Don't need no ruby red slippers...

Jenn and I had a fun little get-away to Kansas City last weekend. Some extremely kind neighbors took care of our kids (thank you, Conovers!), which allowed us some rare alone time for a few days (and two nights). Kansas City was great. We wandered through the Nelson-Atkins museum, an amazing collection of art, sculptures, and historic artifacts. Incredibly it was free, except for parking. We spent several hours at a terrific outdoor shopping area called the Country Club Plaza. It was at night, and pretty cold, so a splurge for Starbucks signature hot cocoa was in order. That stuff is soooo good, too bad it's also crazy expensive! The only downside to the shopping area is that so many of the stores close around 7-8pm, and the restaurants there get packed... 1-2 hour waits. We made the mistake of not going earlier in the day for dinner.

We managed to see the latest James Bond movie. I think Daniel Craig suits the character well, he's able to inject a little more physical prowess into the action. I'm pretty sure he could beat up all the other James Bonds. At the same time.

We also made a stop (downtown) to the Hallmark headquarters... you know, they make greeting cards, movies, and they also own Crayola. They have a nifty visitor's center... and hey, it was there, unexpected, and free!

The priority was relaxing and just enjoying ourselves, so while we didn't see a great deal of the city, we did appreciate the experience of being a lone couple again for awhile.


Inside an indoor walkway that runs between a few buildings downtown (that's our hotel towering in background)


View of the city skyline from our room (36th floor)


Some of those 'historic artifacts' I was talking about. I wanted a picture to show the boys. Okay, you got me, I just think armor is cool. Even the horse has armor.


Foreground: Rodin's 'Thinker'. Background: Dave's 'Foxy Lady'.

I mean, could you resist?? The floor is curvy!! Those are actual wood floorboards. It took the artist nearly a year to get them all bent just right.