The Stone Rabbit

WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS.......2015

 

 It has been a long, dry spell for us ROYALS fans.

The last time our home town Boys in Blue won the World Series was 30 years ago!!

SOOOOO.....it's little wonder that, after TWO years IN A ROW of outstanding seasons for this team , our town has been going CRAZY!!

We got soooooo close last year when they played the GIANTS in the World Series.  Our team came up short in the end.  

The sting of the loss was bittersweet.  It served to remind us of what a great season our team had....but OH MY....so near and yet so far!!

The ROYALS players started the 2015 season with one goal, and only one, in mind......to WIN THE WORLD SERIES.

They plowed through the season. . .and in the end. . .they earned their spot in the World Series AGAIN!!

It's all our town thought about.  

There was blue EVERYWHERE.

We were crazy, giddy with excitement......we were living a dream one more time. . .we were snatching up the latest ROYALS t-shirts and buying high priced tickets at Kauffman Stadium .. .and adorning our cars with KC ROYALS flags. . .and waving rally towels. . .and huddling around our TVs when the games went to Queens .........

And then on Sunday night. . .the wild and crazy ride was over. . . it happened right before our eyes . . . .

 

 

 on national TV. . .the Kansas City ROYALS won the 5th game of the the 2015 World Series and became the World Champions!!

It was another wild and crazy game because that's how this team, this group of unselfish and talented players, did it all season long. . .why would the series by any different ?

We are in love with these guys and we don't make any bones about it.

They have brought so much joy back into our lack luster baseball-ness. . .they are scrappy, they are talented, they are  fun. . .they are compassionate :

They are the   KANSAS CITY ROYALS!!

 

 

 

They are the WORLD CHAMPIONS!!

 

 

Please visit Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND for a long list of other bloggers who are ready with their PINK SATURDAY shares with you!!

DANA

A WEEK OF FALL FIRSTS!

 

This really was a week full of Fall Firsts!  So.....maybe they weren't all huge firsts ( a couple were!), but they were firsts in their own way!!

It started a week ago on Saturday when (L to Right) Dana (that's me), Mary and Karen volunteered to be "course monitors" for a local 5K/10K run.  It was our "first" time to deck out in pumpkin sacks and direct traffic so the runners and walkers would be safe!  Actually, it was a cold and windy morning and the plastic sacks really helped us keep warm!

 

 

On Sunday, the temps had gone up and the sun came out!!   Karen couldn't run that day, but another friend could for a bit.  I had a goal of completing 6 miles.  Melita and I ran two miles together, then she had to head back, so (and here's the "first" part) for the first time, I ran by myself on that trail.....6 more miles, giving me a total of 8 for the outing!   

I really do not like being on the trail by myself, but on Sunday, there was a marathon taking place, so I saw tons of other runners and didn't feel "alone".   

 

 

 

On Monday, Twiggy was busy rearranging our kitchen rugs.   She told me it was her way of supporting the ROYALS as they prepared to take on the METS the next evening in the first game of the 2015 World Series .  It was taking place right here in Kansas City at the beautiful Kauffman Stadium!!

OK...this was not the "first" time Twiggy has rolled up those rugs, but it is the "first" time she gave me a reason that made sense!

 

 

On Tuesday, our local HY-VEE grocery store had restocked their ROYALS shirts supply again!    Last year this store couldn't keep up with the demand ....as it was the first time the ROYALS had gone to the World Series in a VERRRRRRRY long time.    This year, and the second trip to the Series for our hometown boys, brought about just as much demand for new and better shirts!

Well...the "first" for Tuesday when the ROYALS won the first game in the series!  Oh my goodness....it turned out to be a 14 inning nail biter with the Royals winning 5-4!

 

 

On Wednesday, everyone was pretty sleepy from the late night game, but also nervous about Game 2 that would be starting around 7:00 p.m.   We still met for our Wed. night  group run....it took our minds off of what would be about to start in an hour and a half!!

Because there are no lights on the chat trail we have been running on all summer, we've had to change our location to an asphault trail-like that stretch that goes along side a streetlight illumninated road.  Wednesday was our "first" night at our new location!!

While I love the flat, chat trail, I also enjoy running here because it gives us more practice  on hills.  Karen, Melita and I did this route with our old group last winter and it really helped keep us in shape during the long cold months.   It's very motivating to know others will there, taking on the hills, too!

