We enjoyed a ten-mile ride from their house to the southern end of the trail and back. We also found out that standing beside the trail wasn't a good idea. Denisa got side-swiped by a passing biker, and she has the bruises to prove it. But we still enjoyed the ride on the trail that included areas beside busy streets, as well as nicely shaded sections near residential areas. The good news is that most of the trail is just the way we like our biking trails--flat.
We also drove the few miles to downtown Kansas City. We had tickets to ride up the elevator in the 217-foot-tall Memorial Tower at the World War I museum.
When we visited here last December, the line for the tower was too long and too cold. We didn't have either problem this day. So it was nice to get the view from the top now. We couldn't see Children's Mercy Hospital, but we could see their clinic where Luke works some days. In the view to the south, it is the tan building in the center of the picture below.
From the top of the tower, we could see for miles around Kansas City. The most interesting view is north towards downtown. We could also see Union Station right in front of us.
So even though it was over 90 degrees, we decided to make that walk across the large green lawn in front of us to visit Union Station.
We have been inside the station several times, but its tall ceilings and expansive rooms still impress us. We were equally impressed at how cool it was inside, and can't imagine how much it must cost to cool these huge rooms on a hot day in August.
At the end of that long hall is a model railroad museum. This seems like a perfect fit for a train station that has been in operation for over one hundred years. This is a free exhibit, which fits perfectly into our budget.
We learned that there are many different sizes of model train tracks, and therefore multiple sizes of trains. They had examples of all the sizes, some times in a single display that stretched clear across the room. There was even a display that included a miniature of Union Station. As we traveled across Kansas City, we see evidence that they are very proud of their world-series-winning Royals baseball team.
There is a Legos club in Kansas City that has assembled detailed train displays completely made from Legos building blocks in another display case.
We also enjoyed eating out with Luke and Jordan at their favorite Kansas City bar-b-q place--Q39. We spent time playing games each evening before Luke had to go to bed, and we watched the Olympics. It was good to spend time with people we love, as well as to spoil their puppy. We are in training for spoiling grandchildren, and it looks like Mark has passed the test. When we left, Avett's incision was healing nicely, and he certainly looked happier. But that might just be because he is with our beautiful daughter-in-law Jordan. We'll miss all of them as we travel on down the road.
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