Another Mid-West Week-end

Once again 

we embraced our surroundings

and filled our week-end with all things 

Kansas city and Mid-west.

Friday we attended the Kansas city ballet 

in the very impressive Kauffman Performing Arts Centre

Photo Credit Architecture Linked

I was in heaven!

I have been anxiously waiting my opportunity

 to go into this unique building and see the ballet.

It was worth the wait

The performance was Carmina Burana.

Simply put, 

it is a very powerful story about struggles with 

drinking, gambling, gluttony, and lust.

Start-to finish, 

the dancers, symphony, and choir were all amazing!

Sunday:

Changing gears

to what feels like the opposite end of the spectrum 

we also went to a legitimate NASCAR race!

The boys

Nathan and I at a NASCAR race... Who would have thought?!

The guys were in love with #10 (a female driver Danika Patrick)

It was a fun, loud (earplugs a must), and eyeopening experience!

vroom, vroom!

Zoom, zoom!

My two favourite things were:

a) they actually say "Start your engines"

b) the pit stops, they are crazy fast.

Everyone else 

seemed to like the crashes best...

annnd

that's a wrap 

for our very dynamic weekend!

18th & Vine

After we dropped Mom & Dad off at the airport

we felt like we should keep the good times rolling...

18th & Vine in Kansas city 

is a famous Jazz district.

At one time this area was thriving:

Effort has been made to restore this area.

Nathan and I 

have been axious to check out some of the 

Kansas city's Jazz.

Since the American Jazz Museum 

was hosting a Rhythm & Ribs festival (Saturday Oct 20th)

we thought this was the perfect opportunity!

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate,
rain, high winds, tornado warnings.

Therefore many of the festival activities were driven inside
into tiny venues... Not so great for the festival...

The American Jazz Museum

However, 

all we wanted to do was see some 

great, live, jazz...

and we were not disappointed. 

The Blue Room is attached to the American Jazz Museum, 

it is considered the primer jazz joint in Kansas city. 

We learned that the Blue Room is named after a former hotel club from the 1930s.

Inside the Blue Room is really nice.

A large mural showcases the history of Kansas city Jazz.

Inside the Blue Room

Nathan waiting for the Jazz to start!

We had so much fun!

We lucked out with prime seats

and since there was only the two of us we ended up sharing our table 

with very interesting local gentlemen 

who enriched our experience so much, 

by giving us a bit of a history lesson.

Here is a brief clip of one of the Jazz performances:

I am SO happy 

that we got to experience some live Jazz in Kansas city...

That is one more thing checked off our K.C./ Midwest bucket list!

Hey Hey Hey Mom & Dad came to Kansas city!

Last week my parents

joined us in Kansas city!

We had a fantastic time...

it was SO nice to have family here (again)

We started their vacation by heading to 

Rocheport, Missouri.

Nathan and I 

have road our bikes here several times,

along the beautiful Katy trail.

I knew it would be a great hit with my parents as

 there is a winery along the trail!

Dad & Nathan

Ride Mamma Ride!

Nathan, Angela, & Dad

The Katy Trail

The trail follows the Missouri River and is overlooked by beautiful bluffs

The fall leave made this even more beautiful!

We happened upon some live music at an adjacent campground!

M & D enjoying the rest.

Can you spot the cardinal?

This old train tunnel is one of my favourite parts of the trail!

However the best part is Les Bourjois winery...

We enjoyed more live music, wine, and 

beautiful views of the Missouri river.

Cheers to a perfect day!

Cheers to you too Mom!

So basically 

Mom & Dad were here for ONE fun filled day 

before I put them to work...

The challenge was to cook Thanksgiving dinner 

for 12 expatriate Canadians.

And 

do this with:

a) an oven half the size of a normal one

b) one knife

c) two pots 

(Luckily I have friends close by with more kitchen stuff... Thanks Lauren!)

One unexpected challenge was finding a turkey as we were told several times,

"Sorry, they are not in season yet!"

Because, well, American Thanksgiving isn't until November!

Chop, Chop!

Working hard!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 The rest of the week we explored Kansas city

Including the famous Kansas city fountains:

Mom & Me

The Nelson-Atkins Art Museum:

We throughly enjoyed our time at the museum,

although we weren't always the most serious group...

Nathan and I being silly at the museum...

We explored the Country Club Plaza

(our neighbourhood)

Dad and I, Kansas city, The Plaza

Getting acquainted with Mr & Mrs. Churchill

We visited Loose Park:

(our favourite park)

We also explored Crown centre,
This was a first for me!

Located Downtown Kansas city

It is a shopping centre, Hallmarks headquarters and visitors centre, plus

lots of things for kids (lego land, etc...)

Fountains in Crown Center

It is also going to be the location of the Kansas city Christmas tree 

and Outdoor Skating arena for which I am oh so excited for!!!

Mom really wanted to go to Lego Land but it's for Kids only!

The Hallmark visitors centre 

was way more interesting than I thought possible...

Mom got to reminisce about paper dolls

I was entertained by this machine... 

With a touch of a button it makes a perfect bow!

It was also fun to see all kinds of 

different christmas ornaments throughout the years...

While Nathan and I were bust with school etc... 

Mom and Dad navigated the city and explored other things too...

Such as:

the World War One Museum

Mom & Dad in Kansas city from Liberty tower.

Downtown K.C.

They also enjoyed a round of golf...

 Among many other adventures 

probably the most surprising thing they did 

was make me a hula-hoop!

Last but not least, 

no trip to Kansas city is complete 

without some Oklahoma Joe's BBQ

Angela, Nathan, and Dad waiting in line for for Oklahoma Joe's

We LOVED our visit!
Thanks for the memories!