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Drone Festival at Exploration Place

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Ching under Things to Do.

We got to do some really fun things this year but the drone festival at Exploration Place was definitely one of the highlights. This is our first time attending because our busy schedules have always prevented us from going in years past. However, when I saw they were using music from Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Superman, and Harry Potter, I knew we absolutely had to go see it this year.

Not having attended before, we really didn’t know what to expect. Even though it was just the two of us going, I purchased a carload pass to guarantee our parking. We also paid for seats so we didn’t have to carry portable chairs. We weren’t sure how that worked exactly but they had a pretty good system. Each seat had an attached lanyard with a plastic pocket. You wrote your name on cards and then slid it in the plastic pocket to claim it (see photos below). So if there’s a card, that means the seat is taken. You just had to look for seats with empty sleeves. We went on Sunday (the final night of the show) and several seats either had missing lanyards or missing plastic sleeves. Brian had this idea to sit behind seats without lanyards or sleeves because, in theory, people couldn’t claim them — because, how would they right? Well that didn’t really work because people figured out quickly, those seats were open because they obviously couldn’t be claimed, and they were sitting on them anyway. LOL.

Oh, funny story. Before claiming our seats, Brian almost got into an altercation in the parking lot. Brian was trying to back into a parking stall. This guy was standing next to a nearby vehicle either vaping or smoking (I couldn’t remember which) but just basically standing there. As Brian is backing the car, he decides to finally walk to the event site. He basically walked into the path of our car as we are backing and then has the audacity to yell, “Watch where you’re going, asshole!” Brian couldn’t just let it be so then he rolls down his window and chirps back at the guy, “I can see you!” So then the guy turns around and comes back like he’s going to do something. They exchange some more works, which I can’t remember now, but I remember Brian saying something like, “Way to ruin a good evening.”

Anyway, we don’t even end up parking in that stall because at this point Brian is paranoid that the guy is going to come back and slash his tires. He just gave us a sort of unhinged vibe so maybe? Anyway, Brian find a parking spot much further away from the original spot he was trying to park in. We get our cards and claim our seats but we also want to leave our stuff while we walk around to see the new Ice Dinosaurs Exhibit inside Exploration Place and see the drones at the staging area. Brian is like, “Hell, no. We are not leaving our stuff here.” He was worried the guy would mess with our water bottles and such. I’m like, “You know, if you didn’t get in fights with people, you wouldn’t have to worry about them jacking with your stuff.” LOL. Sometimes we create our own problems. I did finally convince him to leave the backpack with our beanies and blankets (which we brought in case we got cold later in the evening) but he insisted on carrying his water bottle with him.

I took some pictures of the drones at the staging area. I believe they used over 400 drones in the show this year, which is even more than last year. They also used 80 or so for the test flight. It’s basically a calibration run but also an opportunity for spectators to move to a better viewing area if the original spot they picked wasn’t great, which was actually the case for us. More on this later.

Brian was totally geeking out over the drones and spent several minutes talking to one of the drone pilots. I can never remember if they’re called pilots or engineers. Brian had so many questions and the guy very patiently answered them all.

Here are a couple of pics from the Ice Dinosaurs Exhibit inside Exploration Place. They also had a light show in the dome, which was fun, but of course not quite as cool as the main event.

On the way back to our seats, we perused the abundance of food trucks. We had dinner prior so we weren’t hungry but I got to indulge with some halo-halo from Kusina Ni Cheska for dessert. It was delicious! I don’t get to eat halo-halo often so it’s always a treat.

The Nailbiters, a cover band consisting of high school kids from Derby, performed as people were assembling. It was really impressive watching young kinds play music from before they were even born so brilliantly. They were fantastic.

During the test flight, we realized we did not have the best seats for viewing. I decided I wanted better seats so I went on the hunt, while Brian remained in our original seats. I told him I would text him to come over if I found better seats for us. I wasn’t really paying attention because I never have beef with anyone but, it turns out, the new seats I found were directly in front of the guy that Brian almost got in a fight with in the parking lot. LOL. We didn’t say anything and he didn’t say anything. It was good that everyone had moved on and we all enjoyed the show.

An awesome string quartet performed the accompanying music that was perfectly timed to the magnificent drone formations. It was really well done and we highly recommend this event. Definitely a must-see when they return next year.

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Chicken N Pickle has the BEST Pop-ups

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Ching under Things to Do.

This year Chicken N Pickle debuted its Glampground experience. They set up tents, chairs, cozy decor and blankets, and basically the whole camping aesthetic. They packaged all the best parts of camping (e.g. s’mores) into an experience that you can engage in without actually going camping.

Mom booked a Glampground reservation for her birthday a couple of months ago, which actually inspired me to do the same.

Except mom was a little overzealous and invited way too many people to her event.
ME: You realize that the tents have a max capacity of 8, right?
MOM: It’s okay, we are just using the tent for photo ops anyway.

When it was my turn, I kept my attendees to the 8-person limit. I told Colby the conversation I had with my mom about the tent capacity and her she was like, “You guys ARE related!” I guess everyone knows I’m all about the pictures too, so we do have that in common. However, by contrast, I actually follow instructions.

Anyway, the s’mores and festive drinks were super fun.

