Dorrance

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Trav and Suki Round the World 2015
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- Jul 7, 2015, 9:00pm
- 🌙 19 °C
- Altitude: 516 m
- United States Kansas Russell County Dorrance 38.822971, -98.60745238°49’23” N 98°36’27” W
Day 108
Farm Life Day 2 - Down to business
July 7, 2015 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
Keen to earn our keep on the farm we draw up a list of things to help out with.. first job, pruning the trees along the long driveway leading up to the house. We move some hay bales and attach the trailer to the Ranger and get to work. Trav gets a bit carried away and starts sawing away branches the size of tree trunks.

Not all work and no play though, off to town for lunch at the local bar (the only bar)... Delicious burgers and some very tasty onion rings! A quick detour to Mary Ann and Richards place in town, where we check out Richards impressive car collection, including an off-road Volkswagen buggy, a convertible VW beetle, a Cadellac and a Corvette! Trav is in car heaven.

Back to the farm for a bit more pruning, before taking the dogs down to the pond for a swim. Strike the giant lab refuses to sit at the back of Ranger so we squeeze all 4 dogs plus both of us at the front. We spot a deer on the way and need to hold Chika and Gustauff back from leaping out of the Ranger in full chase! They find some more deer to chase later so they're happy.

Home for another delicious home cooked meal and lots of wine.. life is pretty good here!Read more
Amie Abela So have you decided on what dog you will get when you move home? I can see you both living on a farm with 10 dogs!!!! :-)
7/28/15Reply
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Trav and Suki Round the World 2015
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- Jul 10, 2015, 11:00pm
- 🌙 25 °C
- Altitude: 516 m
- United States Kansas Russell County Dorrance 38.823051, -98.60801738°49’23” N 98°36’29” W
Day 111
Farm Life Day 5 - Relaxing
July 10, 2015 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
Our last full day on the farm so we decide to have a relaxing day, starting with the sleep in we've become accustomed to. Maryann cooks us a hearty brunch of bacon, sausage, eggs and waffles. Trav decides we need to get a waffle maker when we get home.

We take the dogs out on the Ranger to the pond for the last time. Strike squashes everyone as usual on the trip down but we finally managed to convince him to sit in the back on the way back- success! We spend a relaxing afternoon watching the dogs swim in the pond, take the paddle boat out, drink some beers and lie in the shade. Bliss :-) The highlight was when the cows appeared by the fenceline and watching Chika instinctively run in and herd them. The cows are huge and Chika is tiny. 2 of the cows try to retaliate but Chika puts them in their place - good work Chika! (she is officially our favourite)

Back to the house and we're spoiled once again with a delicious home cooked meal. We end the night with a trip to the drive in cinemas, watching "Minions" and the new Jurassic Park movie. Not great movies but still loads of fun.Read more
Amie Abela Sounds like lots of fun and relaxing also.
7/28/15Reply
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Trav and Suki Round the World 2015
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- Jul 5, 2015, 11:00pm
- 🌙 28 °C
- Altitude: 520 m
- United States Kansas Russell County Dorrance 38.823631, -98.61003938°49’25” N 98°36’36” W
1
Day 106
We're in Kaaansas!!
July 5, 2015 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 28 °C
That's right, Kansas! Why, we get asked a lot... We're here to visit Suki's friend Mary Ann, who she met when she went volunteering in Peru.. 8 years ago! Mary Ann and her husband Richard live on a farm 4 hours out of Kansas City. So its a long travel day, travelling from New Orleans to Dallas then Kansas City. Mary Ann picks us up and we stop for a quick bite at Lone Star (the waitress comments on our strange accent). Its midnight by the time we get to the farm (a beautiful family home built in 1886!), we meet 3 of the dogs and settle in for the night.Read more
Amie Abela Aww
7/18/15Reply
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Trav and Suki Round the World 2015
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- Jul 6, 2015, 11:00pm
- ☁️ 21 °C
- Altitude: 516 m
- United States Kansas Russell County Dorrance 38.823299, -98.60784938°49’24” N 98°36’28” W
Day 107
Farm Life Day 1 - Exploring
July 6, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
A nice lie in today as we settle into life on the farm. We wake up and meet Richard as well as the 4 dogs: Strike- a giant black lab, Molly- a gentle golden lab, Chika - a minature australian shepherd and Gustauff - the little sausage dog. Quite a bunch! There's also 8 cats.. too many to name them all!

