Everything's Up To Date in Kansas City

When we last checked in to see Rosie's whereabouts, this was the sad sad scene at Casa de Holtzman:

Elli was trying her hardest to prevent me from leaving. But, I prevailed, and flew off to Kansas City, Missouri, WITHOUT Elli in my bag. So what did I think of good old KC? It was beautiful - lush and green, with lots of open space, wide rivers, and very friendly, nice people. Let's take a peek. KC is known as the city of fountains, and that title is well deserved. They were everywhere. Case in point:

I saw this fountain many times, since it was only a few blocks away from Winstead's, the home of the steakburger. Yum. Also, they serve tater tots. Double yum. We traveled back and forth between Missouri and Kansas several times a day. KC straddles the state line. So what did we do there? Well, we went around and visited several houses, schools and hospitals that were of special interest to one of my traveling companions. But I'll get to that eventually. We also did a lot of eating. We went to Winstead's twice, and also to a world famous BBQ twice.

Yes, Arthur Bryant's. You get in a line, then go up to the first window and tell the one of the gentlemen in the "pit" what you want to eat. They slap 4 or 5 pieces of bread on a plate, then heap it with your chosen meat and sides. On the first occasion, I was helped by a cute guy named Antonio, who called me sweetheart and gave me my burnt ends sandwich. Burnt ends are the crunchy outer portion of the meat, with some more meat attached, and then simmered in BBQ sauce. It's even better than it sounds.

Arthur Bryant's is located downtown, in a rather sketchy neighborhood. But, they are revitalizing the area. It's called 18th and Vine, and there are several museums and other attractions there. We saw the Jazz Museum, but didn't go in. There are also jazz clubs all up and down the street, where you can hear live music.

What we did go into was the Negro League Baseball Museum. It was fascinating - I never even knew such a thing existed. We spent a couple of hours looking at the exhibit, and learning all about the League and it's history. I also heard the best nickname ever - Cool Papa Bell, who was a star in the Negro League.

That night, we went to the I-70 Drive In Theater, and saw 22 Jump Street. It was so fun to go to a drive in and park the car and kick back and get snacks and watch a movie. We also saw fireworks behind us from Kaufman Stadium. Speaking of which, the next day we saw the Royals play the Mariners. Here is the outside and the inside of the stadium. Arrowhead Stadium, home of the KC Chiefs, is right next door.

We had great seats. It was 90 + degrees out, but we were under an overhang and out of the sun. I had a foot long bratwurst with sauerkraut, and my first beer in probably 5 years - I only like beer when it's hot out. Alas, the Royals lost.

The next day, we went to the Crown Center part of town. Hallmark Cards is headquartered in KC, and this shopping and sightseeing venue is their building. I got a couple of souvenirs, and briefly looked at a Mexican fiesta they were having. Then we went across the street to Union Station. This beautiful building houses several restaurants, a science museum, and a model railroad museum. We looked at the railroads, and they were pretty elaborate and very cool. There were several little boys enjoying themselves immensely in there. Here is the outside of the building, and then a picture of me in the great hall.

Located in the Union Station building was a bar, whose name escapes me, but it had the biggest selection of booze I have ever seen. There was a library type ladder that could be used to get to the top shelves.

It was incredibly tempting to request something on the top, but I restrained myself. This next picture is just to show the giant statue of Anubis that was outside Union Station - they were having an exhibit on the Treasures of King Tut.

Then we took a walk across the street to the World War I Memorial. It was quite a stroll up the hill, but when we got there, we had a beautiful panoramic view of downtown KC.

This is a view looking from Union Station up the hill. Here is the view from up there. This shot gives you an idea of the steepness and the size of the "little" hill.

On our last day there, we moseyed over to Independence, Missouri, the home town of Harry S Truman. The "S" is for Solomon. We toured the museum, the library, and the Truman house. Here is a picture of the house.

That took up most of the morning. At lunch time, we found ourselves (somehow) back at Arthur Bryant's. This time, I had rib tips. Those are the end of the slab, cut off, and soaked in sauce. This time, I was smart, and opted out of the french fry situation. Then we went to the Plaza - this is an upscale outdoor mall that had most of the same stores that we have here. I got my personal souvenir there - a necklace and bangle set. Whenever I wear it, I will think of KC. That night, we went to an outdoor venue called the Starlight Theater, and saw James Taylor in concert.

He was awesome - his voice is still like liquid honey, and the lyrics to his love songs are still the best ever. He sang my two favorite songs - Cowboy Lullaby and Going to Carolina. The theater is located in Swope Park. They also have a golf course, a fishing lake, a zoo, a frisbee golf course, a dog park and general picnic and park stuff. It was a memorable experience.

This next part is a little personal for one of my group, so I will leave out some of the pictures that we took just for his benefit. He went to elementary, high school, college, and medical school in KC. Here is a picture of the Kansas City University School of Medicine and Biosciences. It is still in operation. He also trained at a hospital across the street, but it has been converted to an apartment building. Here they are.

We went to a couple of different cemeteries to leave flowers and say some prayers and thank yous to his relatives who were buried there. There aren't any pictures, because the people's names are on the graves, and I want to be respectful of privacy and personal boundaries. Anyway, it was very nice for him to be able to have that experience. From what he said, his relatives were amazing and generous people.

Well, that just about recaps my trip to the midwest. I had not spent any time there before, and I have to say, I loved every minute. But keep in mind that I like it hot, so the weather didn't affect me much. We stayed in Overland Park, Kansas, which is a short 10-15 minutes on the freeway from downtown KC. We stayed at Embassy Suites, which is nice because they give you a free breakfast buffet and a free happy hour every night. I did miss my house, my husband, and my little Elli, but we reunited......and it feels so good (Old Peaches and Herb reference there). Hope you enjoyed my pix, and maybe you will be inspired to spend some time in America's heartland.