Weston
Today, my sister and I took my mom and dad (even though technically my dad drove, so he took us) to Weston, MO to go shopping and then out to dinner at a restaurant/winery. It was a joint birthday present from my sister and I, since my dad's birthday is this month and my mom's is next month.
Weston is about 25 miles north of Kansas City; my parents live in Olathe which is about the same distance (I believe) south of KC. Weston was apparently a place back in the olden days where farmers raised tobacco and people would get off the riverboats and onto a stagecoach to head out west. (I hope I got that bit of history right). Today, Weston is a BEAUTIFUL little town, that looks like something out of a picture book.
Let me back up. First, dad drove us through some similar little town called Parkville I think, and I had a weird deja vu moment when I saw this beautiful college campus up on a hill. I told my family I had dreamed this place before, but because I've been saying things like that my whole life, they pretty much just ignored it and continued on. But, I seriously had such a vivid dream once where there was a college on a hill, that look just exactly like this one, and I told my sister that in the dream, there was a fast food restaurant at the bottom of the hill that she worked at. Well, lo and behold, a few seconds later we saw a greasy spoon diner right at the bottom of the hill. It was really, really freaky to me.
Anyway, we then proceeded on to Weston. It may not have had the immediate charm of Parkville (which was mainly due to the college on the hill), but after parking and walking around, I quickly fell in love with the town. The little main street was lined with really old buildings which are now occupied by the cutest little antique stores and botiques. There was a great old store called Acorns which had antiquest but specialized in old silverwear. My mom bought a very cool bracelet that was made out of old silverwear stems and she also got something else that is a surprise for someone. I wanted to get my friend Angie's Christmas present there, but I remembered something my sister had told me about that I wanted to buy her more instead, so I didn't.
We went in to this little country store that was also an outlet for the MacCormick distillery. You could sample and liquor in the store for 25 cents, but only two per person, so you had to chose wisely. I chose very well, but I don't want to go into it because the fruits of that tasting led to another Christmas present! Weston is a great place for holiday shopping. There was even a group of 4 straight boys who seemed to be holiday shopping also; two of them were cute in very different ways.
We went into this photo gallery/camera store which had, according to my mom, every type of camera ever made in the whole world (talking about past models, not current). While the obvious draw was the antique boxy accordian cameras, mom and I were also delighted to spot a vintage, 1980's Barbie Polaroid. Truly the sign of a well-rounded collection. In the Back Room, there was a special "speakeasy" gallery of a Kansas City-based photographer from the 1920's whose name escapes me, but he shot all the vaudeville stars who passed through Kansas City. There was a stunning photo of a woman, whose name also escapes me, who was known as the Vampire Woman. I so very badly wanted to buy the framed print for Dylan as a birthday gift, but thought such as "how can I spend that much money right now" and "how will I get it back to Los Angeles" plagued me. It was gorgeous, though. And, there was another brilliant photo of a naked, very attractive man chained to some sort of column or something. If I had lots of money, I would have bought both of them right then and there and hung them up together, in my house (remember, I'm assuming I have money in this scenario...)
After that, we drove around town, going by a store with the very cute name "Old Geezer's Mantiques" and then through the tree-lined residential streets. The trees had all shed their orange and yellow leaves, and the houses were perched up on hills about the sidewalks, with steep staircases leading up to vintage porches.
We made our way to the Pirtle Winery, where we sampled many of their fine wines. Again, I don't want to go into it because a Christmas present is involved. Suffice to say that, at my age, I have been to embarrassingly few wineries (especially considering I live in California), but I can say this one was really fun. It was in a very, very old Church and the girl working there was super nice. She was from St. Louis which I think is a great city from what I know of it. Anyway, we then walked across the street to their restaurant, The Vineyards, where we indulged in an amazing and delicious meal that rivals anything I've had in the city of Angels.
Driving around Weston, I couldn't help but feeling a little jealous of the small community. This was the type of town I always wished my own hometown of Paradise, KS, could be. Thriving yet quaint, with artsy little stores on a picturesque main street, surrounded by lovely historic homes and beautiful scenery. The gorgeous autumn weather just made it even more fantastic. I decided, then and there, that I will someday have to find the money to buy a bunch of old houses, truck them into Paradise, and create a similar type of town, albeit slightly falsified.
