Get around Kansas City

We've had some visitors lately and there's nothing we like to do more than show off our Kansas City, MO. "What's in Kansas City?," people are always asking. Well you should come find out because we never run out of things to do! Keep in mind this is just a small sampling...

Let's start with Nate's family visit in March. With a little niece and nephew to consider, our knowledge of family friendly spots is tested. We took little Tommy and Lucy to the Sea Life Aquarium in Crown Center, which also houses Lego Land and Kalidescope. We took the parents down to Martini Corner for some cocktails, normally a bustling night spot, you can stop in for happy hour and food at one of the clustered bars. We also hung out with some friends at one of our many picnics on the Nelson Atkins Museum lawn.

My Dad visited in May. Aside from the bout of appendicitis I had to deal with Friday, we had a fun time, and I didn't let my emergency surgery stop us from getting around. We took my dad out to Weston, MO. A small historic town nearby with shopping and fun seasonal events, such as a VW Car Show. You have to make a stop at O'Malleys underground Pub if you go to Weston. We also made a stop at Weston Bend State Park. Weston is great in the Fall when you can visit several pumpkin patches and apple orchards, taking part in picking your produce and other fun activities.

My Mom, stepdad, and brother visited us in July for the 4th of July holiday. It's been awhile since they've been to KC, so we wanted to show them a good time. Turns out it was a good time to come! To kick off the weekend we walked up to the WWI Liberty Memorial Monument. This tower sits on one of the high points of Kansas City's sprawling metro area, which gave us the vantage point to see fireworks show going on all over the city and in various suburban neighborhoods.  The monument also houses an absolutely amazing WWI collection that is a must see. 

We visited to the Steamboat Arabia Museum in the Downtown River Market, home to a wonderful seasonal farmers market, and local restaurants. The Steamboat Arabia Museum houses an incredible collection of perfectly preserved goods from an a steamboat that sunk in 1856. We joined some friends at the annual outdoor event, Shakespeare in the Park, and this years play was As You Like It. We took a walk though Loose Park, a beautiful park with lots of space to run around, a free kids water playground, a duck pond, incredible Springtime rose garden, and more. 

No visit to KC is complete without BBQ, so we went off the beaten path a little to Woodyard BBQ where you can sit on a brick patio and enjoy some live music. We shopped antiques down in the West Bottoms, a historic and industratial part of town recently taken over by antique shops that stock up and then open once a month on the first friday of the month. After a few hours in the midday heat, we went over to the West Side neighborhood (worth a visit for the  beautiful historic homes and wonderful local resturants) for some naturally flavored snow cones at Little Freshie. Our friends in Akkilles played a CD release show at The Brick, one of many local dive bars with great food and a cozy environment to see live music.

Whew! We did have some down time, but this doesn't even cover it all.

I just thought I would throw in a few images from some of the other things we've done this first half of 2013 including the First Friday in the Crossroads Art district, the Loose Park Rose Garden, the Youth Symphony show at the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Kansas City Zoo, and non-stop trips to the many wonderful coffee shops and restaurants around town.

We love this place!!! There is no shortage of things to do. If you have come across this blog when researching your next Kansas City, MO trip, don't hesitate to contact us with questions. We have a lot more up our sleeves.

UPDATE: New house, new adventures

2013 is already proving to be a busy yet fun year with a few adventures already under our belt! We started off the year by moving into a new house where we promptly got dumped on with crazy amounts of snow. We are loving the new neighborhood, the proximity to work, and are having a blast making the house feel like home. As you can see, the cats had no problem adjusting...

In Febuary we went to Lawton, OK to see my brother graduate from army basic training. We did the only thing there is to do in Lawton and went to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Within the refuge sits the "The Holy City" a retro recreation of Israel where passion plays have been performed since 1935. Pretty interesting place. We ate some crazy good Texas Longhorn burgers at Meers, home of the best buger in Oaklahoma, and said to be one of the best in the country.

In March we drove up to Minneapolis, MN for a Spring break impromptu trip with our buddies Devon and Erica. We stopped for some art at the Walker Art Center (Painting by Lesley Vance). We had some great food and coffee at Icehouse, The Bad Waitress, Isles Bun and Coffee, and Spyhouse Coffee Shop. Shopped some swanky shops on Hennepin Ave. And we of course loaded up a trailer at Ikea before our ride home...

In May, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary in Puerto Rico! We flew into San Juan and hung out in the spanish forts of Old San Juan. Then we ferried over to Vieques where we stayed at Haciendo Tamarindo, lounged and snorkeled on various beaches, and sipped on Sangira. Our favorite meal of the trip was at El Quenepo where we ate yellowtail and an incredible variation of Mofongo. We ferried back across to the main island and stopped at El Yunque, the national rainforest outside of Fajardo. It was a glorious and restful vacation.

Cristo Vive!

Our friends Janie and Kenzo hosted us in Cuzco, Peru this March and we had an amazing time. We kicked of the trip painting a mural at the Fundacion Cristo Vive’s newly opened "hidden house" for abuse victims and their kids. Janie captured the two day project and posted on her and Kenzo's blog, Peruzco, about their life in Peru volunteering with the Doctors for Global Heath. Thanks so much for everything guys!

 All photos copyright of Life Writing Photography. More photos from Peru coming soon!

Holidays 2011: Philly, Dubuque, Stuart

Once Thanksgiving hits, Nate and I pack up and go on "tour" for the rest of the year. This year we were in Pennsylvania visiting my mom, then Iowa with Nate's family, and then down to Florida to see my dad and family there. Here are some of my favorite shots from our trips.

In Pennsylvania, we visited St. Peters Village outside of Glenmoore were you can jump across giant bolders, and hangout in a vintage arcade. We also went into Philadelphia (the city of murals) again this year and toured Todd House and The Bishop White house. The historic tours in the city are plentiful and interesting.

In Nate's home town Dubuque, Iowa, we mostly hung out with family, but decided to take a walk down to Bluff Street. You can browse some charming shops and galleries there including, Black Cat Vintage and Unforgivable Records where Nate reminisced over a wall of band posters from his youth.

Down in Florida we visited my grandparents for a day in Hollywood, FL where they've been living for about 60 years in the same house. We spent most of our time in Stuart where we relaxed with drinks, games, and a bonfire. We also ventured out to the the Jupiter Lighthouse, Coral Cove Park on Jupiter Island, and a day trip to St. Augustine.

Happy New Year!

Memphis

Once upon a time, a Kansas boy met a Kentucky girl. They fell in love and decided to get married where God brought them together, in Memphis, TN. So Nate and I drove 8 hours southeast for the celebration. (Congrats Chris and Kate!) We did not have much time to sight-see, so we had to pick between Graceland and the National Civil Rights Museum. Not really two things to compare, but Civil Rights won out, and it was an amazing place. I highly recommend it if your in the area. Also, we finally know what that one line in the Mark Cohn/ Bruce Springsteen song means when he says, "Walking in Memphis. Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale." It's a street! With lots of bars, and I didn't really like it, but lots of other people did. The pictures here a mash of Memphis sights, wedding snapshots, and the Civil Rights Museum (The Lorriane Motel sign, the balcony with the wreath, and the classic cars are photos of where MLK was shot and killed April 4, 1968 in front of room 306.)