Independence Science and Technology Center

I have a pic for this but have lost it in my mess of files! I will post it when found!
This post will actually not be about food! I know amazing since the only thing I think about is food. I did set this blog up to be about Southeast Kansas and we don't only just eat. Really! people here do other things.

I took my adorable, hyper-energetic nephews (8 and 3 years old) to the Independence Science and Technology Center. They love this place. They get to play and learn cheaply!! The Center has a wide variety of exhibits allowing people to examine and play with science. The center mostly focuses on the science of physics. They are able to make it fun. There is an echo tube, magnetic experiments and more. The real fun is the Anti-gravity Simulator and the hair raising Van de Graff generator. Albert Einstein will greet you at the door.

Some of the experiments are a little difficult to figure out and I have a degree in science. I apparently skipped a few too many classes. The experiments are homemade and many of them show it. Overall though kids love it and can entertain themselves forever. We have to drag my nephews out every time we take them. They usually go once everytime they come down to Southeast Kansas. If you have a day when the kids are screaming they are bored come and visit Independence, Kansas.

The center is a fun-filled and educational science laboratory for all ages.
$3.00 per person.
Daily, Sunday-Saturday, 1:00-5:00 p.m.
125 S Penn Ave.
620-331-1999
Memberships and group rates available.

Big Ed's - Thayer

Beef, Beef, Beef (Warning my grammer is horrible in this post. I apologize.)

Oh no. I am going to write my first negative review. I feel so bad about it. I don't want to do it, but I have to do it. Not everywhere can be wonderful all the time. On a weekend night my hubby's family and I decide to go out and eat steak. We are ranchers and farmers meat is needed. In fact steak is another food group not really part of the meat group. When the word steak is mentioned you can see the guys eyes glaze over and drool start to form. The caveman transition has started.

We head over to Thayer. We pull up and the place is packed. Okay, we know there will be a wait. We can handle it just to be able to smell the steaks cooking. There is a table of 17 ahead of us, okay, we can still do it. We are here with family we don't usually see so, it will give everyone time to catch up. By the way we are a group of eight adults. A good sized group but, not extravagant. We are wilting. The cavemen in the group are hot, sweaty, and hungry. Two hours waiting in the hot sun does not make for happy people. It gave me time to really look at the outside of the building. Woopido. Nothing exciting. It looks like any diner off a highway. Nice enough to go in but needs some upates.

We are finally seated. YEAH!! The angels are singing. We are scanning the menu. I don't know why. We all know what kind of steak we like and how we want it. We decide to at least play the game and look. The menu is pretty extensive for a place that caterers to meat lovers. Two couples in the group order the butt club. This is a sirloin and no longer resembles a cow butt. Two ordered the filets. The ladies of the group. They know high class when they see it and are going to take it. They are willing to put up with us cavemen, but are not one of us. We have two oddballs: one with chicken strips and one with beef tips. Where did they come from? I don't know. I think they just followed us in so they wouldn't have to wait another hour in the hot sun. There is also a bloomin onion ordered as an appetizer. You know, because we really want to clog our arteries. Red meat is not enough we have to have something fried. Remember frying or dipping something in chocolate makes it taste gooood.

An HOUR later our waitress says she forgot to give the chef our order. Our meal isn't even started. WTF? I can't believe it but okay we have to live with it. It is now too late in the night to head somewhere else. A while later she comes back and says, "Oh I am sorry but we are out of the bloomin onion". Well okay we want fried mushrooms then.

Our waitress is coming with food. Time for a happy dance! Fried mushrooms are coming!! The plates are put down, and it is not mushrooms. It is a bloomin onion. I am excited since this is what I wanted, but where was it hiding? Did it scamper off and come back? Bad onion! Didn't it know people were waiting for it. Why would it hide in a cupboard? We all chow down on the bloomin onion. It is good. The onion is sweet and the breading is crisp. Perfection.

Okay thirty minutes later our food arrives. Four of us are like yeah steak!!! Where is the roll? We are supposed to have a roll. "Oh I am sorry we are out of rolls". Are you sure they may be hiding with the onions and aren't willing to come back. It is past their bedtime now. I am disappionted. I love my carbs. I am also thinking if you would have turned our order in when you were supposed to I would have my roll. Did we recieve a discount because our meal did not come with the roll like it was supposed to NOOOO! They didn't even subsitute texas toast or something.

I am sorry to say I was really disappointed. We didn't get what we ordered and we waited FOREVER for it. Also the waitress never kept our glasses filled and was never around to even ask. The food was okay but not outstanding. The steaks were just steaks and you were lucky if they were cooked as you had requested. Over alll I am sorry to say Big Ed's recieves 2 stars **. I did not have a good time and did not feel satisfied and full when I left.

Do you think I hit a bad night? Or is this normal? Post a comment or email me with your thoughts. I love to hear from my readers!!!!!! If enough of you tell me it was a fluke I will try again in the future.