L to R:  Karen, Sue, Dana (me), Carol and Melita

 

 

WOW!!!!  What a game #2 of the series turned out to be!!!  Both teams did a great job....but on that night the ROYALS were truly amazing, winning the game 7-1!

By Thursday morning, it was in the 30s, but Izzy and I were still flying high from the night before and we didn't feel the cold.  This was, however, her "first" day to sport her coat this fall!

 

 

This morning (Friday) we had our "first" frost!!  Last night, I covered the few plants I'm still trying to keep alive for awhile as we are expecting the temps to be back in the 70s by Sunday.

Today, we are getting excited and nervous again as Game 3 of the Series will be played this evening.

 

 

The ROYALS  are in New York now, so they don't have home field advantage (and we all know that really helps a team), but they do have what it takes to be a great team.    

It's an exciting time to be a ROYALS fan. . .30 years ago they won the 1985 World Series.......followed by years of not so great seasons.  However, we have an outstanding group of players and staff who have given us two amazing seasons!!  

Whatever the outcome of this year's series, we are so proud of this team and we are:  FOREVER ROYAL!!!

 

 

We hope you have a great PINK SATURDAY and that you will be sure to visit Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!  She will certainly have a huge lineup of other bloggers who are ready with their weekly shares just for YOU!

 

DANA 

KANSAS CITY HALF-MARATHON 2015. . .we did it!!!

 

WARNING....WARNING.....WARNING....this is a picture heavy post . 

I am being selfish here, but I wanted to document our big day ,last Saturday, when we ran the Kansas City Half-Marathon.   I hope my running friends will enjoy this and my non-running friends will tolerate it!  :)

Karen and I worked hard all summer to prepare for the last half we did in September and then this one.  We have one more lined up in November.....then that's that for 2015.  That's plenty.  :)

We ended our training for the KC Half by meeting up early the morning before for a short run.   The trail was dark at 5:30 a.m., so the headlamps were necessary!

 

 

Later on Friday, Mary and I attended the "packet pickup" for the run.  This great sign was outside the entrance to the expo.

 

 

We studied the course map that showed the routes for all of the events to be held the next morning:  the 5k, the half and the marathon!  It was the same route as the one we ran the year before. . .killer hills in the first three miles.  :) 

 

 

We went to the "pacer booth" to pick up "pace bracelets" to wear during the run so we could monitor the progress (time wise) we would be making along the way.  The picture shows some of the "pacer sticks" that are carried by  amazing runners.    

The first year we did the half we sorta "fell" into the 2:50 group (two hours and 50 minutes, meaning if we stayed with them we would most likely finish the run in that amount of time).  We actually did just that.  Last year, Karen and I just wanted to do as well as the previous year. . .so we stuck again with the 2:50 pacing group AND we came in right at that time.  This year, we still planned on using intervals of run/walking, but we had been training all summer to use 1 min. walking rather than 2 min., but still keep the runing intervals at 3 minutes.  

I spoke at great length with Vita, who also paced the half we had done in Sept.. . . we were able to stay with her group.   For this run, she was pacing the 2:45. . .so I picked up bracelets for the 2:45 AND (being real hopeful) the 2:40 times.

 

 

While I've loved this run each time I've done it, this year was truly a bit more special because my son and daughter ran it, too (yes, they ran it a lot faster)!  Here we are not too long before we got in the corral to start the run.  We had hoped to meet up with a few others for a group picture, but that didn't happen.  It's pretty crazy at these huge runs. . . and it's hard to actually "find" folks some times.  

 

 

We ended up being almost as far back in the crowd as you can go by the time we lined up.  Looking north, in the direction we would soon be running, I couldn't even see the 2:40 or 2:45 pacers, but that was OK, cuz I figured we'd catch them at some point along the route.

 

 

And wouldn't you know it. . . .two of the folks we had hoped to take a pre-run photo with actually FOUND us in that pack of people!!

This was the first half for three in this photo. . .so that really added to the excitement of that moment. I had my son take our picture.  Left to Right: Julie, Sue, Bridget (all about to run their first half marathon) Mary, Karen and I'm in the middle front.  We are all in a running group that meets once a week on the local trail!

