A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Before we left Nancy and Denny, Nancy cooked us a good hearty breakfast to fuel our travels. Then we said our good-byes and we were on the road once again. Nancy and Denny’s dog Luna and I bonded and I had to say good-bye to her too.

We had another travel day, going from St. Louis to Nashville, where we were meeting up with Bruce and Julia. It is 308 miles and a 4 hour 40 minute drive, if we drove straight through, but of course we stopped in each state, even if only for pictures proving we were there and to stretch our legs. We traveled from St. Louis, MO through Illinois and Kentucky straight to Nashville, TN.

Our final stop in Illinois was Metropolis, home of Superman, or in this case, Super Woman.

Little did we know when we stopped in Metropolis that we were right by the Kentucky Border, but we stopped again, and we were glad we did, because it was our only stop in Kentucky. But we have the pictures to prove we were there, even if just passing through. 🙂

Once again, we crossed a bridge over the Ohio River to enter Kentucky. The Ohio River is a tributary of the Mississippi River that flows along the shared border of Illinois and Kentucky. Its length along the border is 133 miles, and its major tributaries include the Wabash and Saline rivers. The Ohio River is famously known as the historical “Gateway to the West,” serving as the primary transportation route that fueled American westward expansion. Today, it remains a vital commercial waterway, a source of drinking water for over five million people, and an important cultural and ecological boundary. 

This was such a pretty visitor’s center. The gardens were spectacular.

Crossing into Tennessee from Kentucky, there was yet another river to cross. This time we crossed the Cumberland River, which is is the major river flowing between and through both Kentucky and Tennessee. Rather than serving as a strict dividing border, the 688-mile river snakes back and forth across the state line, originating in eastern Kentucky, dipping deep into northern Tennessee (through Nashville), and re-entering western Kentucky. While the Cumberland is the primary river connecting the two states, a few other notable water bodies and boundary lines are closely tied to the region, such as the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, which is a major tributary that cuts through the rugged Cumberland Plateau directly across the Kentucky-Tennessee border, The Mississippi River. This major river serves as the official western border dividing western Kentucky (and Tennessee) from Missouri and The Mississippi River State Line Marker, which is the border between Kentucky and Tennessee has a famous historical quirk at the Madrid Bend (or Kentucky Bend). The Mississippi River cuts a loop, leaving a small exclave of Kentucky (Fulton County) completely surrounded by Tennessee on land.

We had both been to Illinois before, but we had never seen so much of it before now. Kentucky and Illinois were two new states for each of us. We have now seen almost all 50 states of the Unites States of America. We are down to just single digits of new states to see. This is a new goal; to see them all, especially since we are so close.

We kept going until we reached Nashville, but I took so many pictures in Nashville that this is a good place to stop for now. Nashville will be it’s own post or posts. 🙂

Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. See and do as much as you can while you can. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

I forgot to mention Nancy went out of her way to get us some special treats and goodies, only found in St. Louis. We enjoyed them as our dessert after our feast from Guido’s. Goin’ South – Part 2 – St. Louis Bound; Eating Our Way Through The South – Part 1 – Guido’s. She had some St. Louis gooey cake, Ted Drewes frozen custard, and some Fitz Root beer for us to enjoy.

St. Louis Gooey Cake – St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake is a regional delicacy born in the 1930s. Legend says it was created by an accidental recipe mix-up, where a baker mistakenly reversed the ratio of butter and flour in a coffee cake batter. Today, it remains a beloved, ultra-sweet staple.

