When we book these trips a year in advance, it feels as though it will never arrive and it always takes me back to being a child and waiting for Christmas. The good news is that the wait is over and we are starting to gather. Gwen and Jen have come into Dallas to spend the night with me (Cindy will also be here later) and Mister is sharing dinner with us at Ephesus. The food is amazing and the excitement is high.
We share some small plates and a family platter. So, so good. Mediterranean food is just yummy.
After a night's sleep, we are heading off on our adventure. It's still dark out, but this trip we are flying into Kansas City and renting a car to get things started. Off to the airport we go -
Jen is able to park near the terminal, making things easier and soon we are checked in and off to the gate. Boarding happens on time and away we go. Gwen is up in first class -- silly girl.
I have to laugh as we wait to take off. Which one will go first? We were in line first, but it doesn't work out that way. Tsk, tsk.
The Leo Villareal Fountain inside the Kansas City airport is simply beautiful.
Another item I spot is Soo Sunny Park Molten Swing - right over the escalators. Gorgeous.
After a crazy wait for the car rental, we are finally on our way. First stop is the Public Market.
Once parked, we start walking toward the market and I am loving all the activity and my eyes are darting all over the place.
If Mister was here with me, I'm sure this would be a lunch stop.
Into the market area --- it has permanent stalls/shops all the way around the square and the center is filled with tents and tables full of more items.
Music comes with the experience.
Inside one of the covered areas - looking out towards the walkway.
The smells are amazing and my mouth is watering.
We settle on Taste of Brazil for breakfast.
Settling on Acai Na Tigela - blended acai berries topped with granola, sweetened condensed milk, leite ninho (dry milk), peanut butter, banana, and strawberry. I asked for mine without peanut butter and it is divine!!
With happier bellies, we wander the market a little longer.
The Arabia Steamboat Museum is also here and on my list for a future trip. Today, however, we just peek inside the windows a bit.
Nearby booths contain more than just vegies in this area of the market.
We're back in the food areas -
This shop just smells amazing. If I wasn't flying with a PACKED bag, I'd be shopping.
It's time to move on -- next stop is Union Station.
From Wikipedia, "Kansas City Union Station is a union station that opened in 1914, serving Kansas City, Missouri, and the surrounding metropolitan area. It replaced a small Union Depot built in 1878. Union Station served a peak annual traffic of more than 670,000 passengers in 1945 at the end of World War II, but traffic quickly declined in the 1950s, and the station was closed in 1985.
In 1996, a public–private partnership undertook a $250 million restoration, funded in part by a sales tax levied in Kansas and Missouri counties of the Kansas City metropolitan area.[3] By 1999, the station had reopened as a suite of attractions, including museums. In 2002, train service returned when Amtrak began public transportation services, and the station became Missouri's second-busiest train station. The refurbished station has theaters, ongoing museum exhibits, and attractions such as Science City, the Irish Museum and Cultural Center, and the Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity. Since 2016, it has been a stop for the KC Streetcar."
It also has a bit of not-so-pretty history attached to it. "The Kansas City massacre occurred on June 17, 1933, in front of Union Station, while captured fugitive Frank Nash was to be delivered to prison via train. Four lawmen (including FBI) were murdered by the Kansas City crime family with Thompson submachine guns in an attempt to free Nash, who was also killed in the gun battle. The massacre highlighted the lawlessness of Kansas City under the Pendergast Machine and resulted in the arming of all FBI agents."
Checking out the options and getting our directional bearings.
I would have loved to see the Grand Ballroom, but no such luck today.
One of the items here is a miniature train display and I would love to see it. Since the ballroom area is off limits, we are routed outside the building and then back in. Interesting. It does give a chance to see the skyline, though.
Back into a small side door - yes!
I LOVE paying attention to the little details.
A City Market, complete with a bus of visitors.
On our return trip back inside, we discover some cool information. The Pencoyd Railroad Bridge is a former railroad bridge in Kansas City, Missouri, that was converted into the Freight House Pedestrian Bridge and moved to its new location where it connects Union Station and the Crossroads Arts District. The bridge was built in 1892 just south of the Hannibal Bridge as part of the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railroad, which ran from Independence, Missouri, to the Argentine District in Kansas City, Kansas. Heading west from Independence, the line reached the Kansas City Southern Railway Manifest Yard in what is now River Market, Kansas City. It crossed over the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad track coming from the Hannibal Bridge over the Missouri River in an area called The Gooseneck. It then crossed over the Missouri Pacific track and proceeded west to Kansas City, Kansas. In January 2006, the bridge was relocated to the Union Station in Kansas City to be a pedestrian crossing over the railroad tracks there. The bridge was originally built as a three span thru-truss, but after relocation, it was rebuilt with two spans instead of three, and adapted into what was renamed the Freight House Pedestrian Bridge. In January 2014, it was renamed Michael R. Haverty Freight House Bridge in recognition of Mike Haverty, who had been the chair of the Union Station Kansas City Board from 2005 to 2012. Poor thing can't keep a name.
I took some pictures of the process, but I know they are not the best.
Naturally, we have to walk and check it out.
We "could" stay and wait for trains to come in, but it's fairly hot out here and I'm not desiring it, to be honest.
Gwen has requested the Planetarium -- okie dokie.
It's pretty cool inside and the screens are showing various images - not the show itself.
We manage to snag the big cushions up front that we can lay on.
The Great Red Spot - Now, the show is about to begin so no cameras. I did move to a chair as I couldn't move my neck enough to not get dizzy by reading upside down. During the whole show, I had to giggle numerous times as there were people snoring - both behind me and in front of me. Some may have been with me. Hahaha.
After the show - wandering the station a bit more and we find this: "In its heyday as a transportation hub, Union Station bore witness to one of the greatest romances in the world: the marriage of rail and mail. For nearly 140 years, the Railway Mail Service, or RMS, was a mainstay in the U.S. Postal Service's national mail network; and for over 100 years the Railway Post Office, or RPO, was a fixture on many passenger trains. Moving the mail was so important to the railroads that some instituted trains that were all mail express trains that they called Fast Mail. Between 1838 and 1977 much of the mail sent across the country passed through Kansas City, and after 1914 that mail came right through Union Station from where it was delivered across the United States.
Even after the Railway Mail Service was discontinued, other postal workers could identify a former RPO clerk because they swayed while sorting the mail as if they were still on the train.
The electric baggage wagon, displayed here with its associated cart, was manufactured in 1914. Its primary duty was towing passenger luggage carts at Kansas City's Union Station, however, it also hauled an uncountable number of mail bags in its connected cart during peak times. When conscripted into service by RPO agents, the wagon transported mail and parcel items from the platforms and through the underground tunnel that connected the Postal Office across the street with the basement sorting facility of Union Station.
The Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain
The Liberty Memorial Tower is across the way as well. Put this on the "return trip" list. The Liberty Memorial Tower rises 217 feet above Memorial Courtyard and 268 feet above the North Lawn. The cylindrical tower is 36 feet in diameter at its base, tapering to 28 feet at the top. Guests can purchase tickets to take an elevator followed by 45 stairs to the open-air observation deck for a breathtaking view of the Kansas City skyline. At night, a flame created by steam and lighting effects is emitted from the top of the Tower and can be seen from miles away. The monument received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 2006 and recognition from Congress as a national memorial in 2014.
With that - we can check into our place and rest our weary bodies for a bit. We have an AirBNB that's on the Kansas side of Kansas City and it's quite cozy.
After a nice break and an amazing rain storm (of which no one took pictures), we venture out once again for some dinner. Wood-fired pizza at 1889 Pizza hits the spot.
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