 

 

One of the things that makes this half so special is that it takes us through so many of the great "spots" of Kansas City.  The first mile goes by the SPRINT CENTER. . .that's quiet a feeling to run by that enormous structure.

 

 

 Mile two goes up the VERY CHALLENGING "hospital hill" (really more than one hill), then in  another mile we are at the  LIBERTY MEMORIAL/WWI MUSEUM.  This is one of the best parts of the run to me as we are heading toward that awesome monument. 

 

 

 

We are so lucky to have photographers (provided by the event!) who take our pictures along the way. (AND the photos are FREE on line later).

I have fianlly learned to be on alert for them, because I have been captured with the most horrible looks on my face during various runs.  Mercifully, I saw this one in time to wave and smile.  It was also still early in the distance.....10.1 miles to go!   

 

 

After we left Liberty Memorial, we had the last awful hill, then made our way through the mid-town area, then over through another neat part of town that's full of fun shops and restaurants : WESTPORT.  I didn't take a bunch of photos there as we starting to "feel" the run.  I'm thinking that was round miles 5 - 6....I may be off.  Anyway, we headed South on Roanoke which is residential.  That's where we were when we saw this puppy handing our hi-fives.   

 

 

 

Next, we found ourselves in another pretty part of town, The Country Club Plaza.   The Plaza is full of fine shops,  dining venues, fountains and beautiful buildings.

 

 

ROYALS flags were waving in the breeze as with headed East through The Plaza.

 

 

 We were on the look out for this lovely lady...Fritzi!!   She was the course monitor for the spot where the half marathoners turned left and the marathoners turned right!   This was right before mile 8!

 

 

Fritzi is known in our area as a great runner and supporter of the running community.   She's one of the first "real runners" I met when I started my own running journey five years ago.  I have so much admiration for her. 

 

 

I didn't take many photos from this point on......with 5 more miles left to go, I was just trying to "get this over with"!   I did manage to catch up with the 2:45 group at some point......I don't recall just when.   I know we ran north on the beautiful Harrison Parkway for quite awhile, then we turned right and got on Paseo Blvd. until we reached 18th street.

 

 

By this point a nice young man struck up a conversation with me (I think he thought I was nuts taking pictures of the mile markers).  Anyway, he wanted to know how long I'd been doing half-marathons. . .of couse I'm thinking "he figures  if that old lady can do it I know I can "......I answered this was "my third time to do this particular run and my third half for the year" and that I had one more "planned in a month".    He then said he thought "women did better at running long distances than men" ( was he thinking the old lady is able to do it because she's a she and not a he? ).....I said well, I didn't think that "was true" and yet while there were  usually more women running the halfs I'd done, that most of the marathoners seemed to be men.    With that, we had a nice chat for that looong last mile to where we turned and headed for the finish line.    I really appreciated that distration, because that last mile seems like forty.

 

 

The first time I crossed that finish line, in 2013, I cried.  It was such an accomplishment for me.  This year, I just felt great that I had actually crossed it and still felt pretty decent....that's definitely an improvement.   My time was 6 min. faster than the years before AND my son was waiting for me.  He'd crossed a long time before I did. . .with a great time....and he was cold and ready to go home!  :) 

 

 

One of the best parts of the "post race" festivities is taking advantage of the free cup of beer and the sandwich.  I never would have thought that a cold beer would taste so good as it does right after I'd just completed a half....but it's wonderful!   

 

 

We didn't stay too long after the run. . .we had our beer and food and checked our "official times"  and spent a bit of time just trying to catch up on how we were all feeling now that it was over.   We were tired and starting to get cold.  However, we had to take a few moments to get our "post run" picture in front of the fountains at Crown Center.   Once again, they are BLUE this year in honor of our hometown boys THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS who , we hope, will get to play in the World Series again this year!

L to R:  Karen, Pan, me, Mary

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT really loved our Half Marathon goodies!!  The finishers medal and the personalized race bibs were great. . and WOW, what an awesome  shirt!   Most of all, he loved seeing all of the pictures and hearing all about our experience.   He's such a supportive rabbit!

 

 

So that's it. . .you really are lucky cuz I do have lots more pictures. .. I held myself back!  haha

I hope you won't hold back about visiting Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND because there will be a lot of other bloggers who are ready to share their posts with you, too!

