KC: Part 2

KC Food:

We've gone to quite a few restaurants in the area, so I wanted to share my thoughts on them quickly.

Chefburger: Good lunch place. A great variety of burgers to get and they were pretty tasty.

Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant: This is a chain but I have never heard of it before. I've been on a sangria kick lately, and they had very good sangria. Food was moderately priced and pretty standard.

Fiorelli's Jack Stack: This is one of the BBQ places to hit in KC we were told. There are a few locations, and we went to the one by Union Station. I really enjoyed the ribs I got, although was kind of unsure about the cheesy corn. It tasted more like soup than corn. The bbq sauce was really good (I didn't try the spicy one, but the standard had a good flavor). The portions were huge and I wish I had a fridge in the hotel room to bring back the leftovers. This wasn't one of the "down home" bbq places in the area, but definitely good food that wasn't too pricey.

Flying Saucer: We tried to eat here twice, but couldn't find a place to sit. Apparently it's popular.

Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge: This was probably the best meal I've had this week. Steak on Tuesday was half off so I got a Kansas City Strip, mashed potatoes, and loaded baked potato soup. It was all awesome. Everything was really fresh and was excellent. However, this place was really expensive. If the steak wasn't half off, it'd have to be a really special occasion to go there for dinner. I didn't try any bourbons, but they had plenty to choose from.

There were a few others I can't remember the name of or that are not in my brochure on the Power and Light district.

KC Arts:

I saw Phantom of the Opera at the Music Hall on Wednesday. The show was a Broadway Across America show and was a great performance. The Music Hall was a nice place to see a show, but the seats in the balcony were positioned so there was a person seated directly in front of you, not on any angle. Once the lights went down, you could see a ton of people and switching seats (it wasn't sold out) in order to see better. The actors were great, had awesome voices, and was probably one of the best touring shows I've seen. There was no one weak actor that is so typical with touring casts. The costumes and scenery were beautiful. The special effects were done well. I'm glad I knew the story already though, because I think I would have been a little confused at parts if I didn't. They seemed to rush the beginning a lot which made it fast-paced, but I think it lost some of the backstory.

Good week in KC, but glad to be heading home tomorrow. Back to Missouri in a couple weeks.

Kansas City, Missouri

Week 2 of my two week Missouri trip, and now we're in Kansas City until Friday. We're staying at the Holiday Inn, formerly the Aladdin Hotel, in downtown KC across from the convention center.

So far, I like Kansas City. It's been awhile since I've been in a downtown area and this is a nice city, small, clean, just enough big buildings without being crowded. We got here yesterday when they were playing the NCAA games a few blocks away at the Sprint Center so things were crazy last night. We went to the Power and Lights district, the popular area with a bunch of restaurants and bars by the stadium. Something like 40 bars in a two block area. I really like the middle section with the Live! stage that had around 10 bars and restaurants that were all in an enclosed square that you could walk around with your alcohol, bar hop, listen to the bands playing in the middle, watch the NCAA games, etc. We mostly stayed at Angels Rock Bar which had good music and some entertaining random acts by the bartenders such as swinging on swings over the crowd, dancing on the bars, and swallowing fire.

We'll see what other events the week brings. I'm going to see Phantom of the Opera on Wednesday since the Music Hall is pretty much across the street from the hotel. It's awesome being with walking distance of so many things.

The Holiday Inn/Aladdin Hotel is cool. It's an older building, so it has some style in the lobby and they make the rooms look pretty stylish, if on the small side. When we checked in we were given free glasses of champagne while we waited five minutes for the rooms to be done. That was a nice welcome. Free internet, valet parking, room service (which is particularly pricey), dvd players in the rooms, flat screen tv, big comfy beds (although not as good as the Hilton's), restaurant, lounge, spa, decent exercise room, and free business center with fast computers. Also, the Kleenex was folded into a rose and one of my towels was folded into an elephant! Last big plus, we can walk to the store from here too.

If you've been here before, please recommend what barbeque place to go to. There are a ton to choose from, and I hear this is the place for bbq.

