Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

LIFE LIST: SEE THE BANK JESSE JAMES ROBBED

              
            "Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do." 

When: June 2014










Where: Liberty Missouri, near Kansas City


Cost: $6/ adult

The doors, wood flooring and the safe are all original.
Why this is on my list: I have a personal interest in Jesse James, my great grandpa claimed that he fed him lunch. The story goes that Frank and Jesse James rode up on horseback by their ranch and they gave them a meal in the late 1800's...the next day the sheriff came by asking if they'd seen the duo. Who knows if it's true but I think it's cool and every time I hear something about Jesse James my ears perk up. I really enjoyed this museum. It was just me and my daughter on our tour where the guide painted a very descriptive picture of what happened on that day. When it comes to historical events I've decided that I can only comprehend what's happened if I can see it. It's one thing to hear about Jesse James' crew robbing a bank...it's another to actually stand inside the building, looking out into the town to see where his thugs were keeping watch and see the ACTUAL safe that was robbed. I love the feeling of standing in places where turning points in history were made.
The Safe robbed by Jesse James Crew
Something I'd recommend? Yes. It is really interesting to see this piece of history which is the place of the first successful daytime bank robbery, the guide is very knowledgeable and a great storyteller. This woman tells the same story all day every day but it's not rehearsed or as if she's reciting word for word. I always appreciate it when your guide is enthusiastic and captivates your attention. The bank museum also has a great gift shop, I think I would visit again to get more souvenirs and because I enjoyed talking with the woman who runs the museum so much.



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Thursday, February 20, 2014

LIFE LIST: HYATT AT THE ARCH HOTEL


Where: The Hyatt At The Arch Hotel in St Louis Missouri is directly across from the Gateway Arch. In fact it is the closest building to the Arch.


The view from the $99 room.
When: June 2013 on my big 30th Birthday trip!


The first night was just my daughter and me.

Cost: I stayed in 2 different rooms at this fabulous hotel- the standard room was $99 and the suite was $180. The reason was because the first night it was just me and my daughter so we didn't need the larger room and I was trying to keep the cost of our very last minute trip down. The $99 room was so nice with a decent view that I almost cancelled the suite, how much nicer could it be? I was already quite pleased with my room. Luckily I did not cancel and we stayed in the corner suite which was much larger than the studio apartment we lived in a few years ago....actually now that I think about it, the standard room was also much larger than our studio apartment.
It was the coolest way to wake up on my 30th birthday in an awesome suite, with large picture windows looking over the Mississippi River and a front row view of the Gateway Arch, and my husband had decorated the room in the middle of the night with balloons and signs-absolutely the best birthday ever. St Louis quickly became one of my favorite cities in the U.S.


Why this is on my list: While doing research for my trip to St Louis there was no doubt that this was the best hotel choice. I always like to pick a unique hotel and what was unique about the Hyatt at the Arch one was the spectacular view. I am still amazed by the extremely reasonably priced room for what I got, which was a view unlike I've ever had at any other hotel (well, expect for that one time I went to Hawaii and stayed on the ocean) impeccable service, 2 very large, flawlessly clean rooms. And there's a Starbucks inside the hotel, they recycle, delivered a newpaper to my room each morning, a nice gym that I would have liked to use but appreciated that it was there, when I needed a few supplies they sent them up to my room free of charge...on top of all that the location is sublime. It was so awesome to just walk across the street and be at the Gateway Arch. If there's one thing I truly have a knack for, it's choosing the most magnificent hotels to stay in.



Will I stay there again? There was a bellman in the lobby who asked me this question and after I replied "of course! Why would I stay anywhere else?" he said "Good, cuz if you do I'm gonna find out about it, I'm gonna go to the hotel where you staying and start acting crazy until they kick us both out, then I'll bring you back here!" This guy was hilarious, I absolutely loved the staff here, they were so friendly and helpful, there were 3 that really stood out, Keith, Zack and Brad, they were a delight to talk to and made this trip even more special.

The Lobby
 Something I'd recommend? If you stay anywhere else in St Louis, you'd be doing a disservice to yourself, and you can't beat the price. Essentially there's no reason t stay elsewhere. 

the standard room
Large spacious walk in closet w/safe
$99/night room-bigger than my old apartment



My only complaint...I've never stayed somewhere you had to pay for internet access. But It's worth it to get the low room rate.

the corner suite 





This bathroom/closet was huge.



The view from the corner suite only $180/night.



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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

LIFE LIST: ARTHUR BRYANT'S



Where: Arthur Bryant's Barbeque in Kansas City Missouri


When: Father's Day, June 16th 2013

Cost: About $10/plate

Why this is on my list? My husband spends a lot of time in Kansas City and he always goes to this restaurant, he had heard about it from the Food Network- I think it was 'Diners, Drive ins and Dives', I was floored that my husband had done something 'life listy' that I hadn't! When I found out we'd be in KC on Father's Day I thought this would be the perfect dinner for a man on Father's Day- a giant plate of down home BBQ.

