Yeah, right.
The morning got off to a rough start. Emily fell, scraping a knee and jamming a toe pretty badly. Also bruised: her right shin and her ego. Colin, her knight in shining armor, quickly came to her rescue with ice from our cooler and thus a second trip to the emergency room was avoided. However, the fall and nursing of the injuries put us a bit behind schedule.
We did eventually check out of the hotel and took some time to explore (by car) more Kansas City neighborhoods. We then made our way to Chubby's and were relieved to find they were now open. (We had tried going to Chubby's - open 24 hours - late Monday night, to find they were closed. Odd hours, to say the least...)After our very filling, mmmmmm so good breakfast, we drove on over to 18th and Vine, the heart of Kansas City's African American community between the 1920s and 1960s. There we toured the American Jazz and Negro Leage Baseball museums. We had been told that these museums would take no more than a half hour to go through, each. Instead, they took us a good four hours, and we could have stayed for more.
The nice thing, as previously noted, about touring all of these great tourist attractions at this time of year is the fact that school is back in session (for the most part), and the tourists have gone (for the most part), but the museums and attractions are all still open for their extended pre-Labor Day hours. (After Labor Day, things are going to be closing much earlier, closed on more days, etc.) And so we have been very, very lucky to run in to a series of helpful museum and tourist guides who are more than happy to give us personalized attention. At the Jazz Museum, this meant the helpful guidance of a man who was obviously part of the original jazz scene in the city, and took special pride in sharing information about Kansas City's past, as well as its present.
Final thought: This neighborhood and these museums are a must see. They give you a glimpse into such a rich and moving part of American History.
Because the museums took an unexpected extra 3 1/2 hours out of our day, we had to abandon our Truman Library plan and went to Arthur Bryant's instead for some final KC BBQ (always a good back up plan). One thing we discovered in Kansas City is that there is so much to do and see. We'll be back to go to the Truman Library, City Market, The Parks, the innumerable museums, etc. A day and a half just wasn't enough.
The ride to St. Louis was pretty straightforward; Colin drove, and Emily slept until we hit the roadside attraction called "Nostalgiaville" where we got out to stretch our legs and take a trip down Memory Lane. (Colin found a cool Route 66 shirt, but not in his size; when he asked about it, he was told that was "last season's model." Last season? Shouldn't it be more than a year old to be in Nostalgiaville?) Also, because the WiFi connection had gone down in our 3 diamond Triple A rated quasi-nightmare of a Kansas City hotel, we pulled into the parking lot of the nearby Days Inn and, pirate-style, used their WiFi to publish Monday Night's blog (we did it for you, our adoring fans).
Finally around 8:30 p.m. we arrived at our favorite hotel thus far, Rockstar/Lawyer Robynn Ragland's humble abode! She greeted us with smoothies and hugs and we could just relax. Later we played poker and she took all our money. (So much for the relaxing!)
In the morning (yay, the start of another day without driving) we went to a super local eatery, Tiffany's Diner. No tables, nothing but a prototypical Formica counter filled with regulars and ashtrays. We met Janet, an ornery waitress/short order cook. The food was greasy delicious (a common theme during this trip), and Janet encouraged us to return the next day for the pork steaks. We wouldn't miss it.
Finally, after some brief antiquing, we went to one of the absolute highlights of the trip, the St. Louis City Museum. Sounds historical and dry, doesn't it? It's not. It's a wonderland. A literal wonderland. Step through the portal and enter another world, a world of dragons and monsters and caves and climbing, and metal and slides, and beads and crafting and mosaics and sculpture, and painting and art and fish and water and knots and ropes and slinkys and slides (did we mention the slides?) and fun and fun and fun.And Charles.
Charles, the latest of those museum guides who we keep running in to. Charles, who made sure that, when we were just about finished for the day, pushed us to a new level, by making sure we climbed through the four story jungle gym to slide down the four story slide. Charles, who made sure we climbed in to the giant ball pit, and engaged in some good natured ball pit fun with another group of tourists. Charles, who told us all about the museum's Wonka-like benefactor, a sculptor, who reportedly lives on the property, and recycles objects from all over the world into his unique and unforgettable playground.
Emily fell. Again. Left leg, this time, along with her right arm, left toe and left ankle ("and right wrist, too!'), and re-bruising her ego. This was a major league tumble; a true "header," ass over teakettle. On metal, not the most forgiving of surfaces. "You okay?" yelled Charles. "I'm fine!" said Emily, trying to avoid tears. Colin, trapped in the middle of a metallic chrysalis, four stories up, couldn't help Emily now, and, fortunately, hadn't seen how bad the fall was. But Emily is a trooper, sucked it up, and continued on with the fun.And it was fun. Highest recommendation.
This being St. Louis, and us being tourists, we then headed down to the famed Gateway Arch. Again, there was no waiting. Buy a ticket, zip right to the top, stay as long as you want (we wanted about a half hour), then zip back down. We checked out more shops and museums, then called it a day. 
On our way back to Ragland Castle, we picked up a local delicacy, Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, for desert, as Robynn and her boyfriend Steven had made us a very, very delicious Beer Butt Chicken for dinner. Wonderful hospitality, wonderful chicken, and the custard was pretty damn good, too.Now, just one leg left on the journey out (Emily may be down to fewer than that) -- headed to Clarksville, and the big damn family reunion. Wish us luck!
Here's some bonus photos from City Museum:
Current Mood: Almost there...
Current Location:
1 comment:
I liked this post. It was full of photos, food, vulnerable moments, and acts of heroism. It didn't have enough about me, but there is always the weekend for that.
Keep up the good work. You are good reading.
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