Missouri (2)
aspieRommel
Icrontic politicoIndianapolis, IN Icrontian
in Lifestyle
Unlike the previous thread by cola, I am actually going to the State of Missouri. I am going with my mom to visit a friend she has not seen in a long time. I will be leaving Indianapolis International Airport at about 10:45 EDT and land at Kansas City. I will return to Indianapolis on Friday, May 1st. I will be taking my computer with me so I will try not to miss League Night (which, adjusting time zones, would be 8 p.m. Central, I believe? ). I will give updates about my trip on here. But while I am at it, does anyone know what I should do, where I should visit, any good drinks/bars, out there? I would love to know. Can't wait for the trip!
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Can't really give you suggestions without knowing which city/cities you'll be going to
We'll be staying in Raytown but will most likely do things in KC.
I Recommend beer, followed by beer, then a beer with a beer chaser.
paging @Koreish
There's lots of stuff to do in KC. Interested in the city at all? There's the 18th and Vine district which has the American Jazz and Negro Leagues museums which are cool if you like jazz or baseball.
There is also the Nelson Atkins museum which is free and always worth a visit.
The National World War 1 museum is at the Liberty Memorial and is pretty amazing. So much WW1 history, could spend a whole afternoon there alone.
Country Club Plaza is a nice visit, inspired by Spanish architecture with lots of fountains (KC is known as the city of fountains).
Also there is Union Station which might have some interesting exhibits to see.
Also I recommend trying the local food while you are here and KC is well known for it's barbecue. Arthur Bryant's, Jack Stack, and Gates are all great choices. Oklahoma Joe's too although I think they recently changed their name.
There's lots of other stuff too, just have to look for it a bit. I am stuck in Springfield until school is done on the 12th of May, otherwise I'd show you around some.
Day One: Landing
Just landed in Kansas City. Flight went well and was pretty smooth. Again, just landed and settled in at where I am staying so Day One isn't over yet. Will post summary later tonight.
I did what you're doing a few years ago and wrote a whole log of my trip to Missouri
Looking forward to yours!
Day One: Summary
After landing at KCI (Kansas City International), we went to where we were staying, which is her friend's home in Raytown, Missouri. (Saves money on lodging!
) After figuring out which rooms to stay in, we headed out to Nate's Swap Shop, which is held on the grounds of an old drive-in theater. My mother gave me $40 (cash, seeing as the money I have is still on my debit card) and I proceeded to look around. I managed to find some good stuff to take back home to Indianapolis to add to my collection. The items I bought are:
1998 NASCAR 50th Anniversary Car (1950 Ford Coupe)
1992 Jeff Gordon #1 Baby Ruth Ford Thunderbird
1996 Michael Waltrip #21 CITGO Ford Thunderbird (1996 Winston All-Star Race Winner)
2000 Dave Blaney #93 Amoco Pontiac
2001 Jimmie Johnson #92 Excedrin Chevrolet
2005 Kyle Busch #5 CarQuest Chevy RC car (How I'm getting it past TSA I'll never know)
NASCAR Rumble for original Playstation
Test Drive: Eve of Destruction for PS2 (Because it's a fun game)
Old Rusty Wallace Cap (With Miller Lite logo)
Rusty Wallace #2 Miller Lite Ford Blow-up car (Like the one's you would see at the liquor store or various restaurants)
Even though I got a good haul at the Swap Shop, I still plan to go by a few more antique stores to see what i can find.
After that, we went to Cosentino's "Price Chopper" to get some groceries. We came by the house afterwards to drop them off. We then headed down the road to the Truman Sports Complex.
Oh, I forgot to mention that my mom's friend lives right down the road from Arrowhead Stadium (NFL Kansas City Chiefs) and Kauffman Stadium (MLB Kansas City Royals). I should also mention that, as we speak, we are trying to get tickets to the Royals/Tigers game on Thursday, which would be my first Major League Baseball game. (If we are able to go, I'll be rooting for the Royals. If they win, would I be banned from Expo?
)
While we were at the sports complex we walked around a bit, sightseeing both Arrowhead and Kauffman. We took pictures, a lot of pictures.
After that we went back to mom's friend's house where I took a nap (still operating on Eastern Time). Afterwards we had hot dogs for dinner.
