The landscape has changed dramatically to farming from rolling hills. The scenery is pretty flat and there really isn't too much out there...
We stopped for lunch in Columbia, MO at a Whole Foods, the heat didn't really hit us until we stepped out of the car - it was 95 degrees. We took turns running in to get some food and then ate in the car, if only Ollie and Lola knew how accommodating we are!
The remainder of the drive was much the same, very green but still very flat. We did notice that there must be a decent amount of money in the area as we saw an Aston Martin/Lamborghini dealership and a lot of shopping malls with decent shops. There would then be a break of a few miles and then more and more shops and so it continued for about 2 hours on from Columbia.
We started to approach the outskirts of KC at about 4pm, stopped to feed the dogs, then continued to our hotel. I think KC surprised us both. The city is very big, not in terms of size but just magnitude, the sidewalks/pavements are wide, the buildings are tall and wide, everything just seemed... bigger. It is surprisingly modern with it's architecture and lit buildings, there is a main fountain area with a nice small green "park" which sits atop an underground car park - ideal for dog walking.
Steve chose Oklahoma Joe's BBQ for supper, a "restaurant" within a gas/petrol station with the #1 ribs in Kansas and also "one of the top 13 places to eat before you die." Anthony Bourdain and Curtis Stone have both eaten here and raved about it, so it was good enough for us!
It literally was a cafe inside a petrol station, there were the pumps outside, still in use and the most amazingly delicious BBQ inside. For the hour that we were there, the line never shortened, an endless stream of people looking for some tasty BBQ kept coming through the door. The ribs were the best either of us have ever tasted and the pulled pork was melt-in-your-mouth good. Delicious.
After that feast we made our way back to the hotel to let the dogs out for a walk and then we changed and headed in to down town KC, the man at the front desk told us Matt and Kim were playing and he was clearly expecting us to know who he/they was/were referring too and not only that, but to be very excited, we felt we couldn't let him down, so we went to see what the buzz was about.
The Power and Light District (down town KC) has clearly been revamped in the last few years and is a alive with bars, clubs, restaurants and big inside/outside bar venues. We had a couple of drinks and wandered around then back to the hotel. It was great to be out and about and in such a lively place.
South Dakota was the surprise of our last road trip and so far, KC has been the surprise of this one. If I had a job that told me I had to live here for a year or so, I would be ok with that, I think this is a sentiment we both share.
Thank you very much KC for a great visit, we had a great time!
Camilla, Steve, Ollie and Lola
Here are a few snaps, I have more on my phone but I haven't uploaded them yet, I will post them on tomorrow's blog. These are of the Gateway to the West in MO and the doggies
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