Ted Drewes frozen Custard – The story of Ted Drewes begins with Ted Drewes Sr., a tennis champion who dominated the Muny Tennis Championships from 1925 to 1936. He also won the National Public Parks Singles title four times during the 1920s. A native of St. Louis, Ted Sr. spent winters in Florida with his family to continue playing tennis. In the fall of 1929, he opened his first frozen custard stand in St. Petersburg, Florida. The St. Petersburg custard stand was such a success that Ted Sr. decided to bring the business back home to St. Louis. In the spring of 1930, he opened a brick-and-mortar store on Natural Bridge Road. The following year, he opened a second location on South Grand, which remains the oldest location still in operation today. Finally, in 1941, Ted Sr. opened the now-famous Chippewa location on Historic Route 66. For nearly a century, Ted Drewes Frozen Custard has been the perfect way to cap off a day in St. Louis. Now in its fourth generation, the Drewes family continues to uphold their commitment to quality and customer service, ensuring that every visit feels special. 

Fitz Root Beer – Fitz’s Root Beer was first concocted in St. Louis in 1947 and sold at a popular local drive-in in Richmond Heights. Fitz’s Bottling Company is a regional soda brand in the St. Louis area. The flagship brand is its root beer popularized by its microbrewery and restaurant.

Nancy gave us the gooey cake to take and enjoy on our travels. And that we did too. Thank you Nancy. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. Enjoying fun snacks along the way always make the trips of life better too. ‘Til next time.

Nancy took us to one her favorite Italian restaurants called Guido’s. Goin’ South – Part 2 – St. Louis Bound. It is located in the Italian district known as The Hill.

Guido’s is much more than just an Italian restaurant. It is a family owned and operated restaurant that has been around since 1988. It is owned and operated by the Carretero Family. It offers great Italian food, as well as tapas and other Mediterranean favorites as well; all family favorites made with the most important ingredient – LOVE. Guido’s delivers a “Taste of Spain in the Middle of Italy”. Segundo and Genevieve (Mama) can often be found greeting patrons to the restaurant throughout the week. Cooking in the kitchen and managing the front-house is Miguel. 

Guido’s is a big restaurant with a beautiful outside patio as well.

Our server was AJ. His older brother Eric, who greeted us when we came in, told us to give AJ a hard time, but he was so sweet and so nice, we just couldn’t do it. I mean how can you give someone a hard time when he has such a big smile, right?!

We ordered some fried ravioli as a starter for all of us. I had never tried fried ravioli before. It was DELICIOUS!

Then we ordered our meals, which were all excellent too. Nancy ordered baccalau.

Denny had spaghetti and meatballs.

Larry ordered the seafood ravioli, which also came with a salad that we split. Good thing we split it too. The salad was HUGE! It was topped with their own special kind of cheese, made in house. I gave ALL the cheese to Larry. 🙂

Of course I had to be the one that was different, and ordered from the Tapas menu. I ordered the garlic shrimp or Camerones al ajo and Patatas Bravas, that I shared with everyone as well.

We all left with very full, very happy tummies. Whenever you are in the area, visiting The Hill in St. Louis, definitely bring your appetite and go to Guido’s, where you will be in for a delicious treat. Guido’s is located at 5046 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO. You can contact them at info@guidosstl.com, or just give them a call at (314) 771-4900. Reservations are not needed, but recommended, especially for holidays or weekends. !Buon Appetito!

Have a great day and make everyday great, and make it even better by spending them with friends. Life is short. Live life to the fullest. ‘Til next time.

After leaving Hays, we headed to St. Louis, Missouri. That was our next stopping point. We were popping in to visit our friend Nancy and her new husband Denny. The distance between Hays and St. Louis is 516 miles, and it was a 7 1/2 hour drive. We stopped a little in between to take in some of the sites, but for the most part, we were in the car driving until we got to Nancy and Denny’s house.

One of our stops was in Abilene, KS. We stopped at the Eisenhower house and Presidential Library. President Eisenhower was America’s 34th President and was from Abilene. We didn’t have time to go into the library itself, but the grounds were beautiful.

We did have time enough to watch a short film on President Eisenhower and took a few pictures inside too. We both practiced giving our Presidential speeches at the podium.

We explored the gardens and some of the nearby sights as well.

Abilene is a very clean, cute place, right in the heart of the country. It is typical small town America. It was a refreshing place to visit. But, we couldn’t stay long. We had to get back on the road again.