Anyway, that is Day One. As I finish this post, I look forward to the number of things I will be doing during my stay here in Missouri.
Until next time...
A baseball game at the K is pretty great. Kauffman is one of the nicest parks you will ever visit. Plus Tigers vs. Royals will likely be the match up of the two division contenders. I'd like to watch a game at Comerica one of these years I get a Summer free.
Awesome News
I was going to wait a little bit until I said something but I felt I should say something as soon as possible.
My mom's friend managed to get tickets so I am going to the Royals/Tigers game on Thursday!
I am so EXCITED to go to my first MLB game. I can't wait!!!
Go Tigers!
Yes.
Day Two
After waking up at about 9:00 am CDT, we went to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Niecie's Restaurant on E. 63rd St. I had a double cheeseburger, which was delicious. The atmosphere was great and the staff was really friendly.
Afterwards, we went by the house to drop off our leftovers, and then proceeded to go to a place called FleaMart, over on E. US Highway 40. It is a great place and I spent a bit of time looking around for some collectables. I managed to find a couple that I will take back to Indianapolis with me. The stuff I bought are:
1985 #16 Jeff Gordon World of Outlaws Sprint Car Diecast
1992 Indy 500 Winner's Car (Al Unser Jr.) and Pace Car (1992 Cadillac Allante) diecasts
After FleaMart, we went across the street to Old Time Pottery. To me, the place was pretty boring. It's supposed to be like a craft place but I didn't see anything I liked.
When we left Old Time, I was then informed that, as I said earlier, my mom's friend had been able to aquire tickets to the Royals/Tigers game on Thursday. I was, and still am, ecstatic that I will be going to my first MLB game.
We then proceeded to head back to the house where we stayed and had dinner. My mother and her friend then proceeded to go to the casino, where they still are as I write this. Currently, one of Terica's (name of my mother's friend) daughters is learning the way of the Xbox.
All in all, even though we didn't do much today, it was still a pretty good day. I look forward to the number of things to do tomorrow and later on.
Until next time...
It's funny seeing these places that I've been to be described, haha
Glad you will get to go to the baseball game. Hopefully its an exciting one.
I know a thing or two about this city. How much longer are you going to be in town? Winfrey covered a lot of good things to do while you're here, I can list some more if you're interested, also I actually live in the city and would be able to hang out/ show you around/ take you to lunch.
@Koreish I leave on Friday morning
Day Three: Part One
I am separating this summary into two parts so that I do not forget all the stuff I did today.
After waking up at about 9:00 am CDT, we went to the Bass Pro Shops in Independence. It is the first time I had ever been in a Bass Pro Shop, seeing as we don't have any in Indiana (to my knowledge). The place was HUGE and I felt like a kid in a candy store, looking at all the things from candy (I bought a Moon Pie while I was there and sampled some fudge. Delicious!) to, obviously, firearms.
Afterwards, we went to Independence Center (the shopping mall in Independence, MO). I walked around a bit while mom and Terica were trying to find some "Missouri stuff" (souvenirs). Immediately afterwards, we went to a place called Rally House where mom finally found some Missouri magnets and I found a shirt for the Royals game (Go Royals!
).
After that, we went to the Firehouse Subs on Sterling Ave. to eat. I then went next door to a place called Vintage Stock, where they sell old and new games, CD's, movies, TV shows, and animes. I bought F1 2001 for the PS2 while I was there. After that we came back to the house.
We are heading to the Plaza tonight so I will cover what all we did there in Part Two.
Until next time...
Day Three: Part Two
Before we got to the Plaza, we went by the Burger King on Troose Ave. to pick up the tickets to the Royals/Tigers game. I will be sitting in Section 408.
We then proceeded to the Plaza to check out a few stores.
The first store we went into was the Plaza location of Rally House on Ward Parkway. It seemed that there was more stuff in it, even though it's one of the smaller locations. I did find some stuff that, well, were interesting. (See photos below) I managed to buy a Die-cast Ford Fusion stock car with Royals regalia on it.
The next store we went to was Zoom, a toy store also on Ward Parkway. There were a few things in there that were interesting, like the owner's collection of lunchboxes, but they kept playing some stupid kid's songs. Not like the songs you hear on Radio Disney, but the ones that try to teach you something.
