In our quest to get three more USA stickers for ZsaZsa, we drove through Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri and landed in Kansas City, MO for a few days. Or at least we thought we did. With a closer look at the map, our trek from Lincoln NE somehow entirely missed Kansas, so we spent some time in Kansas City trying to figure out whether we were in MO or KS to justify the sticker action. Read on to see how it was solved….
KC, MO was filled with very good days. We stayed at the World of Fun Village, adjacent to the amusement park and delighted in finding our way home from outings by looking for the coasters. First day outing was perfect…slept in, BBQ at the famous Q39 which did not disappoint. They described the burnt ends there as “meat marshmallows” and that tracks. Brisket, ribs, sausage, burnt ends, chicken, Mac and cheese and Mexican corn at 11:00 am! Very good, but A LOT! Recommend it highly. From there we went to the Nelson Atkins Art Museum which was beautiful…architecture and collections were amazing, with a great sculpture garden, and a lot of furniture which Tim enjoyed. Almost 4 hours there…5 stars.
Then we hit Rye at the Plaza, on the recommendation of our darling waiter Corbin at Q39 which is a cool bar with craft cocktails and a place to watch the Chiefs game. When in Rome….
We managed to find a little hidden oasis near the site and took a little hike on Tim’s birthday….found a turtle just basking in the sun which was cool! A new animal for the sighting list!
A highlight was celebrating Tim’s 60th birthday along with our dear friends Reuben and Michael (who was also celebrating a birthday) at a chic little Italian place called Lazia. There, we met the Mozzarella Madam who hand pulled the mozzarella for our caprese salad table-side…and continued on with a wonderful meal and lots of laughs. As we shared our frustration at how to legitimately get the KS sticker by visiting something in Kansas City, KS (KCK to the locals) they suggested the Taco Trail….who knew KCK was renowned for its tacos with over 50 taquerias that you can check out.
The next day we hit two of the 60 taquerias for lunch to try Al Pastor and Birria options and then explored the Negro Baseball League Museum and the WW I museum and memorial. Both were well worth a visit and impressive….In addition to the thousands of artifacts from the war, there was a special exhibit of letters to and from a soldier and his father who was an artist and a printer. Every envelope had an elaborate, amazing drawing on the envelope which were so endearing. Hard and beautiful to see….
The Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri stickers have been attached!