Have a great PINK SATURDAY!

DANA

 

We are READY!!!

 

It's so hard to believe that a year has gone by since we ran the Half Marathon portion of the Kansas City Marathon!!  

In the photo below I believe we were around the 11 mi. mark. . .still feeling perky enough to smile for the pix!  haha  

Karen (on the right) and I have worked hard all year long to get to this point again.  We have met, on a regular basis to increase our long miles and to work on getting faster on our short runs.  We've made so many new running/walking friends this year through the various groups we've joined. . .it's just amazing!

 

 

Like last year, our KC ROYALS were ready to try to win a spot in the World Series!  The whole town was decked out in blue as were we!  This is a photo I took as we ran through the Plaza (a few miles before the photo above).

 

 

 

We had just finished the run in this picture!  Even the water fountain at Crown Center, where the race starts and finishes, was a gorgeous blue!!  I'm sure it is this year, too!!  

 

 

Yes, we, just like thousands of other runners and walkers, have worked hard for months to be ready for this weekend, whether they are participating in the Marathon, Half-Marathon or the 5K.  Starting in the freezing cold of the new year , right through the blazing heat of the summer months, ending in the fallish coolness this morning as we got in a short "headlamp" run . . .one last little run before the half tomorrow. . .WE ARE READY!  :)

Good luck to all of my family members and friends who will be participating in the various events tomorrow, too!  It will be so fun to see so many happy faces. . .and fast feet!!  :)

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT was pictured here last year with my new lucky shirt and an exciting headline from the KC STAR paper!!  Well, I'll be wearing that shirt tonight as we anxiously watch the first game of the ROYALS  against the BLUE JAYS in the ALCS!!  

 

 

Don't forget to visit Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, for a long list of other bloggers who are ready with their weekly Pink Saturday shares!!

DANA

 

Excitement in KC Again this Year!!!

 

Well....Kansas City is very happy today!  The ROYALS clinched the American League Central title last night. . . for the first time since 1985!!   That was also the year they won the World Series!!  

Last year, the ROYALS went into the playoffs as a wild card and ended up playing in the Series.....but lost to the Giants.  HOWEVER, they had an incredible season and brought sooooo much fun and pride and spirit to our town.   They've done that again this year!

Yup.....folks are pretty excited!!    Royals fever is in full swing once again. . .everybody wants their Royals flags, Royals shirts, Royals tickets. . .it's a great time to be a fan of our BOYS IN BLUE!!

 

 

Of course, we are all fans of PINK SATURDAY around here, too!!!  Just go over to Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, and you see a long list of other bloggers who fans of this weekly event, too!

Happy PINK SATURDAY!

DANA 

 

 

A ROYAL RUN!

 

When my niece tossed out the idea of signing up for the ROYALS CHARITIES 5K Run/Walk. . .well, I wasn't sure about doing it.   The run was to be held in mid-August, which typically means HOT, HOT, HOT in Missouri...and it didn't start until 8 a.m., which meant it would be HOT, HOT, HOT at that time of day in August. . .and it was mostly held on the concrete parking lots that surround the Kauffman and Arrowhead Stadiums, which meant REALLY HOT, HOT, HOT!  However,  since it ALSO meant spending some fun time with her AND part of the run was to be done on the outfield inside the Royals stadium, I signed up. . . .and am I ever glad I did !!

It actually turned out to be a FABULOUS morning!!  Rain had been predicted....but it didn't happen!!  The skies were a bit overcast to start, but they cleared up to a gorgeous blue. . .I'm sure in honor of our Royals blue!!

This picture is of  my niece and I prior to the 5K!  I credit her for my  start in running 5 years ago!  We are so lucky to live  close to each other . . .we get to do one or two runs together each year!  

 

 

This was a heavenly sight. . .lots of Royal Blue porta potties. . .and they were clean and fresh!!

 

 

My running friend Karen came to cheer me on!!  This picture is out of sequence cuz it was taken after I'd completed the 5K.....she looks fresh as a daisy....I'm sweating profusely!   It was so awsome to have her there!!

 

 

 

I'm with one of my newer running friends, Sherri!  She ran with a group called Team RWB (Red, White and Blue).  It's an organization   whose mission "is to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity."  The Royals are huge supporters for our veterans.