Joplin, Missouri

Back to civilization, 80 degrees warmer than last week, and in southwestern Missouri. Drove down Route 66 for awhile, saw the Arch in St. Louis, drove a long way through Missouri with lots of Jesus signs, and here we are on the border of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

Staying at the Holiday Inn here in Joplin. Nice, but older. My room is really small so I can't give a very fair review since I have zero sink space and have to balance my make-up, brush, and other supplies on the toilet and rack over the toilet, but other than that it's nice. Beds are decent, nice lobby, older but ok fitness center, and very average business center. They do have an indoor pool, hot tub, outdoor pool, room service, bar, manager's reception which I haven't been to, and free internet. I can hear everything in the hall from my room. The loudest people are not the guests, but the staff. They are doing housekeeping until 5pm every day or after and yell down the halls. I got back today at 5pm and my room was still not made up and they are still screaming down the halls at 7:15pm and complaining. It's pretty annoying.

On St. Patrick's Day we went to some bars on Main Street/Joplin which were fun and had live bands. Within the first five minutes of the first one we saw a bar fight be broken up by a huge man in a kilt and a very intoxicated little person. When on Monday we asked the guy at Olive Garden where to go in town, he recommended the Buffalo Wild Wings...exciting.

This is also the location of where they do a show called Trick My Truck, a Pimp My Ride, but for trucks, that plays on CMT. I have not heard of this show.

Next six weeks include more Missouri, Kansas, and Indianapolis. Thank goodness it's getting warm again. I didn't realized I missed going outside without a coat.

High of -1

I survived the blizzard! The store had to close early it got so bad, all the interstates were closed, windchills of -40 degrees, 50 mph gusts, drifts south up to 5 feet, near white-out conditions. But if I can get through a North Dakota blizzard, any other blizzards will be a breeze.

Today, the high was -1. I am actually looking forward to 30 degree weather. I have to put the picture up of what the above shot looks like normally. It's a drastic difference.

The University of North Dakota is nice campus. Home of the Sioux...which I'm wondering how they escaped political correctness with a giant Native American head on the side of Englestad Stadium. I think they're forgotten about up here.

I don't really care what you North Dakotans think...if the weather is in the negatives, I'm going to wear a hat, scarf, gloves, and heavy jacket. Yes, I know it's not northern Canada, but close enough.

Blizzard Warning: Grand Forks, ND

Here's the storm description of the blizzard that will be hitting at 7am tomorrow:

A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL BRING A SECOND ROUND OF SNOW TUESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. 6 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SECOND SYSTEM. NORTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. THE COMBINATION OF WIND AND SNOW SHOULD RESULT IN BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WHICH WILL MAKE TRAVEL EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE. WIND CHILLS TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT ARE EXPECTED TO FALL TO HAZARDOUS LEVELS OF 30 TO 40 BELOW ZERO.

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS... MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL... HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED... STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

It was 60 degrees and sunny in Illinois when I left. Damn winter. We've already been called wimps several times for thinking it's cold.

Staying at a Fairfield again, which is pretty similar to every other Fairfield. I got some groceries stocked up in my mini-fridge so I don't have to go out in this snow, and a nice comfy king size bed. Nice complimentary breakfast, free internet, but kind of a tiny room.

I'll let you know how the blizzard goes!

North Dakota!

After 12 hours of travel, I have arrived in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This travel today has included: 4 time changes in the last 24 hours, 2.5 hours driving to Midway, 5 hours on planes, 2.5 hour layover, 1.5 hour driving from Fargo to Grand Forks, 3 states, turbo prop planes, sun, floods, and a blizzard watch.

But a new state, woo hoo! New shot glass for the collection for sure. Not too cold and no snow yet...cross your fingers.

Countryside, IL

Done with Iowa! Quick week in Illinois then on to more exciting travels. This week I'm in Countryside, Illinois, a somewhat southwest suburb of Chicago near Brookfield and LaGrange. Besides Brookfield Zoo a few miles away, not sure of anything else around here.

I did get a pretty good massage at Massage Envy for a cheap introductory deal. That was sweet.

Staying at the Marriott in Burr Ridge which is really nice. Highlights are the really comfy beds (comparable to the Hilton's beds which were awesome) and the fun ways they fold the towels and Kleenex. They folded my Kleenex into a rose yesterday! That takes skill. They also refilled all the shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. That being said, no cookies, expensive bottled water they sit on the desk to taunt you with, and no free internet (or internet I can skill from someplace that is free). They do have a nice work out room, pool, hot tub, flat screen tv's, good size rooms, and business center. Overall a nice hotel.

Wish me luck as I venture to North Dakota next week. I think I'm going to watch "Fargo" in preparation. It's supposed to snow almost all next week and be around 12 degrees (in Grand Forks). I hope winter is done with by the time I get back to the midwest.