It had been way too long since my last adventure, so when my life buddy DMan said "What about going to your Aunt Peg's in Kansas City for Thanksgiving weekend?," I started packing and we hit the road as soon as I got off work on Friday afternoon. Everyone else must have already had their holiday underway, because traffic was light and we made it to my aunt's place on State Line Road by 7:30. Peg had her apartment decked out with two festive Christmas trees; twinkling lights, garland and shiny trinkets everywhere; and candy dishes loaded with holiday-colored Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey's Kisses, and Andes Mints. DMan was in heaven. He loves everything about Christmas, especially the candy! Which paired surprisingly well with wine, as we munched a few while we had a couple of glasses and chatted away the rest of the evening with Peg.
Without knowing it, we had picked the perfect weekend for decent weather: sunny, barely a breeze, and temps in the fifties instead of the arctic blast we had been freezing through. Our first stop Saturday morning was Crown Center, packed with holiday shoppers and gawkers checking out the explosion of Christmas decorations that adorned every inch of the mall. I guess I should mention here, in case you're catching the sarcasm in my tone, that: I am the Grinch-ette and I hate the holidays. But I needed an adventure, even if it included Christmas chaos out the wazoo, and the beach was out of my financial reach. Plus, DMan and Peg really dig all the festivities, so I endured it for their enjoyment and drank as much wine as I could to temper my bah-humbug disposition. Now back to Crown Center. After a bit of window shopping, we scoped out the food court and settled on Milano's Italian Restaurant. Excellent choice! Elegant and pleasantly peaceful after the cacophony of the mall, Milano's served up a delicious lunch buffet of Caesar salad, gourmet pizzas, and made-to-order pasta which we enjoyed in the sunny atrium. To burn off our lunch, we headed across the street to watch the ice skaters -- none of us were brave enough to try it -- and then walked back through the mall and the spectacular Westin Hotel and over to Union Station. It was bedecked with all manner of holiday hoopla as well, including a full-size Christmas village with a tiny train the kiddies could ride and a display of model trains that ran through what looked like the Alps and covered an entire wall. If you are a "Big Bang Theory" fan, this would be Sheldon's train paradise! My favorite thing of all was the ornate ceilings, restored to the original splendor of when the Station was built in 1914. I got a crick in my neck from all the looking up.
Next stop was Trader Joe's to stock up on wine, ten bottles to be exact plus a bubbly Prosecco to save for New Year's Eve. If you haven't been to a Trader Joe's, why not? They have a fabulous selection of reasonably priced wines, plus cool snacks from all over the world. As we were checking out, I grabbed a tub of Cranberry Oatmeal Dunkers (cookies) with White Fudge Drizzle and they are to die for! Springfield must get a Trader Joe's -- and soon! -- so we don't have to keep road tripping to KC or St. Louis.
Back to Peg's for a quick nap, then we were on to the Country Club Plaza for our dinner reservation at Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant. We had dinner there last December right after they opened and had such a good time, we made a point to go back. We weren't disappointed. The wines are excellent, the dishes feature unique blends of flavors and ingredients, and the atmosphere is relaxed yet refined, with dark wood, polished steel, and cozy, romantic lighting. In order to try out the maximum amount of wines, DMan and I both ordered a pick-your-own flight: Sangiovese, Barbera, Lux Pinot Noir, and Cooper's Hawk Red (new since we came last year) samplers for me; Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cooper's Hawk Red, and Petite Syrah for DMan. I don't recall that we'd ever drank a Barbera before, but it was our fave of all we tasted. The Cooper's Hawk Red was very nice, too, so we bought bottles of each to take home. If you are ever in Kansas City and want a lovely dinner with excellent service and fine wine, give Cooper's Hawk a try.
What's the best way to top off a fabulous Kansas City evening? Why, a carriage ride through the Plaza, of course. And not just a carriage, we rode the Cinderella carriage! Peg had made a reservation (we wanted to do this last year but the wait was two hours!), so we walked right up to the kiosk and were swept away in no time in our lighted carriage by John, our driver, and Dan, our steed. The lights of the Plaza and even the shops looked magical through the twinkle lights surrounding us, and I felt like a princess headed to the ball. There was holiday music playing on every corner, including a very talented fellow playing a bagpipe lit with red and green bulbs. People smiled and waved at us, even took our picture, and I smiled back and did my pageant wave. It was the coolest experience I've had in a long time and well worth the $70 it cost us to ride! Maybe if I could be squired around in the Cinderella carriage throughout the holidays I could squash my Scroogey attitude?!
Our plan for Sunday was to watch the Chiefs' game with Peg -- one of the biggest Chiefs' fans ever! -- but the NFL got greedy and moved the kick-off from noon to 3:25 p.m. to get more prime-time coverage, so we hung out for a while, Peg made a hearty breakfast, and we hit the road. We still got to listen to part of the game in the car, then catch the last half on TV. You played a good game, Chiefs, and you came close to winning, but those damn holding penalties are killing you. Cut it out, okay?! Sorry, I get grumpy about football too.
