Lunch with Amie and Alicia
Posted on September 28, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink.
I had the pleasure of having lunch with Amie and Alicia last week. Alicia picked the Rusty Nail, which was perfect because I’d heard so much about it and have been wanting to check it out.
The place is kind of a hole in the wall. You’d never know of its existence unless you knew someone who had been there because it’s not really located in the best area. It sits on the corner of Lincoln and Washington.
They do have a nice, spacious outdoor patio and I hear that they serve a fabulous brunch. The interior isn’t fancy but has ample seating.
I took a few pictures inside to give you all an idea.
They have ample bar seating as well.
As for the food, here are pictures of what we ate.
Amie had a salad.
Alicia and I both had the Philly, except I asked for no onions. The homemade fries were great but the Philly itself was very messy and difficult to eat by hand.
The food was good but not spectacular. However, I think I have to go back for brunch because that’s really what I’ve heard great things about. Our friends Jay and Becca have been wanting to check it out to so we may return with them at some point, whenever they are back from one of their many trips.
Until next time. GNG.
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Pictures of Our Lunch at Yokohama
Posted on September 27, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink.
I mentioned in the last post that a bunch of us went to lunch after pickleball when the Tennessee guys were in town. Here are some pictures of our food.
If you’ve never been to Yokohama Ramen Izakaya, I highly recommend it. They have great food and also lots of delicious flavors of boba tea.
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Noi, Ron, and Royce Visit Wichita
Posted on September 25, 2021 by Ching under Hobbies, Life.
Just a few pics from the Tennessee guys’ most recent trip to Wichita.
Noi was the first to arrive. He arrived late on Wednesday night. I usually play pickleball on Wednesday nights so Michael Cheung picked him up from the airport and brought him to the house.
I took Thursday and Friday off work so I could be available and also because Noi was originally going to arrive on Thursday instead of Wednesday night. It actually worked out that he arrived a day early because he was able to play with Chris Heck, Erik Rasmussen, and Tony Swantek at Seneca Park on Thursday morning.
I dropped him off before I went to run errands and attend my Rotary luncheon. After Rotary, I met up with Chris and Noi at Wichita Brewing Company. Chris was off to a lesson down the street and Noi and I went to meet Michael and Matt Nola at Edgemoor Park.
Matt and I unintentionally matched. Naturally, we had to take pic.
The four of us split up briefly but they were back at Edgemoor Park again later that day for even more pickleball. I had to go teach my 5:30 PM Aqua Zumba class so Matt picked Noi up from our house and took him to his house for snacks before meeting the rest of the gang at Edge. I went to play with them after class before taking Noi home. Michael came over and the four of us enjoyed a Filipino spaghetti dinner lovingly prepared by Brian.
Noi and I started the next day super early. We went and played pickleball at Edgemoor Park from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM before heading to the airport to pick up Ron and Royce. We picked them up and after a quick stop at home met Trung Ho and Mark Narongvate for “Lunch and Bowl” at West Acres.
“Lunch and Bowl” is the best deal ever. For only $12, you got two hours of bowling, shoes (if you need them), food, and a drink. I’m so glad that Mark suggested it.
We tried to get two lanes so we could bowl cross lanes like in league play but they were too busy that day so the six of us had to settle for playing on one lane. It worked out okay and we still had a great time.
The reason why the bowling alley was so busy was because they had senior travel league that day. It only occurs every five weeks and that day just happened to be the week they were there so the only had the one lane available.
After bowling, we went to Chicken N Pickle to play pickleball and then Edgemoor Park again once it was cool enough. I did have to leave the guys because Friday night is my Nahola night but I left them in great hands.
After pickleball, they had dinner at Thai Tradition followed by games at Round One. The guys came home super late and then, on Saturday morning, we were back at it at Edgemoor Park for 7 AM play. Edgemoor was definitely our headquarters that weekend because we were there so much during the guys’ visit.
I played with them until about 8:30 AM when I had to go to teach my Aqua Zumba class down the street at VASA Woodlawn. I ran some errands (picked up our team shirts for Picklepalooza and stopped by the kick off event at Seneca Park to drop off some pickleball over grips and stickers for Patti to hand out) and then met up with the guys for lunch at Twin Peaks sponsored by our high roller friend Zach Nguyen.
Pictured from left: Zach, Michale, Trung, and Mark. Mark is always hiding from photos. Below, back to front: Noi, Royce, and Ron.
After lunch I dropped the guys off at Zach’s house to watch football and then they came back around 4 PM to get ready for Ron’s birthday celebration.
Here are some pictures of us hanging out on Saturday night.
I love birthdays because we get to have cake! Chocolate is our fave.
Zach and Lisa came by after the wedding. Michael attended the same wedding and came by after as well.
That was the night I learned how to play Vietnamese 13. Anyway, we didn’t stay up too late because we all had 7 AM pickleball play the next day, once again at Edgemoor. And once again, I had to leave to teach my morning Aqua Zumba class. This time at the VASA Harry/Georgetown location.
