JayHawk Territory

Today we decided to continue our travels, this time to Kansas. We drove through 3 small towns, with interesting experiences in each. First we drove through Desoto which is the home of the (former) Sunshine Army Ammunition Plant.  To say this place is creepy is an understatement. And if the abandoned buildings aren't enough to get your goosebumps rising, there is a a "town" across the street that made us uneasy to drive through. It's a private drive, so we already felt like we shouldn't have been there. It looks similar to a trailer park, and you can imagine the men and women walking across the street to work at the plant. There were many vehicles parked and it looked like many people still lived there. No one was outside and it looked completely abandoned but for the cars and curtains moving.

Next we drove through Eudora, Kansas. It was another small town with a very sad downtown. On the way out of town we were driving down a busy stretch of road when - LOOK OVER THERE! It's a Camel!!! Oh wait! It's 2 camels! Firework stands have shot up all over Kansas/Missouri for 4th of July celebrations and I guess the need to draw people in is hitting a new level of desperation. I begged Nathan to pull over and while he looked at the crackers, I went to pet the camel. They were even giving free rides! There was a young boy who wanted to ride the camel but he wasn't allowed to ride by himself so his mother asked if I would ride with him. Yeah right! Those things look crazy! I'm not riding a camel on the side of the road in small town Kansas with an unknown 2 year old on my lap. Our life is so weird sometimes....

 

Next we drove to Lawrence, which is the Kansas University town. It is a really clean, beautiful town. There are many boutiques and shops, a railway station, and some gorgeous parks. After stopping at the visitors center (which had an interesting sign on the door), we drove to Clinton Lake, then stopped at South Park for a picnic. South Park is right beside the courthouse and police station (we had a few cops stop behind our car and run the plate). It was another insanely hot day- 40 degrees! When we finally arrived home we cranked the air and settled in for a quiet night.

 

 

 

Remembering On Canada Day

Today started out in a tone of sadness because our weekend visitors (Martin and Marlene) weren't able to make the trek down to KC this weekend. Nathan was really looking forward to seeing his parents and showing them around but we decided to still do all the things we had planned for the weekend.

Nathan has 4 days off until he starts his OB/GYN rotation on Tuesday. Four days is alot of time to spend together in a tiny apartment so we decided that we should get out of the house!

We went to the National World War One Museum/ Liberty Memorial Site downtown today. It was incredible! The artifacts were amazing and the museum was laid out in a simple and pleasing manner. To enter you crossed over a glass floor that had poppies growing underneath. The main level had 3 portions - 1914-1917,1917-1919,and a film studio about the cause of the war. The second level housed two buildings that featured stories of Kansas City men and women who served in the war. These buildings are outside along with the Liberty Memorial. The Memorial is gorgeous. You enter at the base and take a small (scary) elevator ride to the the top. The ring around the Memorial is narrow (two people couldn't walk side by side) but there is an amazing view.
The volunteers who work at the site were very knowledgeable and eager to explain all the exhibits. Nathan loved the museum! We stayed at the museum for 5 hours - there was so much to see and read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 When we first arrived there was an inner-city summer camp doing a short trip there. The kids were about 13-15 years old and very loud. I woulnd't comment on the behaviour of teenagers if we were at a funpark, but this is a war memorial. It is a somber, respectful place and the teens were yelling, running, and playfighting (on the floor), and touching the exhibits. One girl kept smelling the missiles and saying they "smelled like war." While I was taking a picture in the museum a young man hit me from behind and my lens hit the glass. It really bothered me that some people don't realize the sacrifice made by soldiers, nurses, and civilians.It is an honour to be able to see so many artifacts in one place. Luckily they didn't stay long and we were able to explore more respectfully.

The Band Perry

Today was Nathan's last day of sleep medicine! He's now finished 2 rotations! Although it seems like we've been in Kansas City for a year, this portion of Nathan's school seems to be passing by much faster than our time on Saba. There is always something going on here. Tonight we wanted to get out of the house and I saw that The Band Perry (an up-and-coming sibling country music group) were performing a free concert in the Power and Light District. I really like their music so we decided to go. The band was to come on a 9 and we arrived at 8, but the outdoor venue was already filled to capacity with droves of people in cowboy hats and blue jeans still looking to get in. As we were circling the venue and trying to decide if we still wanted to try to get in and immerse ourselves in the sea of sweaty bodies (did I mention it's been almost 100 degrees lately in KC?) the band walked right by us! I mean- touched shoulders with me! It was so odd because I was in a huge group of people who were trying so hard to get in that they didn't even notice the band walking within the madness! They quickly jumped intoa van to leave the area but I was left searching for someone else to confirm what I just saw! We decided not to try to get in - it was just tohot and crowded. However, as we were walking back to the car, we noticed that from our parking spot we could see part of the stage. So we drove up to the top level, parked the car and had a little rooftop date (with some beer-drinking, beside the truck peeing, lawnchairs in the back of a pick-up people beside us). There was a an amazing breeze and we could here and see the concert quite well.

PS- Happy Canada Day!