Kansas City

Last week the family took a trip to Kansas City. It's the first whole family vacation we have had in a very long time. The kids and I have gotten into the unfortunate habit of leaving poor hubby behind when we go out adventuring.

We had three days to spend, so had three main agenda items.

1) Big book store (we actually ended up hitting three before the trip was over). We started at the Plaza because I thought the kids would enjoy the fountains, as well. I also knew the multi-storied Barnes & Noble there would be a hit. We also went to Rainy Day Books, which was only a few minutes away from the Plaza. Oddly enough, I only came home with one book, but the unlimited browsing was worth the trip.

2) Worlds of Fun. I didn't actually take my camera into the park, but here you can see the big roller coaster behind our cabin. We stayed right at the park. Off season, so it was very affordable. The big bonus was we were able to pay for our stay entirely out of can recycling money. Well, we were about $13 short, but we have a bag started in the shed and I'm sure we can make up that $13 before the month is out if we put our minds to it. Then we can start saving for the next trip.

It ended up drizzling pretty much the entire day we spent at the park. It wasn't hard rain, so the rides weren't really affected. We were damp and cool most of the day, which in my book is better than hot and sizzling. No lines, so we were able to hit each roller coaster multiple times. I knew that my tolerance for spinning rides had probably not improved at all since I was last here (20 years ago?). None-the-less, I had to learn that lesson again.

3) The Steamboat Arabia Museum. We had heard a lot about this museum from many of our friends, so it has been on our list for a while. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think the kids did too. It's a kind of a modern day treasure hunt story. What I really enjoyed is that it was pretty much a family affair. A man and his two sons and a family friend pretty much dreamed up and managed the whole project. The boat was excavated in the late 1980s from a farmer's field near the Missouri River. It is one of many steamboats that sank along the river. They had a map showing the locations of boats that had gone down pretty much along every bend and curve. I never would have imagined just how hazardous steamboat travel was a century ago.

The photo is of the tree that snagged the Arabia.