Road Trip #12 - The Long Drive Home

Thursday, June 25th

Today started our long drive home. We broke it up into two days and stopped for the night in Kansas City, Missouri. We stayed with Tim's friend from high school and his family. We had a great time catching up as it had been years since we last saw each other!

For dinner we had Kansas City BBQ take out. We ate Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, formerly Oklahoma Joe's Bar-B-Que. Unfortunately we did not take photos of dinner.

Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que got its start in the competition BBQ circuit. Their team and smoker took home so many awards, they had fans begging them to cater and open a restaurant. Fate took over when a space opened in the gas station restaurant near their home. They opened their first restaurant in 1995. Now they have multiple locations and are critically acclaimed.

Personally I've wanted to try this BBQ since Tim was here on a business trip in 2011 and sang their praises over the years. The beef brisket and pork ribs we ordered did not disappoint! The meat was smoked to perfection. Tangy sauces complimented the meats to make an extraordinary combination. Everything was so delicious, Eight even ate 9 ribs! I was happy to finally indulge in the best BBQ I've ever eaten. I highly recommend Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que if you're ever in the area. Seriously, a gas station restaurant can be worth a 2 hour wait (but I'm happy we had another place to eat and could chose the take out option).

Friday, June 26th

We woke up the next morning and I discovered I was one of the few who didn't wake up for the huge storm that came through that night. The straight-line wind downed a tree in the backyard, took out street lights and made a huge mess. I must have been tired. After a delicious breakfast of homemade biscuits and gravy, we drove from Kansas City, MO back to Georgetown, TX. For the first time, we did not have to drive through a torrential downpour in Oklahoma City. That storm waited until we were south of Dallas and in the dark. The girls were extremely happy to see our cat at home. I was extremely happy to sleep in my own bed!

Nice to be welcomed home again!

Our vacation by the numbers: we drove a total of 4,035 miles, taking 12 days, through 10 different states in the minivan. Tim added an extra state with his airport layover. The girls earned 2 National Park Junior Ranger Badges. We attended 1 family reunion and 1 graduation. We took home so many memories and enjoyed lots of great food!

Now to return to our normal lives and blog posts on our favorite restaurants!