto the rocks and I retrieved her.
Info about the monument.

There is also a section that recognizes important African Americans in the army. 
I read about the smoke jumpers last year for Librarian Book Group.
Here is General Roscoe Robinson Jr. who was the first African American Four Star General of the US Army.
This guy advocated equal treatment for Blacks and Native Americans.
Here is where Colin Powell will be soon.
Henry Ossian Flipper was the fourth black to attend and the first black to graduate. That syntax comes from the monument, not from me.  He is our last stop on the Circle of Firsts.  (I found a brochure)
I wandered to the post office and then around for a bit . Nice ginkgo tree.
This was once known as the “Beehive.”  This is because this was housing for a period in the 50s and 60s for families who had five or more children.  It’s a huge building, which would easily take up a city block.  Apparently all the children running in and out all day made the building seem like a beehive.
The house on the far left was where Eisenhower was posted when he lived here, long before he became a general.
I liked this dog sitting in the doorway. This also shows how every house has a nameplate telling you who lives there.
This is the Japanese house which has housed a succession of families from Japan since the 1960s.
We also went to the PX, which is like the army department store.  My favorite part was the uniform shop, where all the little uniform doodads are purchased.

Missouri River, Leavenworth prison, Geocaching and some cooking.

Let us leave the Fort and go to Leavenworth proper.  Above, you can see that Leavenworth is the first city of Kansas.  Below, the bridge that gets us across the Missouri River.
Here we are in Riverfront Park where Lewis and Clark traveled so many years ago.
Information about Leavenworth.
Under the bridge.

L. looking for something to eat.

E. looking cute.  I learned how to put children in car seats on this trip.
We’ve seen the old DB (disciplinary barracks) on post and I’ve seen the new DB.  But what about Leavenworth Prison?  Here it is!  Looking quite nice with a silver dome on top.
Just to be clear, the one on post is the Army prison, this one in the town of Leavenworth is the Federal prison.
We stopped at park and I went on my very first geocache.  Here is our find.
Searching through our treasure.
The bushes we had to go through to get to the geocache.

Back at home we (meaning not me, but I watched) made frozen jello pops.  They have jello in the bottom, and sprite on the top.

The girls cooking.

Three sentence movie reviews: The Bling Ring

Much like the people in Spring Breakers, these people did not share my values, but in a much more fun and accessible way than the girls in Florida.  While the characters in this movie were fairly unlikable, the film itself was quite likable giving a remote perch from which to view their poor choices.  I found this to be a much more chatty film than more Sophia Coppola films, and I enjoyed the uptick in dialogue.

Cost:  free due to magical movie viewing at home
Where watched: At the Wolf Pack’s house with Heather.  Patrick made us popcorn.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2013/bling_ring_ver2.html

A visit to the Commissary.

So much fun!  There is nothing ironic in that statement.  When I travel I most delight in seeing normal everyday things that are different.  This was one of them.  One can only shop at the commissary if they have the proper military ID.  I think you have to live at Ft. Leavenworth to shop there, though Heather can weigh in in comments if I’m wrong.
An easy way to fill prescriptions.

The produce looked delicious.  Very fresh.

There were all sorts of food from all over the world, because Army families who live abroad want to be able to eat delicious food they develop a taste for when they return home.

This squid is a good deal.
An amazing price on coconut milk. It’s $3.69 in my grocery store.
Non-standard cookies.
In case you need some fried herring in spicy marinade.
Or many other flavors.
Another thing not in my local market.
Perhaps you need some frozen pork chitterlings?
Or the same thing in this format?
Among the common flavors of jam, you could also enjoy Gooseberry flavor.
This was the first time I had seen the Coke bottles with names on them
Don’t forget your copy of the Army Times.  Grooming, tattoos and drawdown.  That says it all.

The old DB, prisoners cemetery and some time by the kiddie pool.

And so we set off for the old DB, the disciplinary barracks. (AKA Army Prison)

Here’s the edge of the old DB.

Heading in.

The current DB has an iron forage program for prisoners, the result of which is a lot of really beautiful iron work around the fort.

The prisoners made these tables and chairs. 

Old guard tower.

We’re inside now, and have been for a few pictures now, and this was one of the work buildings.