Mary Ann shows us around the farm and we are completely blown away! Mary Ann's daughter Tanya runs an annual autumn festival at the farm every October, complete with pumpkin patch, a corn maze, candy store, gift store, train ride through scarecrow alley, straw jump, nature trail and music festival. Its amazing!! We go for a cruise on the Ranger (the 4WD buggy) down to their private pond. All the dogs jump in so its a fun ride for everyone! Down at the pond there's a little cabin with a fridge full of cold beers! Very handy :-)

The farm is huge! 160 acres! We drive through some of the pastures, corn, wheat, milo (a type of grain, not the chocolate drink so I was informed) and soy beans.. keeping an eye out for deer, wild turkey and rabbits. Oh and there's a hot tub on the back porch of the house too :-)

We settle in to a delicious home cooked meal by Richard on the back porch and soak up the beautiful weather and fresh air. A movie night to end the day with some freshly baked cinnamon scrolls.. I think we're going to love it here :-)Read more
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Trav and Suki Round the World 2015
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- Jul 8, 2015, 10:00pm
- 🌙 19 °C
- Altitude: 517 m
- United States Kansas Russell County Dorrance 38.82317, -98.6068838°49’23” N 98°36’25” W
1
Day 109
Farm Life Day 3 - Shooting some guns!
July 8, 2015 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
We finish pruning the driveway in the morning so the afternoon is free for some fun time... Shooting some guns! Suki had jokingly said she'd like to shoot some guns (seemed like a Kansasy thing to do) but little did she know that Richard actually owns a large collection of guns... Mary Ann herself owns 5 guns!

Richards friend drops off a nifty little target he made for us to shoot at. We have a go at 2 different rifles and a hand gun (all with 22mm bullets). Takes a little practice but Suki eventually gets the hang of it and really enjoys shooting the rifles!

Next the clay pigeon thrower gets set up and the shotgun is put in action.. so much fun! We both get the hang of it pretty quickly and hitting the clay pigeons is not as difficult as Suki expected :-)

Suki cooks dinner tonight, thai green chicken curry and rice, everyone is hungry so its a hit.

We end the night with a soak in the hot tub under the stars :-)Read more
Floyd Hart Dont put this on face book....you won't be allowed back into the country hahahaha
7/29/15Reply
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Trav and Suki Round the World 2015
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- Jul 9, 2015, 10:00pm
- ⛅ 21 °C
- Altitude: 517 m
- United States Kansas Russell County Dorrance 38.822849, -98.6075938°49’22” N 98°36’27” W
Day 110
Farm Life Day 4 - Fly a Plane!!
July 9, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Big day today as we knock off a few little jobs in the morning and set off on a little road trip to see some sights around the nearby towns.
First stop down to some of the oil wells Richard and Mary Ann own. They explain how the whole process works which is pretty interesting. Then off to grab some smoked sausage and cheese snacks from the oldest butcher in Lucas, a quaint little store that's been handed down through 3 generations. Just so happens the 2nd best toilet in all of USA is right next door... Its a toilet building shaped like a toilet... Quite a random attraction but its actually very artistic and well done! Next stop we're off to Lake Wilson for a scenic drive, its a huge lake, stretching approximately 10 miles. We pass through lots of green and yellow pastures and rolling hills all around. Then on past another random attraction in Wilson.. the USAs largest Czech egg.. apparently a very large Czech population lives around here.. the egg is not as impressive as the toilet :-)

We're back at the farm in the early evening and we head over to the neighbour Toms place for a little scenic joy ride on his 2 seater plane! Tom is a bit of a character.. when Richard told him he had visitors from Australia over, his first question was "Do they speak English?" After speaking to Travis he's still not convinced we speak English lol

What an experience! Tom is actually a pilot instructor and he does an excellent job explaining all the controls on the plane dashboard. Travis gets in first for his ride. Its an awesome ride as we take the plane over the lake and all through the countryside. Tom puts the plane in freefall and max side acceleration to demonstrate what 0 and 2g gravity feels like!

Sukis turn next and once in the air Tom lets Suki take the controls and fly the plane! (We find out later only Suki got to do this.. Trav is not impressed :-P ) Definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far!

Not to be outdone by Richards guns, we wrap the evening up by shooting Toms big 357 rifle from his porch out to a nearby tree. When in Kansas!Read more
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