I was in Kansas City this past weekend, to work, not to play. And yes, this was booked well before Royals fever kicked in! Blue blue blue everywhere. Go Royals! (Sorry Nats.)Honestly, when I found out the meeting was in Kansas City, my first thought was “ugh”. Yup. Not excited. But, dear Kansas City, I liked what I saw and wouldn’t drag my feet if I had to return! In fact, the marathon and half marathon were running on the Saturday I was there…not crossing that off the list of possibilities….
While I liked Kansas City, I will say that there were a lot of crazy people on the sidewalk. Including one rambler about how black mold was taking over the world (possible? I don’t know). And I would say the daylight is your friend. Now, coming from Washington DC, this stuff doesn’t really bother me. But if you are not used to cities, and the crap that comes with them, I’d just err on the side of safety when walking at dusk & at night.Ok, so let’s get on to it. What’s awesome about Kansas City?
1. The food.
BBQ. Let’s start with BBQ. I headed over to Fiorella’s, which was delicious. The slab of baby-back pork ribs hit the spot. The meat just flaked off, and I much appreciated that there was not a massive sauce overage. I.e. it was no problem eating them and not feeling like I needed to shower to get the sauce off–I hate ribs like that. The sides were also amazing…a potato bake?! A veggie skewer with massive mushrooms? Gotta have BBQ if you go to Kansas City.
2. The World War I Museum.
I literally only had an hour or so of free time during the day when I was in Kansas City, and I bolted for the World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial which was conveniently across the street from the Westin Crown Center, where I was staying. I’m totally, officially, obsessed with war and conflict history. Not in a creepy way. Just fascinated.
The museum is great for kids (2 huge interactive stations) and adults alike. It is well-done, and really allows you to wander around to what interests you most (i.e., I love reading about the different countries involved, but get tired of looking at old uniforms). The docents were (over) enthusiastic, but incredibly helpful and friendly. They say most people from Kansas City never visit the museum, which is a HUGE shame. I’m sure I’m not the only one that needs to brush up on what happened in WWI, and the exhibits are incredibly informative and well-presented.
3. All the stuff there is to do with kids, if you have them.
If I had a bit more time, I probably would have gone to LEGOLAND. Weird, I know. What’s even weirder is that google automatically capitalizes LEGOLAND when you type it out in lowercase. Is lego in cahoots with google? Anyway. I love legos. Even though I can’t/won’t follow instructions (come on…so boring), which means a 10 piece lego takes me way longer than it should. There is also an aquarium near LEGOLAND that seems to get good reviews. It seems like there is plenty to keep a kid busy around there.
