Every time I come back from a trip back to my hometown, I say the same thing.
Oh, Missouri.
This time, I was showing off little baby Avery to GaGa, Chelsea, Kenny and the rest of the lot. Traveling alone with a 6-week-old is always an exciting, strange adventure, but everyone was so helpful and accommodating for me and my tiny traveling companion.
After spending a few days in Aurora, I spent the night with Chelsea in Springfield, where I found out what a special touch she has with newborns. Avery was smiling and laughing for her even more than he does for me!
The next morning, I packed up Avery Cakes and headed to Columbia. I set out to see five of my close friends who are still living there, and I'm happy to report that I got to spend time with every one of them.
To say that Bobby and Daniel have started a farm is an understatement.
With the help of a few friends, they've started the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, a nonprofit whose goal is to increase access to and education about food that is raised sustainably.
They raise chickens and use compostable toilets. They trade with the Amish for butter and milk. They have tomatoes, apples, pears and butternut squash laying out in boxes on every open tabletop in the house.
They've put up an entire pantry's worth of produce, stock and sauces.
They run a farmstand.
They farm on more than an acre of land just a few miles from campus.
It's incredible to see what these guys have been able to accomplish when they really put their minds to it. I've known both of them for a long time, and it's rewarding to see them find such satisfaction and purpose in life. (Not to mention see how cool it is that we're both so involved with food. Who woulda thought?)
eat Shakespeare's Pizza...
walk around campus and sit at the base of the columns on the Quad...
tweet about cool things I found on campus, like these knitted socks someone put on the Thomas Jefferson statue...
eat a delicious breakfast at Ernie's...
catch up with my dear friends that I just don't get to see enough.
I was able to watch the leaves turn brighter by the day and bake an apple cake with GaGa.
You'll never forget the colors of fall, but it's good to be reminded.
