Day 7- Last Night's Concert and Crossing Kansas

It's Monday morning and we are driving across Kansas. Last night, we went to three Kauffman Center in KC to see Michael Feinstein perform with guest singer Storm Large. Shane's step brother, Trent, was one of the trumpeter. It was an awesome show! I was very concerned that Storm's left boob would pop out  of her dress, but she was a phenomenal performer. Below are some photos outside the concert hall and inside. I wish I could have gotten some shots of the performance, but they said no photography, but that didn't stop the lady sitting beside me. We had great seats-- third row center! I'm posting this from my phone as we drive toward Dodge City.

The Kauffman Center in Kansas City, MO

The backside of the Kauffman Center.

View of the stage from our seats. 

Shane, Laurie and Me in our seats.

This is a very nice venue!

Update: It is now Monday evening and here are some photos I took today as we crossed the Plains across Kansas. 

The rolling Plains of Kansas

We went to Wichita where we had to get a repair done to our windshield after a small rock hit it. Luckily, that only took about 45 minutes. From there we went to see the "Keeper of the Plains." The Keeper of the Plains is a 44-foot tall steel sculpture standing at the point where the Big and Little Arkansas rivers join together in downtown Wichita. This land between the two rivers is sacred ground to the Native American people and is also home to the Mid-America All-Indian Center. The American Indian sculpture was created by Wichitan and Native American artist Blackbear Bosin (1921-1980). This icon of Wichita was erected on May 18, 1974 to celebrate the United States Bi-centennial and has kept a watchful eye on the city ever since.

We then did a stop in Dodge City and visited the Boot Hill Museum. Below are some shots from Dodge city and the museum.

An actual size statue of Marshall Matt Dillon, i.e. James Arness from Gunsmoke

Shane plays cards with a statue of Doc Holiday.

A grave in progress in Boot Hill Cemetery

We stopped for the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Guymon, OK. We have not had KFC in years, but we had it tonight and we loved it! It hit the spot. Tomorrow we are off to Santa Fe, NM, where it is supposed to snow 3-6 inches tonight. Below is the map of our travels today. 

Day 3 - Meet Me In St. Louis, Louie!

View from Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park on the Illinois side of the Mississippi,

Today we traveled from Columbus, OH, to St. Louis, MO, via Indiana and Illinois. We have lucked out with the weather, though it is pretty cold. It was snowy during the drive here, but it did not accumulate on the road. There was worse snow just north of us. 

We arrived in St. Louis around 3 p.m. after a delicious breakfast at the Waffle House, earlier in the day and checked into our hotel (The Holiday Inn in downtown St. Louis). We then walked over to the iconic St. Louis Arch National Park site. We took the tram ride to the top of the Arch, which did not sit well with Shane. You sit in this enclosed, small pod that rocks a bit during the 4 minute ride to the top. It made him a bit motion sick, but not too bad luckily. 

The views out of the top of the Arch are very cool. Also, there is a nice museum as part of the National Park Service site. Very Interesting. It is all about St. Louis as the gateway to the West. 

Tomorrow, we head to Kansas City, MO, home of the Super Ball winning Chiefs. We will be staying with Shane's step-bro Trent and his wife Laurie for the weekend. Trent, an amazing trumpeter, has a gig with Michael Feinstein Sunday night, which we will be attending... Can't wait. Below are more pics from the Arch.

Shane enters the St. Louis Arch tram pod #1.

It is tiny inside the tram... Luckily it was just Shane and I in our pod.

At the top of the Arch, Shane takes a picture out of the small windows.  

View from the top of the Arch. 

View showing the baseball stadium on the left.