Kansas City: Grinch, pirates, baseball greats, jazz and BBQ
Boy, what a weekend!
We went for a quick weekend visit to Kansas City. The things we saw…the Grinch, pirates, jazz greats and some of the best players in the history of baseball.
We combined a trip for holiday light viewing with some sightseeing.
Among the stops we made were the City Market farmer’s market, Union Station, Crown Center, Country Club Plaza, Zona Rosa outdoor mall, the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
We took time out, as well, to enjoy some KC barbecue.
Our first stop was the City Market, located at 20 E. 5th Street. It’s a farmer’s market located near the Missouri River that has been in business since 1857.
There are stores and vendors available, as well as people selling wares at the farmer’s market.
We started our visit with a stop at Dutch Flower. It is an eclectic store, with most flowers. But, it sells ornaments, Dutch figurines, wooden shoes, as well as a variety of other items. We bought a wooden Christmas tree and some ornaments.
A photographer was taking senior pictures of a girl during our visit. The store had ample background choices, including hanging lamp shades, flowers and other artwork.
We moved along, where we got to see the Grinch, himself. The green guy was posing for pictures with visitors, along with the lovely Cindy Lou Who. Whoville at City Market is a fund raiser for the Harvesters food bank. Kids can play in an activity area, after they visit the Grinch.
We walked along the row of tenants in the market. Several shops are located indoors at the Market. During warm weather, they open the sides for fresh air.
One of our stops was at Bloom Bakery. Man, talk about a fresh aroma. Does anything really smell better than freshly baked bread? We tried a couple of choices – Italian bread and honey wheat. Man! They were good. 
Fresh produce stands lined a nice portion of the market. Fruits and veggies were priced quite reasonably. I was tempted to get a basket of pears for about $2.
An Indian market had fresh spices out for the “smelling.”
Several international vendors and shops are located at the City Market.
The actual Farmer’s Market had some vendors working. It wasn’t as packed as it will be in the spring and summer. We bought some tasty cheese spreads for family get-togethers.
It was about lunch time, so we thought we’d grab some barbecue at Winslow’s. It’s the only location for this eatery.
Service was great! The server helped us understand the different sauces they use, and reviewed the food options. It was decent food. Not the best barbecue I’ve had, but definitely not the worst. It was good. I liked the pepper jelly sauce a lot. I used it on my rib.
If you order the combination plate, share it! It was so much meat and sides. We couldn’t finish it.
For more information on the City Market, please see www.thecitymarket.org.
Moving along, we needed to stop at the Power and Light District. Lisa had won a gift from the Polished Edge jewelry store.
The things you learn from what you think will be a quick stop. This store uses all of its receipts for charity until the end of the year. There is another location in Liberty, MO.
The Santa Claus figures in the window display were designed by artist Deb Henderson. She did some Christmas designs for the White House during the Clinton administration.
For more information on the Power and Light District, please see www.powerandlightdistrict.com.
After our visit there, we headed to Union Station.
We had plans to check out the Christmas decorations, as well as visit the “Real Pirates” exhibit. The exhibit, which covers the wreck of the pirate ship Waydah, runs through early January.
The ship sank in 1718. It was once a slave transportation ship, running a route from Africa to the West Indies. Eventually, it was captured by pirates led by Sam Bellamy. It sank a short while later during a terrible storm. All but a few people died.
The Union Station Christmas tree stands large in the lobby. People line up to pose for portraits or take pics of the tree. Next to it, kids participated in piano recital featuring Christmas music.
Smaller Christmas trees stand along the walls and corners. Huge wreathes sit in the upper level windows, for all to admire.
For more information on Union Station, please see www.unionstation.org.
Our next stop was the Crown Center shopping center. Here, we watched people ice skate on the ice terrace. We saw them putting the rink together during our last visit to Kansas City. Now, to see the finished project was nice.
It was cute watching young families skating together, as the parents tried to teach the youngsters to skate. Seeing couples on dates, trying to impress each other with their skating skills was funny. Ok, it was really the guys trying to impress their dates.
The ice terrace is available for public skating until mid-March.
The Mayor’s Christmas Tree sits nearby. The 100-foot tall tree is one of the largest in the United States. It’s on display through the holidays. Afterward, the wood from the tree will be turned into ornaments, to be sold in 2014. The revenue will be used to the help the Mayor’s Christmas tree trust fund.
Inside the shopping center is a wonderland of interests.
The Hallmark visitor’s center is open and free to the public. We’ve been here several times. Please our post on that visit – Kansas City…Here we come.
The Best of Kansas City store sells all things KC-related. Want BBQ sauce from Kansas City Royals great Billy Butler? You can buy it there. 
In fact, the store has barbecue sauce from all the local great eateries that market the sauce.
Ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz?” Yep, the store has that, too.
Souvenirs, books, mugs, clothes, hats and caps. All things Kansas City can be bought here.
The mall obviously has other stores. They range from women’s clothing to sports memorabilia.