 

 

Her blog is called Adventures of a Middle-Aged Drama Queen!   We "met" on line nearly a year ago. . .through a running facebook page . . .and finally in person at at  10K in September!  We've been "running into each other" ever since!!

 

 

This fellow was kind enough to give us his blessings as we headed to the Start of the run!  :)

 

 

 

 

There were about 2,500 participants at the 5K!  It was really family friendly. . . lots of serious (and not so serious) runners were there, but  so were tons of kiddos with their parents, getting to experience running/walking at such a fun venue!!   

 

 

An airshow was in town last weekend, and as  the national anthem was nearly over, this formation of planes flew over us. . . twice!!  It was such a moving experience!!

 

 

When I'm doing longer runs, I do run/walk intervals, but when I do 5Ks, I try to concentrate on running as much as I can.  I take lots of photos on my walk intervals on the longer runs. . .but not so much on the 5Ks cuz, like I said, I'm trying not to walk!  However, when we were near the end of the run, we ran down a tunnel and BAM....we were on the outfield at the Royals!!!  It was so neat that I had to take a few pictures!!!

 

 

 I "borrowed" this one from my niece's album of photos!!!  I don't even remember seeing this spot!  I was in lah lah land!!

 

 

 I did take this blurry one. . .cuz I was still trying to run!  I just wanted to remember what the outfield looked like at that level and not how I typically see it from up high in a seat in the stands!

 

 

 Karen took this picture just as I had finished the run.  That was a happy woman there!!  I was glad it was over, but I was pleased that I didn't do too badly with my time.

 

 

There were so many awesome Royals "celebrities" at the event. . .all were so great about posing for photos!!

Here I am with Royals historian Dave Webster aka KayCee.....he's known to us as the "W Guy" because every time the Royals win at home, he climbs stairs and and hangs the W on the Royals Hall of Fame building and salutes it!!

He was waiting for all of us at the finish line!!

 

 

This Royals fan ran with moose antlers strapped to his back!   One of the Royals players is Mike Moustakas....lovinly known as MOOSE  !!!  He took the antlers to the to the stadium last fall when the Royals were  in the  Worlds Series and became a "hit" with the fans.  

He was right in front of us at the start of the run....I tried to get a picture of him there....but he took off and left us in his running dust!!  I tracked him down for a photo afterwards.  He said the antlers weighed about 15 pounds. 

 

 

I was thrilled to find out I'd placed third in my division!!   My niece took this photo of me holding up my little certificate!  In the background you can see the announcer for the awards ceremony.....his name is Toby Cook.  He used to be an anchor at a local news station.  He has been the Vice President for Community Affairs and Publicity (for the Royals) for several years now!

 

 

 

Yep, I had my niece take a picture of me with Toby, too!  :)

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT loved hearing all about our great time at the Royals 5K!!  He was impressed with my running on that morning. . .but even more by my swell new Royals shirt!  He got pretty tired of hearing me grumble last year about not being able to find a shirt I loved. . .cuz this city was so Royals crazy our t-shirt suppliers couldn't keep the shelves stocked!  :)

 

 

Be sure you visit Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!  There will be a lot of other bloggers with great shares for you to enjoy!!

Happy PINK Saturday!

DANA

 

 

 

What a BLUE Ride!!

 

Our town took a magical ride in October, thanks to the Kansas City Royals.  Those Boys in Blue did something most folks couldn't even imagine them doing just a few short weeks ago.  They marched their way into the World Series by winning the ALC wild card  so they could play for and win the title of American League Champions!

During this crazy time the fans have been flying high!  ROYALS shirts were suddenly everywhere!  Not only were they in the sports stores, but they appeared in the grocery stores and the drug stores and on various street corners!!  Everyone suddenly wanted to wear a blue shirt that made a Royal statement!!

For nearly 30 years our team has struggled...but THIS year, things came together!  We had a great bunch of young, selfless and talented players who clawed and fought their way to the top!  The fans were delirious. . .and so grateful!

 

 

 

It was so surreal to have our team still playing baseball into October. . .and even more so that they were actually playing in the World Series!!

We decked our town in blue .  The fountains were running blue, there were blue flags everywhere, there were blue cookies and blue cupcakes.

We even had watch parties. . . .

