Main Public Library.

In short, let me say we loved Kansas City. Even in the rain. I could live here (except would probably have to leave in the winter).

I have only a few lousy photos.  We had some rain and I didn’t even take my camera out much of the time.  Since we knew it was going to rain, we decided to take the “Fun Trolley” tour of the city. At a short 75 minutes, it was a good orientation and provided us a lot of interesting and colorful background. It also meant we started our day at, you guessed it – Union Train Station.

Union Station.

The Station is a wonderful example of what can be done to rehabilitate an older facility and reinvent its purpose to include facilities for children, like the Planetarium and movie theaters. We watched trains from a special bridge they have added, and found the model train display tucked away at the end of the building.

The Station is a great example of how two states worked together to raise the funding to get the job done. This city is split between two states and several counties, and still manages to present itself in a seamlessly livable fashion.  I’m sure there must be interesting political battles, but they sure seemed to have reached frequent consensus. If there is a split personality, we didn’t see it.

I certainly did not know it was the City of Fountains, and has more fountains than any other city outside of Rome. I loved the green spaces, and the way so many neighborhoods highlighted their entrances with landscaping and statues on the corners. Speaking of the neighborhoods, they are absolutely beautiful, and have a huge variety of home styles that exist in harmony.

There is a lot of interesting history here, more than I realized. History is celebrated and nurtured.  The latest project expected to be completed later this year is to re-install the original street cars with service from Union Station to the Missouri River. I won’t bore everyone with more historical background, but let me just say there is an awful lot of cement poured in this city.  The old airport has runways that are more than 30 feet deep-you can draw your own conclusions.

This is a livable, walkable city, filled with many green spaces and nice people, enough professional sport teams to root for, and terrific BBQ – what more could you want.