This is pretty much what we saw for the rest of our journey until we passed through Kansas City, both in Kansas and in Missouri.

We drove straight through Kansas City.

The Missouri River separates Kansas and Missouri and the bridge was the state line. Kansas City is split between two states, being partially in Kansas and partially in Missouri.  It sits on the border of Missouri and Kansas. Kansas City is primarily located in Missouri (specifically Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass counties). It is the largest city in Missouri. However, the metropolitan area spans the Missouri-Kansas border, with a separate Kansas City, Kansas, located immediately to the west, separate, adjacent cities named Kansas City—one in Kansas and one in Missouri. They sit right next to each other along the state line (divided by State Line Road) and make up a single, unified metropolitan area.

And we just kept driving on until we reached St. Louis. Nancy said she and Denny couldn’t go to the Gateway Arch, and that was something we wanted to see, so we went to take pictures before we went to their house.

Nancy said their house wasn’t too far from the Arch, so after seeing it, we went straight there. We told Nancy and Denny we would take them out to dinner, they just had to choose the restaurant. So after a short visit, we had worked up an appetite and we all went to dinner and had a great time catching up over dinner. After dinner, Nancy gave us a tour of the area and the local hot spots. My favorite was the Budweiser farm for their beautiful Clydesdale horses. Aren’t they gorgeous?

After a delicious dinner and a short tour of the area, we all went back to spend the rest of the evening with Nancy and Denny. We spent the night with them before heading out again in the morning.

I will stop here for now, and post another post on the restaurant. This is a good place for an intermission. 🙂

Stay tuned. There is plenty more to come. 🙂

We’re back home now. We returned home yesterday afternoon. Now, as it is whenever we return home from our travels, I have the daunting tasks of editing all the pictures, going through all my bazillion emails, doing the laundry, going shopping and putting the house back in order once again. We drove just shy of 3000 miles, going from Colorado to Kansas to Missouri, where we stopped our first night on the road to visit with our friend nNncy and her new husband Denny, then through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, where we stopped for a couple of nights, then to Alabama, again for a couple of nights visiting with Bruce and Julia, and back through Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, back to Kansas again before arriving at home sweet home.

The main reason for the trip was to celebrate Larry’s mom Ollie’s 97th birthday. But we turned it into a road trip and visited with friends along the way, including Julia and Bruce.

Ollie loves her BINGO, so as soon as we pulled into Hays, KS, we went to the Bingo hall to join most of Larry’s family. There were 14 of us Billingers at the Bingo Hall. Ollie is a regular and goes to BINGO all the time, so the hall set up a special table for all of us and gave her the birthday sash and tiara. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Ollie too.

The Birthday Girl/BINGO Queen

BINGO Billingers

Our niece Paige and her husband Jake

Larry’s brother Ron

Ron’s wife Sue

Larry’s sister Linda

Larry and I

Larry’s brother Randy and his husband Roger with Sue on the side.

Our sister-in-law Sheri

Quite a few of us won and we all put our earnings in the pot to share with everyone. That’s Ollie’s rule. Everyone shares the pot equally. Our total earnings were about $300, meaning we each got about $21. I was one of the lucky winners too.

After BINGO, we all called it a day, especially since we had Ollie’s big party the next day.

We all brought and/or made things to share. Larry is the youngest of 9. His oldest brother passed away a few years ago, but the rest of his siblings and their partners were all in attendance at Ollie’s party, with some of the grandkids and great kids too.

Ollie in the center and all of Larry’s siblings. Larry is in the darker blue in the back row.

This is everyone who was there.

Ollie loved all her celebrations and having as many of the family together as were able to come. Happy 97th Birthday Ollie. We love you lots.

Larry and I left early the next morning to start our southern journey. Trust me, there is plenty more to come your way. So sit back and enjoy the adventures. 🙂

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and enjoy the ride. Live life to the fullest. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

You have seen many posts featuring my beautiful Snowy Egrets, but did you know we actually have two kinds of Egrets that call our lakes home? We do. We have both the Snowy Egrets and the Great Egrets. I’ve known this for a long time, but I had never really seen any Great Egrets until recently.

Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets are both beautiful, all-white wading birds, but they are easy to tell apart by looking at their size, bill color, and feet color. The Great Egret is much larger (up to 3 feet tall) with a yellow bill and black feet. The Snowy Egret is smaller (about 2 feet tall) with a black bill and bright yellow feet. Both types, when gathered in a group, are called a congregation.

(not my photo)

This my photo of the two Egrets.

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

I love meeting new friends. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

We are off again today. Our first stop will be Hays, KS. The trip to Hays is about a 4 1/2-5 hour drive from our house. I made a whole bunch of cookies to take with us. The cookies are mostly for Ollie’s party, though I am sure we will nibble on a few while on the road too. 🙂

I made two main types of cookies, and one a variation of the other. Some of Larry’s favorite cookies are chocolate peanut butter chip. That is the bulk of my cookie tray.

The other cookies I made are citrus sandwich cookies. The smaller ones are just from the centers of the larger cookies. Their cream-filled centers are slightly different too. One is more orange focused and the other is more lemon.

Citrus Sandwich Cookies

You need to plan ahead to make these cookies. They are time consuming, but worth every minute.

The Dough

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 sticks softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tsp lemon peel

2 tsp orange peel

1/2 tsp lemon extract, optional

1/2 tsp orange extract, optional

colored sugar

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside.

Mix the butter and sugar together, then add the egg and extracts if using. Add the flour mixture 1/2 at a time, and mix in between each addition.

The dough will be a stiff dough and this is what you are looking for. Form it into a rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, and up to 3 days, before rolling it out to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness and cutting with a cookie cutter.

When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350*F or 180*C. Line some cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cut 2 matching cookies with a scalloped edged cookie cutter. Then cut out the center with a pastry tube or something small and round. This will be your top cookie.

Place the cookies on different cookie sheets, since they will cook at slightly different times. Add the colored sugar or sprinkles on top and gently press into the dough before baking.

Bake for about 11-15 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, then place on a cookie rack to cool completely. Let the cookies cool completely before filling them.

The Filling

1/4 cup orange juice

1 TBSP lemon juice

3/4 stick softened buutter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 TBSP heavy whipping cream

pinch of salt

Mix everything together with a mixer, then spread on one cookie and place another cookie on top.

Because I wanted to make my cookies slightly different, for the smaller cookies, I used some of my leftover Portuguese custard, mixed with whipped cream and about 1 tsp of lemon extract.

And now we have a whole bunch of cookies to take on the road with us for the party. 🙂 I am storing them in the refrigerator until we are ready to eat them. I will keep them in a cooler while on the road.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and enjoy it one cookie at a time. ‘Til next time.

I will be gone for about 10 days. But you know I will share all the fun details of our trip once I return home. 🙂

When we took Bob up to RMNP, I was so hoping we would see some elk to show him. We are pretty proud of our elk, as we should be too. Colorado has the most elk of any state in the U.S., boasting an estimated population of approximately 280,000 to 290,000 elk. This accounts for the largest elk herd, or gang, in North America, making the state a major hub for wildlife observation and hunting. We saw plenty of other critters, which I was very excited about, but no elks. That is no elks until at the very end, as we were driving through Estes Park, looking for a restaurant to eat dinner. Then I spotted her; a lone female at the parking center. They like to hang out there. Sometimes we see a lot all at once, just hanging out there, and sometimes, like this time, we only see the one. But, I will take it, anytime and every time. 🙂

Elks, also known as wapiti, are a mid-sized deer species, with males weighing between 600 and 1,100 pounds. The name wapiti derives from the Shawnee and Cree languages, and is roughly translated to mean “light-colored deer” or “white rump”. A mature bull can run as fast as 40 miles per hour – they’ve even been able to outrun horses in short races. Moose are the largest members of the deer family, with a big bull moose weighing in at up to 1600 lbs.

