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Carole and I had a fabulous trip to Kansas. Her brother, Joe, might as well be my real brother. We agree about so much in life, we're both taller than 6'4", and we both look out for Carole. Meanwhile, Carole and her sister-in-law, Laura, might as well be sisters. Toss in their 4 year-old twin boys and it's a recipe for fun.

Speaking of recipes, Laura trotted out a peanut butter sheet cake after lunch. My taste buds went crazy. I hurried through every meal Laura served just so I could explore the riches of that cake.

Joe and I had a great Saturday. First off, we babysat the twins in the morning while Carole and Laura went shopping. The boys are great kids with enormous curiosity...one loves insects, one loves marine life. They both like to sit next to me and watch train videos on my laptop. They are prone to spontaneously popping up with "I love you, Uncle Tim" statements that me want to kidnap them.

In the afternoon, Joe and I hurried over to the downtown Kansas City airport to visit the Airline History Museum. It's not in a normal brick building, but rather resides in an old hangar, and features three aircraft that are pretty much out of the skies now. One is a Super Constellation, a four-propeller plane that TWA featured.

We toured the inside of the plane (in stiffling heat, I might add) and noticed the difference in seat comfort then as opposed to now. Here's a mannequin occupying a seat in coach...notice that seats were a little wider back then:

From there, Joe and I went to the Rangers/Royals game. The Royals are terrible, one of the worst teams I've ever seen. But that means nothing, because they drubbed Texas badly. Joe left the stadium happy while I dragged my feet a bit.

All in all, a lovely trip. We enjoy these folks so much that a trip for next summer is already in the works. This time, Carole and I plan to drive rather than fly...and we plan to join the Robertsons for a 2-3 trip to see Mt. Rushmore. I've always wanted to see that place, particularly since I'm sure there are Americans who want to etch Obama's mug into that mountain before much longer. Uh, over my dead body.