A Very Special Christmas Gift

For my Christmas gift, my wife planned a special vacation for New Year’s weekend. Since it was a gift and a surprise, I had no idea where we were going. I honestly thought that we were going somewhere in Colorado and we had to wake up early because of the long drive ahead of us. It was not until we reached the airport that I realized we were flying somewhere.

But where?

As we approached the gate she continued to hide the boarding passes from me so I still had no idea where we were going. Was it Tampa? Albuquerque? Kansas City?

Finally, I found out that it was Kansas City, which is a place that I always wanted to visit after seeing it featured on an episode of Drinking Made Easy.

The flight was only about 1 hour and forty minutes from Denver. As I soon discovered, there is plenty to do in Kansas City.

They have a beautiful Union Station that was built in 1914, but took 11 years and $250 million to refurbish after years of neglect. While Kansas City is still a railroad hub, Union Station was home to 12 railroad companies in its heyday. Now it is home to several retail shops, a science center, movie theater, passing freight trains, and Amtrak.

he station even has a model railroad experience, which of course I enjoyed.

Although I love anything train related, Kansas City is known for something else that is just as spectacular: Barbecue. We went to several places such as Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, and Slap's BBQ. Our favorite was Slap's BBQ. We found that the brisket, ribs, and burnt ends were very delicious, but we really enjoyed the pulled pork. They also have an amazing “Slap Sauce” that is worth the trip alone.

On New Year’s Day we decided to make a road trip to White Castle, located about 2 hours away in the town of Columbia. I had never eaten there and my wife had not eaten there in 30 years. White Castle was delicious and awesome. We enjoyed the regular sliders that they are famous for and also liked trying items that have come out since my wife’s last visit, such as the chicken sliders and the jalapeno cheese sliders.

Along the way she had some more surprises in store for me. We visited the Katy depot in Sedalia and we attempted to visit the Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site. Unfortunately both were closed, although we were able to see the exterior of the depot. This was a complaint of ours that many destinations were closed on New Year’s Day despite their websites stating that they would be open.

However, we were able to make a short visit to the Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, which contains a natural rock bridge, hiking trails, picnic areas, dense forest, and a cave that you can hike to. It was getting dark so we saw the rock bridge but skipped the hike to the cave, which was fine because it gives us a reason to come back. (see the accompanying videos)

Besides trains and delicious food, we also went to a place that combined both: a train themed restaurant named Fritz's Railroad Restaurant. Truly, it was the best of both worlds. You place your order on a phone and your meal is delivered via a small train (see the accompanying video).

Another fun activity to do in Kansas City is visit The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This museum is famous for the huge shuttlecock sculptures in front of the museum. Inside you will find art from several world regions and to works from famous artists such as Monet and Vincent Van Gogh. It is a great museum that is also free! (see the accompanying video)

Have you ever been to Kansas City? What did you like best?

MORE INFORMATION:

Union Station

Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que

Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue

Slap's BBQ

White Castle

Fritz's Railroad Restaurant

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site

Katy Depot

Rock Bridge Memorial State Park