Oklahoma! via Atlanta

We went to Oklahoma! via Atlanta - in more ways than one.

We saw the musical Oklahoma! at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta.

And we did eventually end up in the state of Oklahoma via Atlanta - with a snow delay thrown in for good measure.

We had started our journey to Columbia, S.C., in Manhattan, so we took the northern route on our way to help settle Brent into his new home. And during the winter, one would surmise a more southerly route would be optimal for the return trip back to Kansas.

But Mother Nature had other ideas. The South was struck with a major ice and snow storm last week. We did get a a day and a half in Atlanta to be tourists before we climbed back in the pickup and tried to beat the storm.

We didn't avoid the storm all together, but at least we got out of Atlanta before the downtown was crippled by ice and snow. My brother-in-law wasn't as lucky. He arrived about the same time we were departing and says the southern capital was paralyzed by their bout with winter weather.

But, back to Oklahoma! While I love the music from this classic Rodgers and Hammerstein show, I really think Music Theatre of Wichita's productions are far superior. The singers were talented, but there was no live orchestra, and the sets were not nearly as elaborate as Wichita's summer offerings. Still, you can't quarrel with the beauty of songs like "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' " "People Will Say We're in Love" and "Out of My Dreams."

We packed a lot of tourist stops into our short visit. We toured the CNN headquarters.

I'm not a big CNN watcher. And no, I didn't see Anderson Cooper or Robin Meade or Nancy Grace in the hallways.

Even though I have a degree in journalism, I don't think I have much in common with the CNN news anchors who end up in living rooms all across the nation. Still, it was interesting to hear the producers talking to the anchors while they were on the air. I'm not sure I would be able to think - much less talk - if someone was whispering in my ear at the same time.

Another of our tourist stops was Turner Field.

We stayed at a motel just down the street from the baseball field and its Hall of Fame.

Turner Field is home to the Atlanta Braves, but the Braves have a long history before they ever arrived in Georgia. In existence for more than 125 years, it is the oldest continuous franchise, though not under the same name. They have been the Boston Red Stockings (not to be confused with the Red Sox), Boston Beaneaters, Boston Doves, Boston Rustlers, Boston Braves and the Boston Bees.

In 1941, the Braves name finally stuck for good. In 1953, they moved to Milwaukee. Their first season in Atlanta was 1966. The team's tenure in Atlanta is famous for Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's career home run record in 1974.

They've been playing at Turner Field since 1997, when the 1996 Olympic stadium was remodeled to become the permanent home for the Braves.


Inside of every grown man, there's a little boy who dreams of being in a dugout. Randy got "warmed up" for his dugout stint while we were waiting on the tour in the museum.

Then we both got to take our turn in the stadium dugout.

Next stop on our whirlwind Atlanta tour was the Georgia Aquarium. I had to text Jill to let her know we were there, since she's always loved aquariums and zoos.

I took plenty of photos at the aquarium. There just weren't many worth sharing. The lion fish was ready for his close-up.

So was a seahorse ...


And a sea dragon ...

Tomorrow ... a flavorful stop in downtown Atlanta!

Oh, Be Careful!

Do you know that old Sunday School song, "Oh Be Careful"?

It's the one that reminds us:

"Oh, be careful little tongue what you say ...
Oh, be careful little feet where you go ...
Oh, be careful little hands what you do ...

For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So be careful little tongue what you say." (And so on.)

I had one of those moments during our road trip. On our second travel day, we had decided to take a break mid-afternoon and walk outside instead of on a motel treadmill. I was all for that.

So we stopped at a rest area somewhere in Tennessee. I don't remember where exactly.

We were walking around the rest area, and I saw a guy with his camera. He was taking a photo of a sculpture.

I thought to myself, "Oh the poor guy! It must be a really bad vacation if he has to take photos of rest area sculptures."

I didn't say it out loud. But I sure thought it.

And then, as we walked further, I saw a cemetery on a hill.

And I had to explore.

And then I had to go get my camera.

And then I became that person taking photos at a rest area.

I then confessed to my traveling companion about my thoughts about the poor guy taking photos at the rest area.

"Oh, be careful little tongue what you say.
Oh, be careful little mind what you think." (That would be a good verse to add, I think.)

It should be my theme song.

And then, just to top it all off, I took photos of the sculpture, too.

It was, after all, called Marking Time.

Vacation or Business Trip?

