U--
Today we have our final stops!
What better place to finish at
Union Station. Built in 1914,
there is 84,000 square feet to
the station. In it's heyday it
brought 10's of thousands
of people to town as a working
train station.
The Grand Hall is the "meeting
place" at the station. When you
were going to meet someone,
you always said "meet me under
the clock". The clock has always
been the best "landmark" at the
station.
Closed in the 80's and on the
block for demolition, a bistate
tax was passed in 1992 to fund
the rennovation of the station.
These were complete in 1999.
Today the station hosts a variety
of special exhibits-ie: The Titanic.
There are various reastaurants,
theatres and shoppes to visit.
Also for viewing are permanent
colleations and archives of the
station. AND you can always
hop on the train-AMTRAK that
is. www.unionstation.org
V--
Moving on down the road to
18th and VINE. Here you will
find all things JAZZ. KC is
known for it's love of Jazz.
The American Jazz Museum
makes it home here. If you
are a fan THIS is THE place
to be! Check their web for
special events if you are in
town.
www.americanjazzmuseum.com
W--We are going to have fun now!
This is one of my favorite places.
Webster House. Built in 1885
as the Daniel Webster School.
The school closed in 1932. In
1992 the former schoolhouse
opened as a beautifully restored
store and restaurant. The rooms
on the first floor house the store
with many antiques, home decor
and gifts. The second floor houses
the restaurant. This was where we
celebrated our five year anniversary
(several years ago). The meals served
are soooooooooooo good, it would
be so hard to describe! Heaven!!!
Visitors can enjoy Happy Hour,
Dinner, Late Night and Brunch on
Sundays. What is nice for Webster
is that the Kauffman Center is just
North of them. A win-win for both.
Don't be surprised like I was when the
school bell rings!
On to World's of Fun! Opened in
1973 and offers 235 acres (which
I have walked MANY a time) of
rides and attractions. The park's
theme comes from Jules Verne's
book "Around the World in 80
Days."
World's of Fun offers visitor's
15 thrill rides- 7 of which are
roller coasters , 14 family rides,
Planet Snoopy for the little ones
and 7 venues of live entertainment.
If you are BRAVE, check out the
FUN if you are in town.
Now moving on. The face
and mouse above are quite
recognizable. Yes, Walt Disney
has a KC connection. I'll be
honest--there is so much about
his time in KC that I couldn't
decide what to write about so
I hope you will take some time
to Google Walt Disney or go to
Very intersting stuff here!
Well, folks we have reached
our last destination on our
tour. The Kansas City ZOO.
It was founded in 1909 and
covers 202 acres. I'm sure I
have walked them also. The
zoo shares it's parking lot
with Starlight Theatre
(yesterday's post). Lots to do
here. Sea lions Tigers and Polar
Bears OH MY!! These are some
of the animals visitor's get to
see on a visit and there are
over 1,300 animals that make
their home here. You can
explore Africa, Austrailia and
a Farm while you are here too.
Stop in an check out what is
playing on the IMAX screen.
As I have said before, this has
been fun and eye opening for me.
I have lived in two KC suburbs
during my lifetime but like everyone
else vacation elsewhere. Why?
Cause home is there all the time.
Going out of town isn't always a
choice we get to make. Explore
YOUR town, find out things that
you didn't know about the place
you live. I guarantee it will be FUN!
If you missed any of these posts
just go to my sidebar under LABELS
and click on KC-ABC'S.
~Keep on Dreaming~
Here's Chef Ken-in the midst
of making salsa.
I picked this little book rack up
at a "garage sale" that a store by
our house was having. It was
a dingy black and as one of
the bloggers I was reading
yesterday said "it needed
a new dress." So I spray
painted it an Antique White.
As soon as I find my sewing
room I will show you where
I put it. It will hold my craft
and pattern books. Looking
good!
This is a blue shelf I have had
for a couple of years. I'm slow
what can I say. Anyway--when
I bought it at a church sale, it
had a glass front door at the
bottom but it was filled with
beans and macaroni. Got rid
of that and let it set for two
years.
Today I painted it the same
Antique White and Mr. Ken
is going to help me hang it on
the wall above the bed in our
guest room. Yea! Woo Hoo!
~Keep on Dreaming~
It is finally here! The XXX
Olympiad begins this evening
with The Opening Ceremony!
July 27-August 12th. That is
seventeen days of spectacular
events featuring more than 200
nations participating in 32 events.
That means there are A LOT of
young people running around London.
We have several athletes from KC
competing in the events. YEA!
Today we are stepping back to the
first week of July when Mr. Ken
was on vacation. Mr. Ken fancies
himself as a Harley dude so we
went to the Harley Davidson
Plant here in Kansas City.
The facility is a 358,000 feet
showroom, giftshop and factory.
Visitors to the plant can go through
the showroom and take a FREE tour.
