The Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri

As you know we store the RV in Kansas City, Missouri, so we visit this area twice every year. We usually fly in, have the RV serviced and then drive off. At the end of our 6 months travel, we clean the RV and put it in storage for another 6 months and fly home. We stay in Independence which is about 15 miles East of Kansas City. This year things have been a bit different in that we didn't fly in, but were driven up from Arkansas by our friends Joe Bill and Sandy back in May. While we were with them we paid our first visit into the downtown area of Kansas City and visited the interesting Steamboat Arabia Museum - see this earlier blog entry. 

Then we had the good fortune to meet Sam and Lynn from Huntsville, Alabama. They are our neighbours here at the RV park and we accompanied them into the County Club Plaza in Kansas City. According to Wikipedia, The Plaza was the 'first shopping center in the world designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile', and when it was established in 1922, it was architecturally influenced by Seville, Spain. That explains why we felt it reminded us of Santa Fe. The Plaza is not under the one roof like most plazas these days, but is actually a district area spanning 55 acres and is located 4 miles south of the downtown area where we visited a few months ago with Joe Bill and Sandy. The Plaza is lit up from Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November) until the middle of January each year, and is considered the most 'spectacular lighting display in the nation' (Wiki). 

Holiday Lights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KC_034.jpg)

Our visit to The Plaza was a Friday night, so we decided to go in at 4.30pm and avoid the rush. Ha. Even that early it was hard to find a park, but their nifty Jeep Wrangler had no problem squeezing into a parking spot - right in front of Tiffany's no less! We were all feeling a bit peckish, so when we sighted The Cheesecake Factory with appealing outdoor seating, we promptly made a beeline to the front door. It was a glorious evening, so the outdoor seating was perfect, and the ambiance was wonderful. With a chilled wine in hand and amid pleasant company, we sat back to enjoy the delicious food on offer. This year our two visit's to Kansas City have been our best ever. 

Sam Murray and Lynn where we parked in front of Tiffany's

Photo taken walking to dinner

And again...

Taken from The Cheesecake Factory outdoor area while waiting for our table

Sam Lynn Trish Murray 

Sam took this photo of Murray and I as we perused the extensive menu! Decisions, decisions...