Secret Stories of the American Midwest, Part 2
Friday, February 20th, 2009I feel compelled to let everyone in on our weirdest stories from our trip. We have had adventures… some good, some simply strange but all really entertaining. It has made the trip special.
Everything is Up to Date in Kansas City
After our exhausting time in Elk City, Oklahoma, we were running behind schedule as we drove north toward Kansas City. We weren’t really delayed in Amarillo, despite the traffic stop and endless blanket of smog, so we opted for some good old fashioned barbeque as we passed through Wichita. This was a more difficult task than anticipated. Our first stop was at the highly anticipated “Largest Beer Cave Ever!” which also advertised smoked BBQ. Arriving, we find it’s a gas station with a 8′x8′ cooler of Miller Lite and Budweiser. Not impressed, we get back on the road to move on to another place we found on Google. Getting off on the exit, we had to pay the toll of $2 and change. The toll keeper pocketed some of our change and asked for more. Strange, but we let it go… we just wanted to get away from there.
After the BBQ and some late night exhausted drives through the most boring and expensive toll road in Kansas, we finally arrive in Kansas City. My friend Benjamin, our host, was brilliant - at the ready with a bottle of choice wine and a house of wonder. Ben had transformed his family’s home into a mini museum of art collections, arcade machines, and architectural detail. We played Boccerball, Pachinko, and toured the city under the cover of night. It was really lovely… giant sculptures of shuttlecocks and beautifully lit architecture. If there is a city we’ve seen so far on this trip we’d love to revisit, it’s definitely Kansas City.