If you are in a pickup and pulling a U-Haul trailer across the United States, are you really on vacation?

And if you carry a dresser, a television, assorted pots and pans, mattresses, big boxes and a couch up two flights of stairs, are you really on vacation?

It didn't feel much like vacation. But I am glad we got to help Brent with his move to Columbia, S.C., for grad school.

After we found some muscles we didn't remember we had, we did get to spend a little time being tourists in Columbia.

And that led to yet another question: If a farmer passes by a flour mill while on "vacation," does your "vacation" become a "business trip?"

There were no tours offered at the Adluh Flour Mill. Believe me, if there would have been, my farmer and favorite Kansas Association of Wheat Growers representative would have been touring. After all, it has been named the state flour of South Carolina by the state's Department of Agriculture. In 1942, there were 42 operating flour mills located in South Carolina. Today only one of these remains: Adluh Flour Mills. (So I guess I can see why it is the state flour.) It has been producing flour in Columbia since 1900.

Even though there was no tour of the actual mill, it was a marked spot on the walking tour of downtown Columbia. We walked so far and took so long that we ended up with a $7 parking ticket courtesy of the powers that be in the Capital of Southern Hospitality. Kind of ironic, right?

Our stop at Cupcake was part of this walking tour, so maybe we walked a bite or two of the calories off.

Maybe we could have worked off a few more of the calories if we could have done our own Rocky reenactment by running up the stairs at the South Carolina State House.

But they didn't let visitors in the door that way. We had to go through a metal detector instead.

They began building the state house in 1855. That's before Kansas was a state.

The stained glass mosaic overlooking the lobby is made from more than 37,000 pieces of glass and depicts the Seal of South Carolina. It is original to the building.

Also on the tour was the Richland Public Library. Since I am a big fan of any library, I couldn't just walk by without going inside.

This was the view inside the four-story lobby.

I love my library, but this wasn't only a repository for books: It was a showcase of architecture.


And we even found a few things along the way that weren't technically on the walking tour. I loved seeing the reflection of the old building in the glass panes of its newer neighbor.

And we saw the beautiful stained glass windows inside St. Peter's Catholic Church. The door was open ... really. Founded as an outreach to Irish canal workers in 1821, the church is South Carolina's oldest parish outside of Charleston.

It's hard to beat beautiful stained glass windows, but these little ones came close. It was on January 6, so their teachers were taking their photo by the Nativity scene on Epiphany. I didn't want to get arrested, so I didn't get any closer.

And, speaking of law breakers, yes, we did pay the $7 parking fine before we left Columbia.

***

If you're visiting Columbia, we enjoyed eating at three unique places. California Dreaming was in the historic railroad station. We also ate at Hunter-Gatherer, which was in the little business district near the campus of the University of South Carolina (which reminded us of Aggieville). We also enjoyed Liberty Taproom and Grill.

We look forward to trying more local flavor when we visit the next time.

Frosting on Top

The snow on the hay bales looked like frosting on a cake to me.

And I'm somewhat of an expert on frosting after Randy and I sampled sweet treats at a shop called Cupcake in downtown Columbia.

I ordered the red velvet with cream cheese icing.

Randy ordered the Death by Chocolate. It had chocolate ganache AND chocolate chips. YUM: There are no other words.

These creations reminded me of the confections on one of my new favorite Food Network shows, Cupcake Wars.

We split them down the middle and shared. I come from a long line of frosting lovers so the sky-high toppings were especially heavenly.

But they don't have anything on the frosting job that God does in nature.

And God's version has fewer calories. After the holidays and time on the road, I am in serious need of the low-calorie version.

BUT, if you're looking to make cake this weekend - or any other time - I have one for you to try. I made it for a ladies' brunch before Christmas, but I've made it many times when I've had ripe bananas to use.

Banana Spice Cake can be used as a coffee cake or as a dessert cake. I like making it in a Bundt cake to make it pretty, but I've also made it in a 13- by 9-inch pan.

And speaking of frosting, the ripe bananas in the icing give it a whole other layer of banana flavor. It is mighty good frosting!

Banana Spice Cake

with Cinnamon Banana Frosting

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Streusel:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Banana Butter Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened (no substitutes)
1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp. light cream
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Cake: In large mixer bowl, combine cake mix, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, eggs, water, mashed bananas and oil. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Put batter half of batter into a Bundt pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with half of streusel mixture. Pour remaining batter on top of streusel. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top of the batter. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until the cake tests done. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen sides and center with a knife. Turn onto serving platter. Put platter on a cooling rack to continue cooling. Frost when cool.