I made a little video of the experience which you can watch here. Glamping season is over at CNP. They have now shifted to the Holiday Hideaway and Christmas igloos season but if they bring back the Glampgrounds next summer, I highly recommend it. It’s definitely a unique experience worth trying at least once.

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Sip and Support for Victory in the Valley

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Ching under Events.

Victory in the Valley had their annual wine walk event at Chicken N Pickle last month. It was on a Thursday night which was my team league night at TapNPaddles at the time so I could not go. I still wanted to support the event though, because Victory in the Valley was just so great while Brian was going through his cancer treatments. So, I got tickets for mom and dad and Brian to go. I signed mom and dad up for both the pickleball clinic and the wine walk. Brian was coming from his work and couldn’t do the clinic, which started at 4 pm, so I only got him tickets for the wine walk portion only.

Mom and dad really enjoyed the pickleball clinic. Dad even texted me what he learned that day after the fact. They’re not really big drinkers so they only stayed briefly for the wine walk portion of the festivities. Each attendee got a ticket for a full pour of their favorite wine and they both gave their tickets to Brian.

I had a feeling this would happen so, earlier that day, I asked Brian if he wanted me to drop him off at Chicken N Pickle on my way to my league and just come back to pick him up after. He was like, “No. I don’t want to be waiting around for you if you’re running late. I will drive myself.” I was not thrilled about this idea but I figured, I would go to CNP after league and, if he was in bad shape, then we’d leave his car there and he could just ride home with me.

So, he’s at the party having a great time (as you can see from the photos). Besides mom and dad, we had a bunch of our friends there also. I finish my league and give him a call. “Are you still at CNP?” I ask. He’s like, “No. I’m already home.”

“Okay. I won’t bother going to CNP then since you’ve already left. I’ll just head straight home. What are you doing right now?”

“I’m sitting in the chair,” he says. The “chair” is our loveseat recliner in front of the fireplace. It’s our favorite spot in the house (including the dog).

“How did it go tonight? Who all did you see there?” I asked him. Listen. This guy was so drunk he couldn’t even talk to me. I don’t know how he managed to get himself home. He was obviously gone so I asked him, “How did you get home?” He’s like, “Rex drove me home. Rex kept me safe.” Rex is the name of his car. Then he adds, “I’m sleepy. I think I’m going to bed.”

He tasted all of the wines (multiple times) and then he drank his full pour, mom’s full pour, and dad’s full pour. I am amazed that he didn’t (a) get pulled over on the way home, (b) get into a car crash, or (c) run over someone, or (d) all of the above. I am so grateful we don’t live that far from Chicken N Pickle because he was a mess.

When I get home, he was already laying in bed naked. He managed to move from the chair to the bedroom and undress himself. I also undress and get in the bed with him. I guess it’s bedtime now. He’s laying next to me trying to sleep off his drunkenness while I’m laying in bed, playing on my phone (doom scrolling as they call it – I just call it catching up). Then it his him. Thankfully, he still had the wastebasket next to his side of the bed from when he was feeling sick during his treatments. Off the bed he goes and he’s kneeling over the trash can vomiting. I’m thinking I should probably go help him. So I get over to his side and start rubbing his back and ask him if there’s anything I can do to help. He just shakes his head and tells me, “You’re already doing it.”

He’s on the floor puking into the wastebasket. I’m next to him. This goes on for a while before he stops and goes, “I think I’m done.”

“Okay. Should we leave the can here in case you get sick again?” He’s like, “No. I’m done.” I know what he’s thinking. He doesn’t want the putrid smell of vomit next to him all night.

We get him in bed and I grab the plastic sacks, double-bagged, careful to make sure there are no leaks. I walk it straight out to our trash bin in the garage. I didn’t want to smell it in the house either so I wasn’t going to throw it in our trash bin in the kitchen. It was going all the way outside. By the time I get back to the bedroom, he’s already puking again – over the bathroom sink this time. In my mind I’m thinking, “I told you so” as I’m looking around in the bedroom to see if there’s any puke on the floor because his side of the bed is furthest from our bathroom. Amazingly, he managed to make it to the sink without dripping puke anywhere.

Again, I stroke his back and console him, and make sure he is okay. When he’s done, we clean him up and also clean up the sink and try for bed again. We were successful the second time around. He was feeling much better when we woke up the next morning and he could finally tell me how the night went. Suddenly, he was Mr. Chatty Cathy. I was glad to hear that he had a great time (other than drinking so much that he got sick) but man, what a night!

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April’s Birthday at Napoli

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Ching under Events, Food and Drink.

We had such a wonderful time celebrating April’s birthday at Napoli. This was actually a couple of months ago but I’m super behind on posting here.

We enjoyed some fabulous food and drinks in addition to the wonderful company. It’s always great to see these guys because I don’t feel like we get to spend enough time together. Everyone is just so busy.

Food pics…

And the drinks… I only got a couple of pics, though.

Our friends are huge fans of Napoli. We love Napoli too but I think our go to for Italian right now is FioRito. The food is fantastic and it’s more centrally located. What about you all? Which Italian restaurant is your favorite?

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4K Members Celebration

Posted on November 7, 2025 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.

Guess what. The Wichita Pickleball Facebook group finally surpassed 4,000 members. We held an event at TapNPaddles to celebrate. Thanks to Cameron Ventling for the idea!