 

and we sat through  nail-biting games. . .doing anything we could to bring those boys some luck!!  Twiggy even made a little KC for them while we watched one of the games on TV!

 

 

But sadly, it all came to an end on Wednesday night.  We were behind by one in the bottom of the ninth inning. . .with two outs and a runner on third. . .and we just couldn't get him home.  AND the Giants won the World Series 2014.

And it hurt!  It hurt that night and it hurt yesterday, but as the time goes by it has hurt less . . .and guess what. . .folks are already talking about the Royals in 2015!

As our mayor said (paraphrased here) :  every time our Royals played a game at our stadium (Kauffman) it was like a national commercial for our city.   And he was right on.  Class act fans, class act team, class act city!

 

 

 

And so to the ROYALS we owe so much thanks.  You brought baseball back to Kansas City.  You brought our town together.  You gave us so much to look forward to and to talk about!!

LET'S GO ROYALS. . . THANK YOU!!! 

 

 

And THANK you to Beverly of HOW SWEET THE SOUND!!!  She has kept our weekly group going for many years now.  She gives us the chance to celebrate PINK and to celebrate the seasons. . .which is what my post is about.  Celebrating our team as they continued to play ball into the fall!!

Please visit her blog to see all of the other bloggers who have lots to share with you this weekend!!

DANA

 

 

 

 

 

It's STILL Blue in KC!!!

 

As I type this, the KC ROYALS fans are still a happy bunch!!!  Our Boys in Blue will be playing their third game in the World Series tonight !!  On Tuesday, they lost the first game to the San Fransico Giants 7-1, HOWEVER, on Wednesday they bounced back (in typical Royals style) to capture that game 7-2!!

There is so much BLUE in this city right now that it's hard to think PINK!  :)  However, I hope I can still tie the theme of this post to PINK SATURDAY as we can also link seasonal items....and boy oh boy is this a seasonal topic!  The Play Offs and the World Series has definitely been a fall extravaganza for us!!  It's been 29 years since our ROYALS last played this far into October!

I have to say there was plenty of ROYAL-NESS and BLUE-NESS going on at the WADDELL-REED Marathon, 1/2 Marathon and 5K in KC last Saturday!!!

My daughter and I worked the Packet Pick-up the day before the event and we certainly saw lots and lots of race participants who showed up sporting their Royals attire!

This great balloon creation was one of two at the entrance of Packet Pickup.  It was made by Johnna and John Perry, local artists, who own UP UP and AWAY!  And would ya look at that....I was wearing PINK that day!  

 

 

 

 We were encouraged to wear BLUE during the run on Saturday, so I had a great excuse for buying one more running shirt!!   I purchased the ones Karen and I wore from the awesome booth of KC RUNNING CO!  They also host our Wednesday night running group!

 

 

The Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, and 5K all started in the area of Crown Center, a local shopping venue and home of Hallmark Cards.  They had turned their fountains Royal Blue!!  The photo was dark because it WAS dark!!  Karen and I arrived around 5:30 a.m.!!  However, it was still not quite day break when the race started a little after 7 a.m..

 

 

 

 My husband was getting ready to get a picture of Karen (on the right) and me in our new Blue KC Running Co. shirts. . .while my son was getting a kick out of photo-bombing us!!  :)

 

 

 Here we are with Mary. . .sporting her Blue jacket AND she also had on a BLUE KC Running Co shirt!  It was pretty nippy before the run started and a bit on the breezy side!  However, it was much warmer than last year.  I believe the temps were in the low 30s for the start of the run in 2013.  

 

 

 

The start time for the marathon and the 1/2 marathon was a little after 7:00 a.m.. This is a picture I took as we gathered with several thousand other runners/walkers, waiting for the "start".  The sky was starting to lighten a bit. . .it was going to be a beautiful BLUE sky as the morning went on!!

 

 

We had awesome supporters along the way of our run!  I loved this great supporter and her "RUN FOR THE ROYALS" sign!!  We had just hit the 3 mile mark which was located at the Liberty Memorial, home of The World War I Museum.  

Only 10.1 more miles to go!!!

 

 

 I took this photo near the 7 mile mark, in the beautiful  Country Club Plaza area. . . which had been festooned with great Royals flags!!

 

 

We were greeted by several groups of musicians along our route!   These guys were also in the Plaza area and several of them were sporting their Royals caps!!  

