Columbia will always have a place in my heart

They say you can't go home again. The same is true for going back to places where you have been a student.  You can't go back, but you can visit. And last week I did just that. I went back to visit friends in Columbia, Missouri, where I spent 3 years as a PhD student.

I took off at 2:30am Wednesday and headed to Portland for a 6am flight. After a small layover in Salt Lake City, I made it to Kansas City. And, what do you do when in Kansas City? You find BBQ.

We found Oklahoma Joe's. It is in a converted gas station on the Kansas side of KC.

The menu is great and the food was amazing. I had a simple pulled pork sandwich with a side of life-changing fries. The only thing left on the tray were the pickles. 

This was the first of many diet de-railing stops. In the course of 4 days, we visited Shakespeare's, D. Rowe's, Addison's and Andy's Frozen Custard. We grilled steaks one night and I had a lunch at the HyVee Grocery Store (Only the best for me)! I do miss the comfort food of the Midwest but living in Oregon sure makes dieting easier.

I watched two movies... in the theater. Went to see 'The Help' with Claire on Friday afternoon (I had read the book back in June). I went to see '30 minutes or Less' with Jonathon on Saturday afternoon. I haven't seen many movies in the theaters lately so this was quite the splurge.

To top it all off, Claire and I spent a lazy Saturday afternoon watching the Lifetime Movie Network's 'Stranger in My Bed'...a truly mockable flick that made for some entertaining viewing. We even managed to predict some of the lines.

Columbia is a great town and I enjoyed my time living there. I truly did. But for me, the people made my experience.  Many of the people who made Columbia so special have moved away to Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, Utah, Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, South Dakota, and elsewhere. But most of my Thursday Office Night Crew still lives there- for another year at least. And, despite all the places I went, amazing food I ate, and movies I got to see, the best part was spending time with Jonathon, Heidi, and Claire. Love you guys!