If you haven't been to KC lately, jump in the car and go. There are so many hootie things to see and do, and with Highway 13 being four-lane all the way you can get there from Springfield in under three hours. Hasn't it been way too long since your last adventure? Your very own Cinderella carriage ride is only short drive away!
Without knowing it, we had picked the perfect weekend for decent weather: sunny, barely a breeze, and temps in the fifties instead of the arctic blast we had been freezing through. Our first stop Saturday morning was Crown Center, packed with holiday shoppers and gawkers checking out the explosion of Christmas decorations that adorned every inch of the mall. I guess I should mention here, in case you're catching the sarcasm in my tone, that: I am the Grinch-ette and I hate the holidays. But I needed an adventure, even if it included Christmas chaos out the wazoo, and the beach was out of my financial reach. Plus, DMan and Peg really dig all the festivities, so I endured it for their enjoyment and drank as much wine as I could to temper my bah-humbug disposition. Now back to Crown Center. After a bit of window shopping, we scoped out the food court and settled on Milano's Italian Restaurant. Excellent choice! Elegant and pleasantly peaceful after the cacophony of the mall, Milano's served up a delicious lunch buffet of Caesar salad, gourmet pizzas, and made-to-order pasta which we enjoyed in the sunny atrium. To burn off our lunch, we headed across the street to watch the ice skaters -- none of us were brave enough to try it -- and then walked back through the mall and the spectacular Westin Hotel and over to Union Station. It was bedecked with all manner of holiday hoopla as well, including a full-size Christmas village with a tiny train the kiddies could ride and a display of model trains that ran through what looked like the Alps and covered an entire wall. If you are a "Big Bang Theory" fan, this would be Sheldon's train paradise! My favorite thing of all was the ornate ceilings, restored to the original splendor of when the Station was built in 1914. I got a crick in my neck from all the looking up.
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| Ice skating park outside Crown Center |
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| Christmas tree and fountain outside Crown Center |
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| DMan and me outside the ice rink. The sun felt wonderful! |
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| DMan, just a big farm boy at heart! |
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| Waterfall and Christmas tree at The Westin |
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| DMan and me at Union Station |
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| The gorgeous ceiling at Union Station |
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| Another gorgeous ceiling at Union Station, looking toward the Christmas village |
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| Union Station Christmas village |
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| Kiddie train waiting for more kiddies |
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| Sheldon's paradise of model trains! |
Back to Peg's for a quick nap, then we were on to the Country Club Plaza for our dinner reservation at Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant. We had dinner there last December right after they opened and had such a good time, we made a point to go back. We weren't disappointed. The wines are excellent, the dishes feature unique blends of flavors and ingredients, and the atmosphere is relaxed yet refined, with dark wood, polished steel, and cozy, romantic lighting. In order to try out the maximum amount of wines, DMan and I both ordered a pick-your-own flight: Sangiovese, Barbera, Lux Pinot Noir, and Cooper's Hawk Red (new since we came last year) samplers for me; Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cooper's Hawk Red, and Petite Syrah for DMan. I don't recall that we'd ever drank a Barbera before, but it was our fave of all we tasted. The Cooper's Hawk Red was very nice, too, so we bought bottles of each to take home. If you are ever in Kansas City and want a lovely dinner with excellent service and fine wine, give Cooper's Hawk a try.
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| The side view of Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant, corner of Broadway Terrace and 49th |
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| Wall of wines at Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant |
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| Looking down at the Cooper's Hawk bar from where we had dinner |
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| Looking down on the wine tasting area at Cooper's Hawk -- I love the funky lights! |
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| DMan, me and Peg (she took the picture) dining at Cooper's Hawk |
What's the best way to top off a fabulous Kansas City evening? Why, a carriage ride through the Plaza, of course. And not just a carriage, we rode the Cinderella carriage! Peg had made a reservation (we wanted to do this last year but the wait was two hours!), so we walked right up to the kiosk and were swept away in no time in our lighted carriage by John, our driver, and Dan, our steed. The lights of the Plaza and even the shops looked magical through the twinkle lights surrounding us, and I felt like a princess headed to the ball. There was holiday music playing on every corner, including a very talented fellow playing a bagpipe lit with red and green bulbs. People smiled and waved at us, even took our picture, and I smiled back and did my pageant wave. It was the coolest experience I've had in a long time and well worth the $70 it cost us to ride! Maybe if I could be squired around in the Cinderella carriage throughout the holidays I could squash my Scroogey attitude?!
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| Our Cinderella carriage |
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| Aunt Peg |
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| Even the ceiling of the carriage looked magical! |
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| Prince DMan! |
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| Checking out the Michael Kors store from our carriage |
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| A street musician playing Christmas songs on a lighted bagpipe |
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| Checking out the Plaza lights as another Cinderella carriage passes by |
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| Feeling like a princess cruising around the Plaza (me, not DMan -- he's the prince) |
If you haven't been to KC lately, jump in the car and go. There are so many hootie things to see and do, and with Highway 13 being four-lane all the way you can get there from Springfield in under three hours. Hasn't it been way too long since your last adventure? Your very own Cinderella carriage ride is only short drive away!
