Kansas City, Missouri

Worlds Of Fun RV Park, located on the eastern side of the city and right off Interstate 435, provided a comfortable homebase for our stay.  After a quick Internet search of things to do and places to eat, we set off to discover what we could in the three days we had planned to visit the city.  Constant showers and very cool temperatures were the norm for our first 2 days but the sun came out and it warmed up a bit our last day in Kansas City.

Our Saturday and Sunday was calm and traffic was light.  Here's a skyline view of Kansas City.

And another view of the Kansas City skyline.

Driving around the city, we notice lots of murals decorating the outside of the various buildings.

Power and Light District Mural

First on our list, we visit the highly rated City Market.  We find lots of fresh produce, fresh flowers and garden plants, shops and various eateries.  The fresh Mediterranean food we sampled was delicious..opps forgot pictures of that fun meal.

This mural in the downtown district was very eye-catching but my Internet search failed to discover it's name or inspiration.

We found these murals off of Minnesota Avenue.  My Internet research finds these eight murals were joint efforts between several artists-in-residencies and Kansas City high school students.

What a wonderful visit we enjoyed at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum.  Built and established in 1930-1933, it houses one of the largest collections in the United States.  I easily could have spent more time here than our two hours however that did give us time to view some of its major highlights.

The rains cleared just in time for me to get a quick photograph of one of Claes Oldenburg's lawn sculptures "Shuttlecocks".

Both Museum entrances are mesmerizing.  The photograph on the left is from the newer Bloch Building.  Once inside you're greeted by this amazing wall hanging made of liquor bottle tops strung together with copper wire. Then when we entered the majestic foyer of the older Nelson-Atkins Building we were greeted with the many marble columns and several old world tapestries. I thought it was a great comparison of art expressions, new and old. Some highlights we quickly saw: a great collection of Egyptian and Roman Classical art and sculptures, rare Medieval art that consisted of a full set of armor for a horse, its rider and matching shield, Renaissance art by Caravaggio as well as other noteworthy artists of that period and a collection of several French Impressionist artists Claude Monet, Georges Seurat and Vincent Van Gogh.  The American Collection was also impressive, we saw works by Thomas Hart Benton, Thomas Eakins and Winslow Homer as well as many other favorites.  Our time ran out so I missed the modern art collection so we'll need to go back again one day!  


Now, no visit to Kansas City would be complete for Ronnie and me without tasting its outstanding BBQ.  We decided to try a newer establishment and also an older establishment.  Both restaurants were very tasty, filled with that sweet and spicy tomato based sauce that slathers the tender meats.

Hawg Jaw Que & Brew, established around 2010 and voted in 2012 as one of KC's Best BBQ, was excellent.

Ronnie and I both enjoyed the pork ribs of Hawg Jaw Que & Brew.  A variety of their sauces were on the table and we loved them all!

Arther Bryant's World Famous Barbecue, established in 1908 and considered by some to be one of the most famous barbecue restaurants in the country, was delicious.  Their three types of sauces were on the table for you to apply amply yourself.  Yummmm..

Lining the wall were framed photographs of the many famous patrons, including Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, Sally Field and Steven Spielberg. 

My choice of tender smoked turkey and onion rings were ample and filling.  I didn't eat the white bread though.

Ronnie's double meat sandwich of brisket and burnt ends were completely camouflaged by mounds of french fries.  Good thing I got a quick photo of the sandwich before it got covered up!

Our time here in Kansas City was way too short.  We had just enough time to see there is more to explore here.  We plan to come back one day and see the World War I Memorial and Museum, the Union Station and Fountains..and many many more highlights in Kansas City, Missouri.

More Later as we travel westward.