Streusel: Combine all ingredients using a pastry blender. Mix well.

Frosting: In a large bowl, cream butter, mashed bananas and half of powdered sugar. Add cream. Add remaining powdered sugar and cinnamon, beating until smooth and creamy.

For a Bundt cake, I only make half of the icing recipe. The original recipe was used to frost a two-layer, 8-inch-round cake. For that, you'll need all 3 cups of the frosting. If you make a regular layer cake, you may want to skip the streusel as well. That was an addition I made to my Bundt cake version.

Drizzle the cooled cake with the icing. Sprinkle with chopped nuts (I used walnuts this time, but I've also used pecans.)

Enjoy!

From Limestone to Brick

We're used to limestone. They have brick.

We're used to the Wabash Cannonball. They hold up a toast to their school and proclaim, "Here's a health, Carolina, forever to thee!"

We are used to the oaks and elms of Kansas. They have those, too, but have added the palmettos and magnolias of the south.


Our trip to the University of South Carolina campus may not have been "home" for us. But it did give this Mom some visual snapshots of where Brent will be spending the next year and a half.

I like being able to picture my kids in their surroundings. I know Jill thought it was silly when we wanted to see the retirement home where she's the dietitian and food service manager. But I like being able to "see" her in my mind's eye when she is talking about work and the residents she loves.

Same goes for Brent's new home. Randy and I spent some time walking around the campus one morning when Brent had meetings with his adviser.

K-State was founded in 1863. The University of South Carolina is old enough to be K-State's grandpa!

USC was founded in 1801, one of the oldest public universities in the U.S. The Graduate School, where Brent will get his master's in sports administration, is one of the nation's 10 largest grad schools. Most of his classes will be in the Carolina Coliseum, the former home to the Gamecocks basketball team.

My favorite part of the campus was The Horseshoe, a part of the original campus. Within its four city blocks, stand 10 buildings from the early 19th century. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson was the newly inaugurated U.S. president and Robert Fulton was experimenting with the steamboat.

We walked down the brick pathways that students have been traversing for 210 years.


And even though it wasn't "our" home, we still felt "at" home. And that made all the difference.

Snowscapes

Snow is much prettier when you're not driving in it.

We just returned home from a 2,720-mile journey to move Brent to Columbia, S.C., for graduate school. We left the County Line on January 2. When we packed up his belongings here at home, there was a fine layer of snow. Our snowy boots coated the inside of the U-Haul trailer and turned it into an impromptu ice skating rink.

So we began our journey with snow. And we ended it with snow, too. Surely there's a metaphor there somewhere: I'm just too tired to figure it out at the moment.

On Sunday, we stopped in Little Rock, Ark., because of snow. We had started the day in Atlanta, but left at 6:30 in the morning because snow and ice was forecast there. We had four states in our rearview mirror for the day and were well into our fifth. When we started seeing fender benders and cars careening toward ditches, we decided it was time to call it a day.

We left Little Rock Monday morning, and Randy drove at 30 to 40 mph for the first couple of hours. The scenery was pretty from the passenger seat with the snow frosting the trees along the roadway. We just didn't like the snow frosting I-40. But during the time I was clicking the camera, I wasn't chewing my fingernails - always a plus!

Then, even though it was overcast, road conditions improved after the first couple of hours - until we got to Wichita. The trip from Wichita to home included a detour down the Halstead Road to U.S. 50 when a wreck closed K-96 Monday night.

We blasted through a few small drifts along the County Line before we arrived home Monday night about 8 PM.

Yesterday, I braved the cold temperatures to get a few photos of the snow. Like I said, it's much prettier when you're not driving (or riding!) in it.

This was the scene at a neighbor's pond. I'm guessing his two fishing chairs will remain empty with temperatures in single digits. Of course, I suppose he could take up ice fishing. He still probably won't need the chairs.

A tire swing near the pond was a study in light and shadows. It's not getting much action these days either.

Neither is the swing in our back yard.

The snow in the wheat field looked like modern art or one of those sand pictures - without the neon colors available at the state fair booths.

A blanket of white covers the winter wheat crop. Hopefully, the snow is protecting it from these frigid temperatures.

It was a good welcome home scene.

Home Sweet Home!