August 3, 2021
“I’m going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come”
Thanks to Wilburt Harrison’s 1959 classic lyrics to the blues song titled “Kansas City” running through my mind, I was ready to take Interstate 70 and head west with my sweetie by my side and get to Kansas.
No offense to the 60 miles of Illinois or the whole state of Missouri that we passed through today, but I will write much more about them in the future. My thinking was to get out of my core states (Illinois and the adjoining six states, which I will cover extensively in our early years of existence) and try to make lots of stops in the next tier of states, for example, Kansas going out and South Dakota coming back.
The more distant states will not get my usual “ramble” on this trip due to our 20-day time limit.
Things Always Look Up In Kansas City
As you know, I do not intend to write about the abundance of tourist spots in our larger cities. So, sadly, we had to skip some of my favorite Kansas City stops like: the Harry Truman Presidential Museum and Home; the Chiefs’ football stadium; the Royals’ baseball park; the Spanish-inspired Country Club Plaza with its shopping, dining, and lodging area; the World War I National Memorial and Museum; the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum; and so much more. You could easily spend several days in the Kansas City, mostly just trying to find the best BBQ in town and that quest is truly a worthy endeavor that I have tried myself.
Village West: Our Launching Pad
Remembering back to a time when I once attended a sales meeting somewhere west of Kansas City in what seemed like the “middle of nowhere”, I recalled that the massive Kansas Speedway oval had just been built. The only other businesses nearby were a minor league stadium that was home to the T-Bones baseball team; a Cabela’s store, which had meeting rooms of which we availed ourselves; a couple of motels and a Famous Dave’s BBQ and that was pretty much it. Very spartan but with high hopes for the future.
Twenty Years Of A Boom
Nearly 20 years later, I am flabbergasted to see how the area has exploded. Today, that whole area is known as Village West and the highlight is the Legends Outlets Kansas City. It is now a premier outdoor shopping and entertainment destination.
Tribute To The State’s Greats
The Legends Outlets area is a tribute to famous Kansans of every background and their stories are told throughout the facilities with the help of 291 photos. The luminaries honored, include: Amelia Earhardt, famed female pilot; Clyde Tombaugh, a scientist who discovered Pluto; Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Academy Award (for Gone with the Wind); gunslinger Wyatt Earp; and President Dwight Eisenhower, just to name a few.
Massive Events Area
Other top attractions nearby, include: the Kansas City Monarchs’ Legends minor league stadium (formerly T-Bones), where the name change honors the Negro Leagues by using the name of one of the early powerhouses in that league and the team with whom Jackie Robinson began his journey to de-segregate major league baseball in 1945; Children’s Mercy Park, a beautiful stadium that houses the Sporting Kansas City soccer club; the Kansas Speedway; Hollywood Casino; Great Wolf Lodge Water Park; Nebraska Furniture Mart; the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame; and Cabela’s.
But we weren’t here to shop or go to games. This was just our jumping off point to the rural areas of Kansas beginning just west of the suburbs with the town of Bonner Springs. We mostly wanted to be refreshed for an early start to the beginning of our 20-day odyssey the next day, so we found a comfy room and some Famous Dave’s BBQ and crashed.
Each day under the heading of “Daily Trip Data”, I will try to provide some numbers that you might find interesting including: route and miles driven, the price of gas, and the motel cost using AAA, AARP or veteran’s discounts. I hope that information will help in your trip planning:
Daily Trip Data
Route driven: I-70 from Greenville, IL to Kansas City, KS
Miles driven: 314 mi
Gas price: $ 3.29 per gallon
Motel cost: $151.20 (Hampton Inn)
Preview of Day 2
On Day 2, we will begin to “ramble” across Kansas. During the day, you will meet a master marble maker, pilot a WWII trainer (simulation only), tour the Wizard of Oz Museum and learn more than you thought possible about Dorothy, Toto, et al.
Looking forward to our “trip talk”. Especially driving thru western KS!
your, not our!