After my class and running some errands, I came back to Edgemoor just in time for everyone to wrap up. A few of us went to lunch around the corner at Yokohama Ramen Izakaya.
After lunch, a quick shower, and a nap it was time for Ron and Royce to fly out. Noi couldn’t get a flight out until the next day but he packed up anyway because he wanted to spend some more time with Mark on his last day in Wichita. Also, Mark offered to take him to the airport for his flight the next day. Since Mark lives on the West side of town, closer to the airport, it actually worked out better.
We went back to Edgemoor on Sunday night for one last play with Noi and that pretty much wraps up this most recent visit to Wichita. It was a fun filled weekend, loaded with lots of eating and playing and not much sleep. I can’t wait until these guys visit us again. Until next time, GNG.
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Road Trip Weekend
Posted on September 24, 2021 by Ching under Hobbies, Travel.
My friend Ramon Lozano invited me to play with him in a tournament in Lenexa on Saturday, September 11. It was the same weekend as the Kansas Senior Games so I decided to take that Friday off work and make a pit stop in Topeka to check on how my friends were doing.
While at the park, I bumped into a former coworker, Denise Fundis, who retired from Westar Energy a few years ago. I was surprised to hear someone call out for “Cherrie” because everyone I know from pickleball knows me as “Ching” and when I turned around it was Denise.
Here are some pictures of some of my favorite picklers. Can you believe these guys are seniors? Pictured above: Matt Conrad, Kim Blackmon, Tiffany and Donnie Lesperance. Below: Chris Wilson and Janelle Lindeman.
After watching a few matches at the Kansas Senior Games, it was time for me to head to Mary Ann’s house in Shawnee to drop off my stuff before we met some of our friends for dinner at KC Daiquiri Shop.
The tournament I played in was held at Bois D’Arc Park in Lenexa. It’s a great park with eight spacious, dedicated, and lighted pickleball courts.
The tournament had a great turnout and was very organized. Jeremy Reimer and his team of volunteers did a fabulous job.
Devon Fuller and I unintentionally reverse matched in the morning.
Ran into Aaron Trost at the tournament. That was such a nice surprise.
Mary Ann took her mother Judy for a walk and they came by the park and watched a few games. I think I might have convinced them to try it. Hoping to see them play at the next tournament.
It was Michelle Dreilling’s birthday that day so we took a birthday selfie.
Ramon found me an awesome women’s doubles partner, Karly Williams, for the 4.0+ women’s doubles division in the morning. After being nearly flawless in the round robin pool play (losing only to Rachel Chai-Wise and Suparna Garinger), we ended up not performing as well in the single elimination bracket and took fourth place. Not bad for our first time playing together, though.
Ramon and I struggled a bit in pool play (we were 4 and 3) but managed to take second place in 4.0+ mixed. The joke was that we were saving everything for the single elimination bracket which, in the end, is what really matters.
I’m glad we medaled because I didn’t want to let Ramon down. I felt like this was my audition and I had to perform well to be invited to team up again.
Of all my medals, this is my favorite one. First, because it actually says what event it’s for on the back and none of my other medals do. And secondly, because it is my first one with my friend Ramon. I’m hoping there will be others.
Anyway, the tournament was super fun. I’m definitely going to try and play in it again next year (or whenever they have another). I’ll try to bring some more people from Wichita next time too. Until then, GNG.
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KC Daiquiri Shop
Posted on September 23, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
I was in the Kansas City/Overland Park area last weekend for a tournament and stayed with my friend Mary Ann. She organized a dinner for us on Friday with Joy and Molly. Jackie, another friend of ours who has since retired from Evergy, also joined us. Joy selected the restaurant. Jackie was going to meet me to pick up some bowling balls and we asked her to join us for dinner instead.
Joy picked this place called KC Daiquiri Shop which has a New Orleans vibe. They had several daiquiri flavors that you could mix and match. They had pre-made flavors but you could also create your own.
Joy is super into pictures while Jackie is completely averse to pictures. The rest of us are somewhere in between. Naturally, we had to take a bunch of pics because Joy just loves them. Jackie was a pretty good sport about it.
Jackie tried to hide and avoid the pictures at first but she eventually caved and we got a few great group photos.
Here are some pictures of our dinner because food pics are kind of my thing. I can’t go to dinner anywhere and not take pictures. The food was pretty good but I think the best part was the daiquiri selection and also the live music.
I am so grateful to Mary Ann for getting everyone together and setting this dinner up. It was fun catching up and visiting with my lovely coworkers (and former coworker) who I hadn’t seen in what seems like ages. And I definitely enjoyed reconnecting with Joy. She is like my soulmate because we are alike in so many ways. We immediately bonded when we first began working together in the Communications Hub of One CIS.
I have known and worked with Jackie longer because Jackie is legacy Westar Energy. I didn’t meet Molly and Mary Ann until I joined the OCM team for One CIS but Comms Hub is where we all bonded. The three of them even came to visit me (and attend my Zumba class) a couple of years ago.
I will write more about the Lenexa tournament and the rest of the weekend next time. Until then, GNG.
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