Kansas City, Here I Come!

 

Yes, I do live in Kansas City, but this week I had the opportunity to see it in a whole new light. When I was travel nursing I met a lot of great people and I still stay in touch with some of them. One friend in particular stuck like glue! She's from Maine, and she is amazing. We are definitely vacation compatible. Over the past few years we've been to North Carolina, New Orleans, and I've been back to Maine to visit, this year I asked her if she would want to come to KC.

I felt a little guilty at first...I mean, who wants to come to landlocked Missouri for their vacation? Plus it's been 100+ degrees here the last few weeks. She was up for it though, and what I discovered was that I live in a great vacation spot!

We started off with Jack Stack BBQ. Of course. At first it was the only reason I could think of for why a person might come to Kansas City (I have a food-centered brain). Day one also included a walk around the plaza to check out the fountains and a trip to the sculpture park at the Nelson, because...shuttlecocks.

The next day was pretty relaxed and involved hiking the trails by Cliff Drive. They were surprisingly peaceful, and a few times I felt like I wasn't even in the city.

 (It's a tree knee:)

And then an afternoon of swimming and ice cream with my nephews.

 This kid fell asleep eating his ice cream cone. Love him!

Day 3: WWI monument and Boulevard Brewing tour...both free! You get free samples at the end of the brewery tour but one drink confirmed what I already knew, I don't like beer. The tour was interesting though and I'm sure even better for people who actually enjoy drinking beer.

 

 

Sadly I had to go to work part of the day on Wednesday, but we beat the heat that afternoon at the Alamo Drafthouse Theater downtown. It's comfy and they bring your food right out while you watch the movie, perfection on a hot day!

 Thursday brought more exploring at Cliff Drive, a stop at the park near my house to try out the hillside slide and sit in these cool chairs, a trip to Pigwich (so good I ate it before I took a picture) and a trip to the beach at Smithville Lake.

Overall, I have to say I had a pretty cheap, relaxing vacation without leaving home. Well done, KC!