Missouri Getaway, Day Two

On our first full day we planned on hiking on the Katy Trail State Park.  It is the longest developed rail-trail in the country.  It was built on the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad line and is 240 miles long.  It runs between Clinton and Machens with 26 trailheads along the way.  Part of it has been designated as an official segment of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.  The trail runs closely along the Missouri River and there are many ranches and farms along the way.  We only went five miles (round trip).  But, are hoping to take bikes next time and go farther.  

The main reason I wanted to get on the trail was because of an important story in my family.  My Papaw, Marquis Frank Turner, was born in McBaine, MO and my family was from the area.  When he was a young adult, his father, Jesse Porter Turner, was killed in an accident on the MKT line when he jumped off a moving handcar to retrieve his sister's hat.  She never wore that hat again.  It was 1918 and he was 49 years old. It was a Sunday afternoon and they were visiting family, traveling from McBaine to Providence which is about an 8 mile trip.  I didn't get to that location this time, but I will in the future. 

The trail is fairly flat which makes it a great trail for bicycling.  We saw mostly cyclers and a couple of dog walkers.    

There are many trestle bridges from the train days.  There is one original tunnel in the Rocheport area, which I really want to photograph.  The trail where we were was surrounded by corn and soybean fields.  There are sections that go right along the Missouri River and the bluffs which are beautiful.  

This was a former mercantile that was built when the railroad went in. 

Notice the large, carved ear of corn on the right.  

Check out more information on the KATY Trail State Park at 

https://mostateparks.com/park/katy-trail-state-park

 

Sakura in Yoshino

A week ago, Saturday, we traveled 3 hours by train each way to visit Yoshino which is known for it's beautiful Sakura trees.  It was so beautiful.   We went with my friend Joya who is also an expat, but with the added benefit that she speaks Japanese.  We traveled by Shinkansen (bullet train) and two other trains south of Kyoto to Yoshino.  We thought it might be really busy because it was the height of Sakura bloom season.  Fortunately the weather wasn't very good, so I think the crowds were lower.

We waited until the sun hit the lonely tree on the hillside to capture this picture.  

It glowed in the sunlight.  

It took me a few shots before the bird posed just right for me.

I like mossy stone walls.

Volunteers along the path.

Sakura covered the hill sides.

We were given paper flags when we were leaving because a member of the Royal family (supposedly the Prince) was arriving.  There was a large welcoming crowd and we had to ask what was going on.  Unfortunately he didn't arrive before we left on the train.  If you ever plan on visiting Japan definitely make it in April.  It may be crowded, but it is worth it.

Mac and Cheese and Macarons

I think every crafter needs a desk like this from the Wells Fargo Museum. Small but very interesting free museum. 

Two weeks ago we ventured over to downtown Los Angeles to visit the Japanese consulate. We took all our pre-approved paperwork and handed it over to process our visas. Since it was pre-approved we were able to hang around and pick them up at 3:00. That gave us time to check out the neighborhood. 

In my last post you saw our wonderful tour of the Walt Disney concert hall. I highly recommend the audio self-guided tour of the building. Because of the awesomeness of social media these days, I was able to contact a friend that works downtown and ask about lunch recommendations. She said we were close to Bottega Louie and it was a trendy place to eat. We traipsed a few blocks to 7th and Grand and had lunch there. It also gave me a leg up on my step goal for the day. 

It is definitely a popular place and you are immediately greeted with a beautiful array of desserts, especially the macarons! 

We both ordered salads, mine is the arugula salad pictured and his was a Cobb salad. What I really wanted was the Mac and cheese with bacon. He said he'd help me eat it and boy did he! It was amazing. It was called a "small bite" and wasn't too big. I should've just ordered that and no salad. AND eaten the entire thing by myself. That's what I should've done. Does anyone else out there love Mac and cheese? I have a collection of recipes and have made just a few of them. I don't think any have bacon. I'll have to work on that. We will see if I can buy the necessary ingredients in Japan. It's doubtful. In the end he had a strawberry macaron and mine was lemon. 

We walked back up the hill to the consulate and got our visas. His is a work visa. Mine is a play visa. Yes it is.