 

 

This is not a great picture. . .remember, I was running!!!  However, our city is known as the City of Fountains. . .and yep. . .many of them are running Blue right now!!!  This particular fountain is the JC Nichols Memorial Fountain, located on the East side of The Plaza, next to a great park with an awesome running trail!

 

 

See how beautiful that Royal Blue sky was that day?  We were at the 12 mile mark when I took this photo of the flag!  I can tell you we weren't thinking about the Royals at that point!  :)  We were pushing ourselves to keep on running cuz we were almost finished with the 2014 Waddell-Reed 1/2 Marathon. . . and we were getting a bit tired !!

1.1 mile to go!

 

 

Next week I will post more about our 1/2 marathon running experience and share other photos. . . but this week I wanted to focus on how our town is embracing  the Royals and all of the fun they have brought to us. . .including while we were traveling 13.1 miles by foot through this happy town that is filled with BLUE-NESS!!

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT has really hopped on the Boys in Blue Bandwagon, too!  Actually, he's always been a Royals fan. . .even when there wasn't a whole lot to cheer about!  Along with the rest of us, he's really enjoying this special time. . . there's so much to celebrate in KC right now!!   And as I said before, even if the Royals don't (gasp) win the Series, they've done something far greater. . .they've won the hearts of so many this year!!

We love the ROYALS!!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please visit Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND!  She will have lots and lots of other bloggers who are ready to share their PINKS and SEASONALS with you this week!!

Happy Pink Saturday and GO ROYALS!!

DANA

 

 

 

A Little Pink and a WHOLE LOTTA BLUE!!!

 

October brings so many great events to our town.  The one my friend and I have had first and foremost in our minds lately is the Waddell-Reed Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5K. 

Last Sunday morning Karen and I completed the last long training run for our upcoming 1/2 marathon this Saturday morning!!  It's hard to believe that we started our "official training"  in June, when October 18 seemed so far away.......and now it's here and we are ready!!  It will be a lot of fun!

 

The PINK sticker is one I bought for my car last year when I did my first half!!  It always makes me happy to see it.  I remember what a good time I had  doing that run and how proud I was  for having set and completed that goal.

 

 

October in Kansas City also brings the beginning of the holiday shopping season with the Jr. League Holiday Mart!!  Patty and I attended that show today.  It was full of lots of bling and clothing booths along with many, many other vendors selling all sorts of items.

 

 

This gorgeous PINK tree was smack dab in the middle of the whole thing!! 

 

 

 

THE SCHAEFER HOUSE, from Jefferson City, MO, is always one of our favorite booths.

 

 

Finally. . . .the best thing that has happened in October in Kansas City for nearly three decades. . . THE ROYALS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!

My oh my....this town is rocking after our BOYS IN BLUE swept the Orioles yesterday to win the American League Championship!!

Everyone is walking on air and sporting blue and just feeling the joy of watching our young, selfless ROYALS play their hearts out.  They are truly a TEAM. . .with a new hero each and every game!!

Now, if I only had $1.000.00 I could get a standing room only ticket to the first game which is being played at our Kauffman Stadium . . .OR I can watch it on TV and be just as happy!!   

 

 

So for more PINK and Fall...please visit Beverly's blog HOW SWEET THE SOUND!  You will find lots of other bloggers ready to share their finds with you this weekend!!

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!

DANA

Our Boys in Blue Are Still Playing Ball!!

   

 

The KC ROYALS have brought so much happiness to their fans. . .and to the community as a whole ....this year!   It's been a loooong time since they've had such a great season. . .and one that has been so good that they are actually playing ball in October!

Tonight they are playing their first game in the ALCS  with the Baltimore Orioles.  

It's a nail biter!!

 

 

While we all would be thrilled if our Boys in Blue could make it all the way to the Worlds Series, we would still be very happy with the awesome season they gave us even if it all comes to an end sooner than we'd like.  

Most Royals fans are filled with pride. . . so much, in fact, that everywhere you look you see lots and lots of BLUE because almost everyone has purchased a new ROYALS shirt this year. . . our local screen printers are loving it!!

Please visit Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, for a long list of other folks who are ready to share their PINKS and seasonals with you this weekend!!

Happy Pink Saturday!!

DANA