While we were there we saw a few of the fountains. (see pics below)
After that, we went back to Raytown to eat at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Ma Ma China. It is a pretty good Chinese Buffet. The food was hot, great atmosphere, and friendly workers. We ate pretty good.
After that we came back to the house, where I am typing my summary.
Until next time...
Day Three: Photos
Nothing says sexy like...Kansas City Royals panties?
Lunchbox featuring a Canadian failure.
One of the fountains at Country Club Plaza
Photo of the Seventh Church of Christ Scientist
Should take in the World War 1 museum while you're there.
I'd love to but it seems they want to do what mom wants to do
Day Four
Today, we went to the Kansas City Zoo. It would've been fun but for one thing: I hate zoos. (I have to deal with enough elephants and donkeys already.) I went (was dragged along) with them. I was amazed, to be honest, of how they separated the zoo into continents. The first place we went was "Australia". I must say that while I think that they could've not tried as hard to replicate the "Australian feel", I must commend them for trying to do the best they can, even using real Australian adverts. While the rest of the group went and looked at the animals, I stayed at the "Australian" entrance building and chatted on the phone with @Creeperbane2 . When they came back, we discovered that the zoo closed at 4:00 pm CDT. It was 4:16 pm when we found it out.
This provided an opportunity to go to Independence to see the Civil War Museum. Unfortunately, they weren't having it.
After we came back to the house, we went back out to this little Mexican restaurant called El Maguey on Raytown Road. We never ate there. As soon as we get out of the car, Terica asked a couple folks if it was good. They said it had good queso but said that the food felt more Tex-Mex. They suggested another Mexican restaurant called Los Compas, off of Blue Parkway. We ended up going there.
At Blue Compas, we sat a table close enough where I could see the TV. The Royals were playing the Indians trying to complete a three-game sweep. I watched the game while eating my chimichanga and flan. (Royals ended up losing 5-7.) After that, we came back to the house where I caught up with IC during League, my first out of state.
In summary, even though I was disappointed that we didn't go to the Civil War Museum, I still think that it was a pretty good day.
I cannot wait for tomorrow when we go to the Royals/Tigers game. I am expecting it to be a blast, even if it is beer-fueled
.
Until next time...GO ROYALS!
Welp I feel like a dick. We've been without internet for the last two days so I wasn't able to read your PMs or this awesome journal you've been writing. I'm glad you've been having so much fun here in KC.
You are a dick.
Day Five: Part One
I am doing another multi-part entry to make sure I don't forget anything after the Royals game.
Today, I had to make a decision: go to the Independence Civil War Museum, or go to the WWI Museum and tower. After thinking long and hard, and thanks to suggestions by winfrey and @Karma , I went to the WWI Museum. And from what I saw, I made the right choice.
When you first enter, you see a field of poppy flowers in a field underneath a glass bridge leading to the museum. There are 900 poppies, each representing 10,000 lives lost, for the grand total of 9,000,000 killed. There was a movie we could've watched but we never got a chance. I walked through the entire museum taking in the timeline of events from start to finish. I came out of it with quite a few pictures and a sense of awe at the mass scale of the war.
Afterwards, we went up to the tower, and you could see for miles. I got a few photos from the top and the view was spectacular.
When we came down from the tower, there were a few men from different armed forces from different countries. I managed to introduce myself to one of them, George (Can't remember last name) from the Portuguese military. They were on their way to Fort Leavenworth to help train the soldiers there. After that, we came back to the house to rest up before the game.
Until next time....GO ROYALS!!!
P.S.
Got this when we went to Rally House. So ready for the game.
GO ROYALS!!!
Duffy picked a good night to have his best pitching performance of the season so far.
Day Five: Part Two
Before I go on, I just want to say that based on @Church4252 and @primesuspect 's comments, I am now banned from Expo.
I have just gotten back from the game and it was a blast. I could write a huge thing about it, but I think I'll let my vids do the talking.
Note: I am commenting on a few things on some of the vids so I just wanted to let you guys know.
Part 1 (going into the stadium) :
Part 2 ( me seeing Kauffman Stadium for the first time) :
**Part Three to come tomorrow. **
Great documentation!