Kicking It Off In Kansas City

I've mentioned a few times that Sam and I had a "mother-son trip" in mid-August. We went to Missouri to watch some baseball! Travelling with Sam was very different from travelling with Rachel but still a lot of fun :) Prepare for picture overload as I take you through our first few days.

 We started in Kansas City, Missouri, so we flew there. Here we are on the airplane, ready to go. Sam spent a lot more time on screens than Rachel did.

One thing about heading to Kansas City is that my aunt lives not far from there and Sam was okay with her joining our trip for a bit. I was so excited to see Auntie Jean (whom I'm named after) as we hadn't seen each other in five years.

We started out by doing an escape room. It was a soccer themed escape room, created in conjunction with Kansas City's soccer team, and it was so much fun! We needed a few hints but we escaped with a few minutes to spare. Auntie Jean did take a few pictures in the room but unfortunately, the business made her delete them.

Auntie Jean found a BBQ restaurant for us to have supper at but there was a bit of a wait for a table. So we walked across the train tracks and checked out Union Station, the main Amtrak station. I loved the decorative ceilings. Also, the picture of Sam running and the selfie are how you get pictures with a teenager. Sam didn't want to pose for a picture so was trying to run out of it, and the selfie is from when I asked him to take a picture of me! Hahaha!

 

We shared a couple of entrees at Jack Stack's BBQ restaurant and it was so good! I wish I had some of that BBQd salmon right now.

Sam enjoyed checking out this sculpture which was just outside the restaurant.

The next morning, Auntie Jean and I spent some time visiting during breakfast while Sam had some down time on his own. I loved being able to catch up with her. Then we went to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The museum was arranged around an indoor baseball field and the field was being used for a press conference so we watched it, which was a unique opportunity. The museum was announcing the 2023 inductees to the "Hall of Game." We spent time touring the museum after that.

After visiting the museum, we got a recommendation for a local restaurant in the area. The food was really good and it also had a social justice bent, which I loved. It provided employment opportunities and helped build cooking skills for underserved people. It is housed inside Kansas City's first public works building which was also really cool.

On the way back to our car, we also found some unique murals and a small baseball diamond commemorating where the Negro Leagues used to play.

Sam had been hoping to spend some time at the College Basketball Experience but it was closed to the public while we were in Kansas City. Instead we went to the Arabia Steamboat Museum. The Arabia sank in the Mississippi in 1856 and its cargo stayed buried for over 130 years. In the 1980s some private citizens excavated it, and decided to open this museum. It was so interesting to see all the cargo which had been recovered, as well as to learn more about steamboats.

On the right is the actual hull of the Arabia, which was recovered.

Hundreds of buttons and perfume bottles.

Left: Sweet pickles from 1856; right: keys

I was very fascinated by all the buttons.

I wrote yesterday about our very interesting conversation with the preservationists and how I was able to smell this material, which had been buried in water and mud for over 130 years. It was incredible to me how good a condition many of the items were in. I would highly recommend visiting this museum if you get a chance. I thought it was fascinating!

Another interesting Kansas City mural. The city had so many murals everywhere.

Sam chose a Dill Pickle Soda from the KC Soda Company. I had a more boring raspberry-basil one.

After our afternoon adventures, Auntie Jean headed home and Sam and I headed to Kauffman Stadium to see the Kansas City Royals play the Seattle Mariners. I let Sam choose where he wanted to get tickets at both our baseball games. He chose the fountain seats for this game, and we were very close to the centre fielder.

We were sitting with a very nice group of fans and had some good conversations, as well as seeing some baseball. The fountains went off when the Royals hit a home run and the fireworks went off as well.

 

After the game, we had to wait almost an hour to get an Uber back to our hotel, which was the only frustrating part of our visit.

We so enjoyed our time in Kansas City and are already hoping to get back there as a family.