The old wall.  Where that large parking lot is now, was the Castle.  There was a really great photographic representation of it, which I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of.  The Castle was the prison part of the prison and was a huge multisided, well, let’s see if I can find a picture of it.  Okay, this page has a drawing of what it was modeled on.   It was very large, that castle.

11/22 Update!  Heather went back and took photos of the cool picture.  
Here is regular:
Here is panoramic:
More prison buildings.  All of these building have ghosts in them.  

Furnace chimney.

Wall with chimney.

After exiting the old DB Patrick and E. went home to get the car and Heather, L and I headed toward the prisoner’s cemetery.  As you can see, it was a very pretty walk.  Patrick caught up with us before we got there, though.

Here is an upside down picture of a gravestone.  This cemetery was established in 1884 for prisoners who died or were executed and who had no next of kin, or their next of kin refused the remains. 

E running through the graveyard.

Not surprising why I took this picture.

He was a prince of thieves maybe?

In the back of the cemetery are the German prisoners of war who were executed during WWII.  You can explore more on that topic here.  

I took pictures of the graves because I wanted to hear Matt say the names in German.  I was rewarded.

I enjoy a good child with gravestone picture. It’s the whole cycle, right there.

Interesting post.

Another famous name.

The sign outside the cemetery.

We went driving to see the new DB.  Here’s a sign for the farm they used to have.

Over that bluff is the new DB.  I wasn’t supposed to take pictures, so this is as close as I got.  Here is a link to a picture. Scroll down.

Back at the house, we enjoyed the pool.

I enjoyed the blue ceiling of the back porch.

I can’t get over the blonde curls.

Bubbles!

Three sentence movie reviews: Camp Nowhere

Not a bad film, for what it is, namely a popcorn flick that was designed for adolescent viewing on cable.  Enjoy identifying child actors who are still working, and also enjoy the plot.  Get angry that the “fat” girl is barely even normal sized.

Cost:  free via some magical thing that lets you choose movies from a list.
Where watched:  At the Wolf Pack’s house in Kansas, where they have several choosing movie things that I don’t understand.  It was like living in the future.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1994/camp_nowhere.html

Fort Leavenworth

My visit commences!  After a smooth flight, a trip through the Kansas City airport, (which I hadn’t seen since 1995), Heather (who I haven’t seen in the flesh since 1997) picked me up and we picked up some barbecue for a taste-off.  Not surprisingly, the place with the sauce in the prepackaged pouches did not win.  Also not surprisingly, the sauce without so much vinegar was my favorite.  Although that place didn’t have pulled pork.  Anyway, yum!
We went for a walk.  Here’s where Heather and her family live on Fort Leavenworth.  They have one half of the building.  It was pretty awesome, that house.

Most of the older houses have informative signs telling you how long they’ve been around.

Nice detail here.

There was a lot of brick, which I was a fan of.  And a lot of good detail, like on this porch.

And a lot of zoom things like this bird’s nest, which can be seen in the above photo at the top of the right-hand column.

The original wall of the fort, with rifle slot for defense.

It curved, that original wall.

We saw a fox!

My zoom was a little shaky, but there he is.

There are a lot of historical markers.  I also like this photo, because both Heather (on the right) and myself (in shadow) are in it.

Patrick and E.

The mighty Missouri.

Back side of the chapel, which I liked because there are three kinds of building material used on this end: stone, cinder block and wood.

More good detail.

And this.

There were a lot of flags, not just US flags, but from all over.

Big houses.

This is the commander’s house.  Faaaannnncccy!

These cannons have never been fired.

Nice clock tower with this building.

For some reason, the thickness of this drainage grate fascinated me.

This is the “beehive”. More on that in a later post.

Good window detail.

This is Heather’s porch.

Flag and tree.

Just tree.
Digital cameras are a good way to entertain a youngster.  I would take the picture and the show her the image.

Three sentence movie reviews: A Life Less Ordinary

Part of the Ruby Oliver Film Festival.

Though I want to be an Ewan McGregor fan, mostly he leaves me cold as an actor.  But not in this very bizarre movie which I really liked. I mean, there’s a random dance sequence in the middle, how could I not be a fan?

Cost:  free due to Heather’s magical movie thing. (Though she may have had to pay?)
Where watched: at Heather’s house in Kansas.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1997/life_less_ordinary.html