Kansas and the Happily Ever After Party

Last year our nephew, Paul, got married but none of the family got to go. So this year, they had a Happily Ever After party in Kansas so that we could all celebrate with them. Then I thought, well, if we're gonna drive all the way up to Kansas, then let's see some stuff! And we did. But first, the party.

This was really cool. We were in a small town called Chapman. The event center used to be an old bank. Katelyn's sister, Mackenzie hosted the party and did a fantastic job.

One of the things we did was play this game. There were 10 or so questions like, "who was the first to say I love you" and we had to decide if it was Katelyn or Paul. Then they sat in the front and would tell us the answers by raising the shoe of the of the correct person. It was fun!

Most everyone got up to make a speech. This is Katelyn's step-mom, Susie and her dad Trevor. Both had stories and good wishes.

Mark and Michele each had something to say. Katelyn's siblings spoke as did John Windsor.

The first dance. This was really sweet.

Michele picked out a song and they did a mother/son dance.

John and Elaine were there. They are so cute. They were pretty fun too.

These were funny glasses that everyone tried. Mom and I think we look good.

Mark and Michele toasting the happy couple.

Bev and Paul flew up to join the festivities. They got into the spirit with the blinking glasses as well.

Every good party has cake. Paul & Katelyn got a little crazy when they fed each other and ended up wearing quite a bit of the icing.

Things really got started later in the evening when the beer & wine started flowing. Lots of karaoke, lots of dancing and lots of fun. Congratulations to the happy couple.

So where else did we go? Topeka was our first stop. Topeka is the capital of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee county. The city was found in 1854 as a free city (meaning anti-slavery). Then in 1861, Kansas was admitted to the union as a Free State.

The capitol at night. The construction of the building started in 1861 but was then put on hold because of the Civil War. It began in earnest in 1866 and took 37 years to complete!

We took a couple of tours of the capitol. The first was a historical tour that took us to all five floors. This painting is called Rebel Women by Phyllis Garibay-Coon. There were several murals in the building. I like this one best.

The second tour we took was the "dome tour". We climbed 296 steps to the very top of the capitol dome. That third set of steps going up through the middle of the dome was the creepiest. It didn't seem like anything was holding it up! Several people dropped off the tour at this point.

Once we got to the top of the capitol and stepped out onto the terrace we had some amazing views of the city.

Have you heard of Brown vs. Board of Education? It's about a little girl that had to go to this school, passing several other schools that were closer to her house because she was Black. While Kansas was a "Free State", they still had segregated schools but only for elementary school. This is Monroe Elementary School. It's now a National Park and museum. Basically, Brown v. Board of Education desegregated all schools. As the park ranger was telling us about this, he pointed at me and asked me my heritage. Hispanic. He told me that I would have had to go to four years of ESL school before I could be "mainstreamed" into the white school. What?? Well, the joke would have been on them! I don't even speak Spanish. The museum was really cool.

Also in Topeka was the Ritchie House. John and Mary Ritchie came to Topeka in 1855 and lived in this house. It was a rest stop on the Underground Railroad. Travelers would knock on the back door and give the code. The Ritchie's would give them food and water and send them to a safe place to rest for the night. I was a little disappointed in the museum only because I thought the travelers stayed here and there were hiding places. Still, it was a cool and interesting visit.

Our second stop, after the party, was Abilene, Kansas. In 1857, Abilene was a dusty stage coach stop. Then the railroad (or three) came to town and Abilene became the end of the Chisholm trail. Cowboys would drive cattle up the trail from Texas to Abilene. From here, the cattle would be loaded into railcars and shipped east. Abilene is also the county seat of Dickinson County and the boyhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

There were some cool roadside attractions here. This is the Lebold Mansion built in 1880. Mr. Lebold was a banker, realtor and entrepreneur. Unfortunately, he suffered severe losses during the depression of the late 1880s and had to sell his 20 room house. It's rumored that this is the house used for the Addam's Family. You could go in for a fee but not on Sunday.

World's largest belt buckle. John thought this was cheating since it looked more like a billboard than a belt buckle. And yet, I still drove over there to see it.

The main attraction in Abilene was the Eisenhower Presidential Library. This is his boyhood home. The house was closed for tours on Sunday. It was seriously windy that day! 

The complex has several buildings. The boyhood home, the museum, the library, the chapel and the gift shop. Apparently, the museum was conceived after WWII to honor the Supreme Allied Commander, Eisenhower. A foundation was created in his name and they wanted to buy his boyhood home. Ike's mom was still alive and living there! She refused to sell. After she died the next year, Ike's brothers donated the house to the foundation and the museum was built on the property.

Statue of Ike that sits between the museum building (which is cool) and the library (which is basically for research - nothing to see there but a film about the house).

This is the chapel that's on site. The Eisenhowers are buried in the chapel.

The gravesites of Dwight & Mamie Eisenhower along with that of their son, Doud. He died when he was three.

There are several cool murals in town. This one is Wild Bill Hickok. In 1871, he was Marshal of Abilene. During a street fight, he accidentally shot his friend and deputy who was coming to his aid. Oops! Bill was fired shortly after that. 

We were in Abilene on a Sunday. It was very similar to Lubbock in that there weren't any restaurants open! We found a taco shop that was basically fast food, thank goodness. It's a cool little town. Just don't go on Sunday.

It was a fun week in Kansas. I'm glad that we got to participate in Paul & Katelyn's party.  

A couple more pics. John is belting it out. These people know how to party!

Me and John with Katelyn.

Fun times!