Monday, April 27, 2015

Kansas City: Part 2

We headed out pretty early Monday morning for a (planned) day of adventure!  Our first stop was City Hall.  They have an observation deck on the 30th floor and I love getting a bird's eye view when I can.  Unfortunately, they don't open it when it is too cold.  48 and sunny is too cold for KC I guess.  I was pretty bummed, Jimmy was not.  We took a stroll around the park instead.
We headed to Crown Center next, which offers lots of shopping, eateries and other activities.  They have an aquarium, Lego Land and Hallmark activity center call Kaleidoscope.  If Parker had been a bit older we may have checked some of those out, but we just window shopped and played in the Fairy Tale Village.  It had a bunch of fairy tale scenes for kids to play in it.  Parker's favorite was the Three Little Pigs.  
He still gets excited and touches the pig when I show him this picture.
Another reason we hit up Crown Center was to go to Fritz's Railroad Restaurant.  It's a kind of kitschy theme restaurant. 
Yes, I really am THAT excited to be there!
After placing your order by phone, your food is delivered by train!  It scared Parker a bit, but not too much.
We made a quick trip to the Money Museum before heading back to the hotel for a nap.  The Truman Coin Collection brings together coins from every presidency.  My dad is a coin collector and would have loved this place!
We got to see the vault and money sorting area, but couldn't take pictures.  I have never been that close to that much money!
I even got to design my own bill!
They give you a bag of shredded money as your parting gift.  I am still working on putting it back together! 
Monday night ended up being chillier than expected and we didn't pack a hat and gloves for Parker.  I spent his nap trying to find some, but I struck out.  What else is a crafty girl to do than make some out of of socks!  I picked up a pair of socks and sewing kit at the Dollar Tree and went to town.  Not perfect, but it was enough to keep his fingers warm!
It is always exciting to see a new stadium...
...And we got to see two on this trip.
Once in the gates we headed to guest services to get Parker's "first game" certificate, then headed to the elevator for the upper deck.  Suddenly I heard a voice say "Is it just the 3 of you?"  I looked and said "yes," then a man handed me three tickets to go sit close to the field.  It was the Twins Director of Team Travel, Mike Herman.  We were so excited!
6 rows from the field, a much better view than our original seats.
The seats were perfect for Parker too.  We had a rail in front of us that kept him contained and not falling on other fans.
A few innings in Mike came back down and gave us hand warmers and a hat for Parker.  It was such a kind a gesture!
Parker made it through the entire game!  We left our seats at the end of the 8th inning to walk the concourse.
The Twins were losing so we only made it halfway before the game was over.  We got some great pictures with the field and fountains.
My parents DVRd the game and we got on TV for just a moment!
We downed a quick breakfast on Tuesday morning and hit the road for home.  By this time Parker has developed a pretty nasty cough...
...and was really ready to get home!
Despite some setbacks it was a wonderful trip.  I am already thinking about where to head to next!

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Kansas City: Part 1

We have been talking about getting to Kansas City for years to see the Twins play at Kauffman Stadium.  A while back we decided 2015 was going to be the year.  We were a bit disappointed when the schedule was released.  Our options were April, July 4th, and Labor Day.  We were not about to fight holiday traffic and prices, so April it is!  Parker started a low grade fever the day before our trip (a while other story!) but we made the choice to hit the road.
THe car ride gave him plenty of time to rest and relax!
It was lunch time when we hit Des Moines, but our first stop was Krispy Kreme.  It has become quite the novelty since leaving MN many years ago, so we have to indulge when we are close to one!
We still had a few hours to go after lunch.  We hit some storms in southern Iowa, but made it to the hotel in time to watch the end of the Wild's second playoff game.  We headed across the border to Kansas that evening to visit an Apple Store.  This has become a quirky vacation tradition for us, plus Jimmy got to check out the Apple Watch!
We planned to get BBQ for dinner, but the wait was way too long.  We ended up grabbing some Chinese takeout and heading back to the hotel.

Parker's fever was coming in and out, but he seemed better Sunday morning.  After breakfast at the hotel we went downtown to check out the City Market.  It is a little outdoor market with lots of little shops situated between downtown and the river.
There were a ton of spice stands that you could buy different blends from.
The river was just a few blocks away so we took a walk to an observation deck overlooking it.
Parker loved stomping on the planks of the railroad bridge.
We headed to Country Club Plaza to check out the Missouri Apple Store.  There were a few things Jimmy didn't have the time to figure out/play with on the Apple Watch the first time, so he was pretty excited to see it again.
Parker wasn't quite as enthused (but nap time was approaching.)
I am not sure why I originally took the picture below, but it has a fun story.  Later that afternoon I decided to Google where the Twins stay in KC.  It just so happens to be the Intercontinental pictured in the middle is where they usually stay!
We grabbed a quick lunch at Gates BBQ upon recommendation from my friend Courtney.  Jimmy had a great burnt ends sandwich and I got ribs!
We all rested in the afternoon, then hit the pool for a refreshing dip!
We had a low-key dinner at Waffle House.  We haven't been to one since I was pregnant with Parker, so I was excited to go!  Yummy waffles and super crispy hash browns were the way to go.
Next Up: City Hall, Crown Center, and Kauffman Stadium