Look, she’s smiling at me. 🙂

Now she’s laughing at me.

And now she’s had enough of the paparazzi. She’s got better things to do and places to go.

Now she’s just mocking me and sticking her tongue out as she walks away. 🙂

One last nibble before she heads out on her way.

Even though she ended up mocking me, it was still fun to see her. I love our elks.

Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Once again, we are headed out. We will be on the road again this time. Our first stop is to Hays, KS to celebrate Ollie’s (Larry’s mom) 97th birthday. From there, we are headed east and south. We will be visiting friends along the way, ending up in Muscle Shoals, AL to visit with Julia and Bruce for a bit before heading back home.

Because we are off and running, or driving, again, it is time to clear out the fridge and use as much of our leftovers as we can before we head out. This time, the Queen and I rummaged through the fridge and created something Thai with what we found. I was thinking and creating on the fly, trying to best use up as many of my leftovers as I could. This is what I came up with. 🙂

I got to use up some of my chicken, ham, asparagus and rice. WHOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!! I get so excited when I can use up a lot of my leftovers. 🙂

1 cooked chicken breast, cubed

1 1/2 cups cooked ham, cubed

1/4-1/3 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 red onion, sliced very thin

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

4-5 garlic cloves, sliced very thin

1 jalapeno pepper, diced fine

1 red chili pepper, diced fine

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1-1 1/2 cups cooked asparagus, cut into pieces about 1 in long

olive oil

2 TBSP coconut vinegar, optional

2-3 TBSP Sambal sauce

1 TBSP red curry powder

1 TBSP lemongrass paste

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt to taste – I used my lime infused salt

1 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP spicy honey

Combine the Sambal sauce, red curry powder, lemongrass, honey and lime juice and whisk together well, and salt. Set aside until ready to use.

Get a wok or a large skillet very hot, then add the olive oil and the coconut vinegar if using. Add the vegetables, except for the asparagus and cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the chicken and ham and mix togther thoroughly.

Incorporate the Sambal mix, then add the cream. Mix everything together thoroughly, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the asparagus and mix together.

Serve over rice or noodles and VOILA! Dinner is done. And if you are like me, you have just recreated a delicious dish using up a lot of your leftovers. It’s a delicious win/win all the way around. I added some potstickers on the side; dinner was done, AND I used up a good portion of my leftovers before we are off again. WHOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!

Be creative. Play with your food. Life is short. Have fun and make the most out of everyday. Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

We are leaving tomorrow around noon. I will have more posts for you tomorrow before I leave, then I will be gone for about 10 days. I will see you soon.

Marmots are large, herbivorous ground squirrels known for their stout bodies and deep underground burrows. As some of the largest members of the squirrel family, they are famous for spending up to half the year in deep hibernation and for using loud whistles to alert their colonies to predators. There are 15 species worldwide. In Colorado, the Yellow-bellied Marmot is the most common, while hikers in places like Glacier or Washington state might spot the Hoary Marmot. Sometimes they are called whistle pigs, because when threatened by predators (like eagles, coyotes, or badgers), they emit a piercing whistle. They live in rocky, mountainous talus slopes and alpine meadows where they can easily sunbathe, forage, and dig deep burrows to escape the cold. They don’t store food for the winter. Instead, they gorge themselves during the summer, packing on layers of fat, and then hibernate for 6 to 8 months.

We made it to the peak of Rocky Mountain National Park, up to Alpine Peak, at 11,796 feet above sea level.

There was still quite a lot of snow up there, and it was considerably cooler than it was at the lower elevations.

The cooler weather didn’t seem to bother the marmots though. In fact, they liked it and were out playing hide & seek and running all around and having a lot of fun. Some where even posing for my camera too, and they seemed to love the attention.

You’re never too old to have fun and play around. Life is short. Make the most out of everyday and live life to the fullest. Enjoy the ride. Be like the marmots, and be a little mischievous. ‘Til next time.