Something I'd recommend? I am not gonna lie...this diner is in a very sketchy part of town, it is no frills inside, and the food was good but certainly not the greatest meal I've ever had. Had my husband not been with us and had this place NOT been featured on television there's no way I would have eaten here. I like to visit restaurants that I see on the Travel Channel and Food Network but this was kind of a 'been there, done that' situation. If it was in a nicer area I'd probably go back, but as it stands now...once was plenty. I am glad we went and it was a cool way to celebrate Father's Day.



Related Posts:


T Rex Cafe
Legoland
Kansas City Botanic Garden
Budweiser Brewery 
See the Gateway Arch
Go to the top of the Gateway Arch 
30 Awesome things on my 30th Birthday Trip
Kansas City Public Library 


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Monday, February 17, 2014

LIFE LIST: UNIQUE BUILDING IN KANSAS CITY


"I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library." F. Scott Fitzgerald

When: June 2013

Where: Kansas City Public Library  Kansas City, Missouri



Cost: Free


Why this is on my list? I have a long list of things I look for when traveling and unique buildings is one of them. And obviously I couldn't pass on the opportunity to see a building painted like a book shelf.



Will I go again? Unlikely. Aesthetically, this is the best thing to see in Kansas City Missouri so if you are in the area you must not miss it.



Related Posts:
T Rex Cafe
Legoland
Kansas City Botanic Garden
Budweiser Brewery 
See the Gateway Arch
Go to the top of the Gateway Arch 
30 Awesome things on my 30th Birthday Trip



The Ultimate Life List is now on Facebook click here to like it!


Sunday, January 26, 2014

LIFE LIST: KANSAS CITY BOTANIC GARDEN


Where: Kansas City Botanic Garden


When: June 2013
OBVIOUSLY this was my favorite. I heart BUFFALO!
Cost: $10

Why this is on my list: As I mentioned, Kansas City is not very 'touristy' so I had to dig to find things to do...however the things that I did find to do were very unique and interesting. I always enjoy botanic gardens and always try to find one when I'm traveling but I had no idea that this one was hosting a large nature themed LEGO exhibit which made it so much more fun to me and my 2 year old.

Something I'd recommend? It's definitely a great day out if you live in the area!

Will I go again? If I find myself in Kansas City again and the Powell Gardens are holding another exhibit, then yes. But even if we do go back this was about an hour away from where we were staying so I would probably only make the drive to see a new exhibit. When we go out of town we always drive which is a lot to ask of a toddler so I try to limit the drive time after we reach our destination.





Related Posts:

  1. Legoland
  2. T-Rex Cafe
  3. Tour a Brewery
  4. Top of the Gateway Arch
  5. See the Gateway Arch
  6. 30 Adventures 

Monday, January 20, 2014

LIFE LIST: T-REX CAFE


When: June 2013

Where: T REX CAFE in Kansas City Kansas

Why this is on my list? I took my daughter on a day of LIFE LISTING fun, we went to Legoland, the Kansas City Aquarium, a train themed restaurant, a crayola restaurant and then I thought if we had time we'd go to this T REX CAFE for dinner...what I didn't realize was that it was in Kansas. As I crossed over the state line into Kansas from Missouri I was thinking how cool this was because it was a new state for me, I was also thinking about the fact that there was not 1 person who even knew I was in Kansas at this point. The T REX CAFE is a sister restaurant to the Rainforest Cafe which we love for the ambiance so to find a dinosaur themed restaurant...this was a no brainer.

Something I'd recommend? This was indisputably the coolest restaurant I've ever been to. I loved everything about it. Every flawless centimeter was in either the Jurassic, Mesozoic or Ice Age motif including the titles of the meals and drinks. I live for places like this! Anything fun, over the top and wild has my full attention and enthusiasm. This place was a million times better than I had hoped it would be, I thought the Rainforest Cafe did a good job with its animatronic jungle creatures and decor-the T-REX CAFE blew them out of the water. I certainly recommend a visit though there are only 2 locations that I am aware of, the other is in Downtown Disney World in Florida.

Will I go again? Are dinosaurs extinct? Of course I'll go again, we were going to go to the one in Disney but there was a really long wait. What I loved about Kansas City was that even though it is not a huge vacation destination we found some of the most unique things to do there. I was a great trip.
The Bathroom..that's hysterical.



For a very small fee you could go inside the play-totally worth it!


2 of my favorite things in 1 place...dinosaurs and huge amethyst  geodes! I was in heaven.  






What's the most unique restaurant you've been to?

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