On our way to KC, we stopped in Columbia, MO, which is where the University of Missouri main campus is located. It was a recommendation by our innkeeper in St. Louis and Google boy. We had a nice lunch in a quaint tea house and then went hiking in Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, which had some caves we were able to explore. Cute little town and nice hiking.
So, Kansas City was good. I really had no idea what to expect in almost the exact middle of the country. My favorite area is Westport, which is the "entertainment" district. Basically just a lot of bars and cute shops and restaurants. There's also an art school near by and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, so there are lots of different types of people there as well. Westport is just north of Country Club Plaza, which was built as a shopping district almost 100 years ago using Moorish-type architecture. Nowadays, there are lots of shops you'd see in Beechwood Place, so I was turned off by it at first, thinking it was recently built to look like an older establishment, but now I have much more respect knowing it was built that way a while ago. Also, I'm excited to go back there at night after I get back to KC after our 11-day break because they decorate the whole plaza with over 80 miles of lights. They light them up on Thanksgiving night.
We were able to go to a few museums - the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City. The actual art museum (Nelson-Atkins) was enjoyable. They have a huge sculpture park with huge birdie statues (as in badminton). We really only strolled through one wing because it was pretty big and getting late. There was also a huge reflecting pond outside, which I really liked. The contemporary museum was very manageable in size, which made it very enjoyable. There was an exhibit on display of Michael Vasquez's work. You should really check out his work if you have time. We saw a sign for the Toy and Miniature museum one day and figured we had to go there. It was actually pretty cool. We really dig the miniatures (which are exact replicas of real-life things - different than a toy) and the doll houses they had on display. Oh, and we went to the National Heritage Museum to learn about the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. I was really just hoping to find copies of the Oregon Trail computer game, but had no such luck.
We've also experienced the two things Kansas City is most known for (at least from what I've picked up on) - BBQ and Jazz. We ate at 2 BBQ restaurants and Gates BBQ is my favorite. You can buy the BBQ sauce at any grocery store. We also now know the difference between a short end and long end of ribs. We went to the Historic 18th and Vine Jazz district and checked out the Jazz Museum there, saw some live Jazz, and ate at the Peachtree, which is an upscale soul food restaurant - delicious is all I have to say!
Emily celebrated her 24th birthday here. We went to breakfast at Waffle House (something she's wanted to do for quite some time) and went out to a nice dinner (thanks to her momma) at Figlio Italian Restaurant on the Plaza. We then saw some live reggae. We also went to Lawrence, KS (recommended by Pam and Katie O.) to see Old Crow Medicine Show. Another good show and a very cute little college town.
Alright, well I think that sums up most of what we did here in KC. I hope to see a lot of people while I'm home for Thanksgiving. But if I don't - hope you have a wonderful holiday! Oh, and I'll have to keep you posted on where I'm going next. Right now I don't know, but should find out when I go to Portland. And below you will find a pic I like to call "Another day on the job".
1 comment:
Hey Michelle- It was so nice seeing you when you were home, I had so much fun on my night out! I don't remember anything really after taking that shot with you- it was so good to hang out with everyone. I miss and love ya so much! Do you have a current address or just email? Let me know!
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