We had dinner at Fritz’s. The fast casual restaurant uses a train theme. Your meal is even dropped off a train.
For additional information on Crown Center, please see www.crowncenter.com.
After we checked out the shopping center and lights, we ventured to the Country Club Plaza area.
The Plaza is decorated with colored lights throughout the outdoor shopping area.
The stores vary, again from women clothing to a Hallmark store.
We happened upon It’s Sugar. The candy store has a variety of sweetness. The lollipops were huge. Anyone remember the “Seinfeld” backwards episode, with Kramer’s lollipop plot? Think about it. It was almost eaten when the episode started. Or ended. Depending on your view.
As we walked along, we came upon couple of singers serenading the public for donations to the local humane society. We donated.
Please see www.countryclubplaza.com for more information on the Plaza.
Once we finished our walk, with the window browsing and people watching (a lot of people out and about in KC), we continued our adventure to the Zona Rosa outdoor shopping center.
This is one of my favorite places in KC. My sister lives a few miles away, so we’ve been to Zona Rosa a lot on past visits.
Zona Rosa is known for the Crowns it displays during the holidays. The tree in the mall’s center area has a crown on it.
For more information on Zona Rosa and its stores, please see www.zonarosa.com.
We eventually called it a night and headed to our hotel, the Hilton President. The downtown location is a couple of blocks from the Sprint Center (home to a lot of sporting and concert events). We were on the edge of the Power and Light District.
The lobby was immaculate. The hotel was built in the mid-1920s. It has had among its guest, mobster Al Capone. Frank Sinatra sang in the lounge next door, The Drum Room.
Our junior queen suite had a great view. We had the Union Station area in the distance to our east. The Kauffman performing arts center was a few blocks away.
Fore more information the Hilton President, please see www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/missouri/hilton-president-kansas-city-MCIPRHF/index.html.
Our second day continued a great itinerary. We were visiting the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the 18th and Vine district.
Negro League baseball came together as a centralized organization following a meeting of leaders in Kansas City, just a few blocks from the museum. Rube Foster, a former player, led the developments during a meeting the YMCA near 18th and Paseo.
The museum is an amazing walk in history. It just amazes me the hatred some people have toward others. This was exemplified with baseball, because a few white guys did not want an African-American on their team. 
While segregation is an overall bad thing and a sore eye in American history, James Earl Jones said that one positive thing that grew from it was the Negro leagues. The actor narrates a film, “They were All-Stars,” which chronicles the history of black baseball.
Negro Leagues Baseball lasted as an organization for almost four decades. It invented night baseball. While the all-white Major League Baseball averaged 8,000 fans a game, NLB averaged about 20,000 during some of the years.
The museum tells the history with news articles, factoids, pictures and displays of what players went through, just to play the game they loved. 
Some African-American players were better the greatest white players. Josh Gibson was considered the best home run hitter; a better slugger than the hallowed Babe Ruth.
Satchel Paige was one of the best pictures in baseball history, regardless of skin tone. He later became the oldest rookie in Major League Baseball.
The color barrier was broken for good when the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs in 1947. Robinson – simply known today as 42 – braved the racism to lead the way for others.
Soon after 42’s acceptance by team mates and fans, more players from the Negro leagues were signed by the Major Leagues. Thus, integration eventually led to the end of the Negro Leagues Baseball.
For more information on the NLBM, please visit www.NLBM.com.
Next door is the American Jazz Museum.
Louis Armstrong’s horn is on display, along with a lip balm he used to stay fresh.
KC’s own Charlie Parker has an alto sax on display. Parker played with some of the greatest in the history of Jazz, such as Dizzy Gillespie.
Other jazz greats are featured in the museum.
Please see www.americanjazzmuseum.org for more on the jazz museum.
Since we were in the neighborhood, we decided to enjoy lunch at the original Arthur Bryant’s BBQ joint.
The food was delicious. We ordered a combination plate. We ended up with more than 1.5 lbs. of burnt ends, turkey and pulled pork. The food was sooooooo good. The sauces are amazing. The original was my favorite. It has a nice little bite to it.
Famous people have eaten at Bryant’s, including President Jimmy Carter. Celebrities who eaten there include Stephen Spielberg, Sally Fields, Harrison Ford and Danny Glover. Nebraska’s own Larry the Cable Guy has munched on BBQ there.
For more on the menu at Arthur Bryant’s, please visit its website at www.arthurbryantsbbq.com.
With our sightseeing eyes full of good times and our bellies full of good BBQ, it was time to head home. We will back in the spring, as we’ve already planned our tour for then.
Please look for more stories on the individual locations in the upcoming days.
For a recap of our holiday light viewing, please see the post Forget the fountains; Kansas City is the ‘City of Lights
Disclosure: Thanks to the Kansas City Visitors Bureau (www.visitkc.com) for the complimentary tickets and hotel stay. However, all comments and thoughts belong to us. We will be open and honest regarding service and/or attractions.