So, that was my day. I loved every minute of it and I recommend that if you're ever in Kansas City, that you take a little time, go of the beaten path, and head for Weston.
Weston is about 25 miles north of Kansas City; my parents live in Olathe which is about the same distance (I believe) south of KC. Weston was apparently a place back in the olden days where farmers raised tobacco and people would get off the riverboats and onto a stagecoach to head out west. (I hope I got that bit of history right). Today, Weston is a BEAUTIFUL little town, that looks like something out of a picture book.
Let me back up. First, dad drove us through some similar little town called Parkville I think, and I had a weird deja vu moment when I saw this beautiful college campus up on a hill. I told my family I had dreamed this place before, but because I've been saying things like that my whole life, they pretty much just ignored it and continued on. But, I seriously had such a vivid dream once where there was a college on a hill, that look just exactly like this one, and I told my sister that in the dream, there was a fast food restaurant at the bottom of the hill that she worked at. Well, lo and behold, a few seconds later we saw a greasy spoon diner right at the bottom of the hill. It was really, really freaky to me.
Anyway, we then proceeded on to Weston. It may not have had the immediate charm of Parkville (which was mainly due to the college on the hill), but after parking and walking around, I quickly fell in love with the town. The little main street was lined with really old buildings which are now occupied by the cutest little antique stores and botiques. There was a great old store called Acorns which had antiquest but specialized in old silverwear. My mom bought a very cool bracelet that was made out of old silverwear stems and she also got something else that is a surprise for someone. I wanted to get my friend Angie's Christmas present there, but I remembered something my sister had told me about that I wanted to buy her more instead, so I didn't.
We went in to this little country store that was also an outlet for the MacCormick distillery. You could sample and liquor in the store for 25 cents, but only two per person, so you had to chose wisely. I chose very well, but I don't want to go into it because the fruits of that tasting led to another Christmas present! Weston is a great place for holiday shopping. There was even a group of 4 straight boys who seemed to be holiday shopping also; two of them were cute in very different ways.
We went into this photo gallery/camera store which had, according to my mom, every type of camera ever made in the whole world (talking about past models, not current). While the obvious draw was the antique boxy accordian cameras, mom and I were also delighted to spot a vintage, 1980's Barbie Polaroid. Truly the sign of a well-rounded collection. In the Back Room, there was a special "speakeasy" gallery of a Kansas City-based photographer from the 1920's whose name escapes me, but he shot all the vaudeville stars who passed through Kansas City. There was a stunning photo of a woman, whose name also escapes me, who was known as the Vampire Woman. I so very badly wanted to buy the framed print for Dylan as a birthday gift, but thought such as "how can I spend that much money right now" and "how will I get it back to Los Angeles" plagued me. It was gorgeous, though. And, there was another brilliant photo of a naked, very attractive man chained to some sort of column or something. If I had lots of money, I would have bought both of them right then and there and hung them up together, in my house (remember, I'm assuming I have money in this scenario...)
After that, we drove around town, going by a store with the very cute name "Old Geezer's Mantiques" and then through the tree-lined residential streets. The trees had all shed their orange and yellow leaves, and the houses were perched up on hills about the sidewalks, with steep staircases leading up to vintage porches.
We made our way to the Pirtle Winery, where we sampled many of their fine wines. Again, I don't want to go into it because a Christmas present is involved. Suffice to say that, at my age, I have been to embarrassingly few wineries (especially considering I live in California), but I can say this one was really fun. It was in a very, very old Church and the girl working there was super nice. She was from St. Louis which I think is a great city from what I know of it. Anyway, we then walked across the street to their restaurant, The Vineyards, where we indulged in an amazing and delicious meal that rivals anything I've had in the city of Angels.
Driving around Weston, I couldn't help but feeling a little jealous of the small community. This was the type of town I always wished my own hometown of Paradise, KS, could be. Thriving yet quaint, with artsy little stores on a picturesque main street, surrounded by lovely historic homes and beautiful scenery. The gorgeous autumn weather just made it even more fantastic. I decided, then and there, that I will someday have to find the money to buy a bunch of old houses, truck them into Paradise, and create a similar type of town, albeit slightly falsified.
So, that was my day. I loved every minute of it and I recommend that if you're ever in Kansas City, that you take a little time, go of the beaten path, and head for Weston.
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