We will start with the showroom.
Today would have been "Lady
Lindy's (as some called her)
115th birthday! Most of us know
her as Amelia Earhart, author
and aviator. She was born in
July 24, 1897 in Atchison, KS.
Miss Earhart was the 1st woman
to receive the US Distinguished
Flying Cross. It was given to her
for her solo flight across the
Atlantic Ocean in 1928.
Guess what? It's time to
CELEBRATE!
Cue the fireworks!
U--
Today we have our final stops!
What better place to finish at
Union Station. Built in 1914,
there is 84,000 square feet to
the station. In it's heyday it
brought 10's of thousands
of people to town as a working
train station.
The Grand Hall is the "meeting
place" at the station. When you
were going to meet someone,
you always said "meet me under
the clock". The clock has always
been the best "landmark" at the
station.
Closed in the 80's and on the
block for demolition, a bistate
tax was passed in 1992 to fund
the rennovation of the station.
These were complete in 1999.
Today the station hosts a variety
of special exhibits-ie: The Titanic.
There are various reastaurants,
theatres and shoppes to visit.
Also for viewing are permanent
colleations and archives of the
station. AND you can always
hop on the train-AMTRAK that
is. www.unionstation.org
V--
Moving on down the road to
18th and VINE. Here you will
find all things JAZZ. KC is
known for it's love of Jazz.
The American Jazz Museum
makes it home here. If you
are a fan THIS is THE place
to be! Check their web for
special events if you are in
town.
www.americanjazzmuseum.com
W--
S--
Today we are off to explore a new
venue here in KC. Sea Life Aquarium.
It is also located in the Crown Center
complex.
Visitors will see a wild under water
world with sharks, starfish, seahorses
and stingrays. There is also an
underwater tunnel, more than 5,000
sea creatures and a touch pool. There
are talks and feeding shows to go to
while there.
Booking tickets online is highly
suggested. Prices are better. :)
www.visitsealife.com
Our next stop is Starlight Theatre.
The theatre opened in June 1951.
The 7,947 seat outdoor theatre
hosts a variety of Broadway shows
and concerts. Shows like Grease,
Annie, Mary Poppins and The
Adams Family are some of the shows
that have come to KC. Starlight is
one of three remaining self producing
outdoor theatres in the US.
Spending an evening at Starlight is one
of the bests ways to spend a summer
evening.
www.kcstarlight.com
T--
The next stop on our tour is The
Toy and Miniature Museum.
Founded by Barbara Marshall.
Almost two years ago Ken took
me to the museum for my birthday.
It is great place to visit! I wanted to
see the Barbie exhibit and did I
have fun going down memory lane.
In this 38 room house located on
the UMKC campus visitors will get
to see a variety of toys , doll houses
LARGE and small, dolls, miniatures,
marbles and neat special exhibits.
This is a great place for the young and
those who feel young to enjoy their child
hood again! Children under 16 must be
accompanied by an adult.
www.toyandminiaturemuseum.org
O--
Good afternoon--today we are
off to Oceans of Fun. One of Kansas
City's water parks. Oceans opened in
May of 1982 with a tropic theme.
At the time of opening, it was the
world's largest water park. There
are 60 acres to explore here.
Visitor's can choose from 33 slides,
a wave pool, the lazy river and a
monsoon to name a few.
www.visitmo.com/oceansoffun
P--
Some of you know this place from
previous posts. For those of you
new to this--Welcome to the Plaza!
One of the oldest downtown
shopping/business districts in Kansas
City. It is surrounded by many quaint
older neighborhoods. The shopping
district was established in 1922 and
designed after buildings in Seville,
Spain.
This was an attraction for those
shoppers coming to the city by car.
On the Plaza, visitors will find
many restaurants, cafes, stores
and shoppes. During the summer,
holidays and weekends their is a
variety of cultural and entertainment
activities for all.
One of the funnest activities is The
Plaza Lighting Ceremony. It began
in 1925 with a single strand of lights
places over a door. The first lighting
ceremony was in 1930. Today there are
more than 80 miles of lights strung
on the buildings all over the Plaza.
Turning on the lights kickoffs the
holiday season and is held on
Thanksgiving evening each year.
If you happen to be in town over
Thanksgiving come on down, it is
a beautiful sight!!
R--
Royals--our Major League
Baseball team. The Royals
were established in 1969
after the KC A's left town.
Kauffam Stadium hads been
home to the Royals since 1973.
In 1985 we won the World Series!
Come to a game if you are in town.
Hope you are enjoying the tour
of our city and I hope that you
are continuing to find out things
you didn't know about the big KC.
For me, I have learned a lot while
researching some of the places
featured, that has been fun for me.
We have a few more places and then
we will be finished.
Come back tomorrow-cause you
never know where we will go!
~Keep on Dreaming~
