A trip away from home, even if home is the best place to be, gives one perspective and gratitude. Inspired by a gift from my son to see a show in Kansas City, we planned a second getaway, from our getaway, to the Heart of America. (Kansas City, Here I Come April 2021)
In 1915, the Kansas City (Missouri) Council made the city’s motto official. Not short on pride, KCMO, as some locals call it and to differentiate it from the nearby Kansas City, Kansas, celebrated the nickname, Heart of America, with 154, five-foot tall heart sculptures, created by local artists. The colorful statues, the artists and stories are on the Parade of Hearts website and a map shows their locations, on both sides of the state line.
The road trip seemed to go quicker than the three and half hour drive. One favorite stop is Osceola Cheese Company for must have cheese curds. On this trip, the Garlic & Dill Curds won for a perfect road trip snack; protein, not too messy and delicious.
Halfway through the bag of cheese curds, our thirst was quenched at Kelly’s Westport Inn in Kansas City as we awaited check-in time. A friendly bartender chatted with us and shared a brochure of the bar’s history. Irish immigrant owner, Randal Kelly, bartended for former owners and then ran the place as his own for decades before passing in 1988. Kelly’s is on its third generation of family ownership. The building is the oldest in KC, having been built in 1851. The luck of the Irish was with us as our bartender only comes out of retirement a handful of days each year and we were happy to meet him.
I’m proud to be Irish, in part, and I was happy to see Irish flags still lining the streets from St.Patrick’s Day, a week before the trip. As we drove around, touring old neighborhoods, I became aware of how well the Irish are represented in KC, with some homes having year-round Irish décor.
We stayed in an Air BNB in the Crossroads Arts District, which put us close to our venue for the show. It was so nice to have a short walk to the streetcars that took us around town; they were clean, sleek and free. KC was without streetcars for nearly 60 years, but these newer model ones were put into service in 2016. While our first day had great walking weather, I was so happy for the streetcar on the second day when temperatures dropped and it rained as we headed to Union Station and the Crown Center, to look around and stop in at the authentic tea shop, Shang Tea, with teas imported from the Fujian Province in China.
The KC architecture was amazing and while there was the addition of modern accents and buildings, so many residents and businesses restored and preserved many older buildings. They had striking decorative features like balustrade railings, arches and crown molding. Tiffany Castle was gorgeous on its perch overlooking Zoe Tiffany and Kessler Parks. I was happy to get a walk in on the Cliff Drive Scenic Byway, with views through the bare trees of March, down to the old, industrial section of the city.
There’s so much to see, do and eat in KC. This was my second trip to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and I still only scratched the surface of the exhibits. This time I enjoyed Monet’s Water Lillies, Egyptian sarcophagi, Louis XV bleu celeste dishes (the color was commissioned by him! I’m going to have a color created in my name one day) and a Hemmel stained glass piece.
All of the walking around helped the appetite and in KC, the dining choices are varied and plentiful. Sticking to places within walking/streetcar distance helped limit options. I was delighted by the Hawaiian Restaurant, Pokesan. It was a short walk from our stay in the Crossroads District. The calming, blue hues, lighting and artwork matched the relaxing music. I enjoy sushi and the poke bowl that I “built” from the menu was full of fresh and tasty ingredients. My small bowl of salmon and spicy tuna on a bed of perfect brown rice with sesame seeds, avocado, wasabi, pickled ginger and three sauces was amazing and filling. While we did not indulge this time, they had a sake bar. I am already thinking about my order for our next KCMO adventure.
A visit to the historic Uptown Theater was like stepping back through time. Designer John Eberson created it to mimic an Italian courtyard during the Renaissance; his designs were called atmospheric theaters. It was built in 1915 and underwent a $15 million dollar renovation in 1996 to restore the colorful, intricate interior.
Before leaving town, we returned to a breakfast spot from our first morning, that impressed us on many levels. The Messenger Coffee Company and Ibis Bakery operate in tandem in a modern, two story building with a third level of roof seating that overlooks the city. Beans are roasted on premises and we tried the smoked salmon toast with poached egg and capers on fresh bread for breakfast, as well as tempting sweets like a glazed cherry cardamom galette and a chocolate covered coconut macaroon.
Our getaway ended, but we were happy to head back. We stopped to check out a camping area for the future and grabbed a few items in a city on the way (small towns don’t carry everything). The perfect close to a lovely trip was a large rainbow, both ends visible, about twenty minutes from home.
What a wonderful recap of your ventures and so happy you made your way to Pokesan ~the best sushi in a bowl with the freshest ingredients that you noted….makes us want to take a staff trip out to some of the locales of your ventures 🙂
~Pokesan Staff
I’m glad that you enjoyed it. There are so many wonderful places to see right here in our state. I hope that you and your staff do get out to explore. We’ll be back.