There’s always that one traveler who wants to “get off the beaten path.” You know the type: refuses to see any famous landmarks because “it’s so cliche;” tries to avoid crowds because “it’s lame;” or tries to elevate their travels by looking for some way to stand out.
Well, for all you off-the-beaten pathers seeking paths that don’t exist and trying desperately to stand out, I bring you…
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City: home of the most fountains in the world. Yet one more reason to visit.It’s not called the “heart of America for nothing.” Kansas City is a place that seems to be right smack dab in the middle of America. It’s America’s heartland in action.
And it goes completely unvisited.
Sure, there are the occasional mass of travelers who have to go to Kansas City for a convention. Or maybe for a meeting. One of my friends even said she was going to Kansas City…For a retreat. But for an anniversary trip because the “tickets were on sale”? You’re bound to find fewer people who visit for that reason.
Except for us. We visited for that reason. And what a fabulous reason to go. So, without further ado, here’s why Kansas City is off the beaten path…
It’s so cliche, that it actually isn’t cliche (mind blown)
Giant shuttlecocks. Bet you’d never find these in the Ganges, you crazy off-the-beaten-pathers.I’ve lived all my life in California. Husband has lived most of his life in a big metropolis known as Taipei and then in Southern California…the cool beachy part of Southern California, not that backwards Inland Empire-y desert Southern California, which for all intents and purposes is NOT considered Southern California in the truest sense of the term, but can only be considered SoCal by geography. After –maybe—Temecula, the world just kind of drops off into nothingness. It’s not California, it’s barren land. Simple as that.
Anyway, we’ve both never lived in a place where ‘Murica was so Uh-Murican. If I had to picture America, Kansas City would be it: People are family-oriented, they’re patriotic, they drive big cars, streets are wide, people are genuinely polite and kind, people actually make small talk that turns into hearty conversation with total strangers. This is probably the truest sense of American I’ve ever experienced. Seriously, whoever said Americans were a bunch rude-holes hasn’t experienced the kindness of the midwest.
But, let’s focus on that cliche-ness for a second: The midwest is America. It’s barbeque, old buildings, conservative values with a pinch of cultural variety all wrapped into one. Yet, it goes unnoticed. Why is that? Where are you, off-the-beaten-pathers? Come to Kansas City, they have burnt ends.
You can see landmarks like this, and then say what we said: “Wait, what?”You can avoid crowds in KC because there aren’t any
That’s right. There aren’t any crowds. Not even for the bathrooms after a lunch at Oklahoma Joe’s stuffing your face full of ribs and country-style beans (and you need a bathroom after you eat beans). Yet, there’s so much to see in Kansas City. The city’s skyline is amazing. Their National World War I monument is a site to behold. The buildings are beautiful. The parks are gorgeous. The city is even known for having the most fountains in THE WORLD. And, quite literally, everything moves at a slower pace. So, come on, off-the-beaten-pathers, you don’t even have to paddle across the Ganges with venomous eels and nothing but your North Face backpack and a compass to get here.
Old Buildings, plenty of these in Kansas City.You Will Definitely Stand Out, with the Standout Question of “WTF?”
“Where are you going for your anniversary?” asked — oh I don’t know — everyone. And we responded with: “Kansas City, Missour-uh.” This response almost always followed with a “WTF, why?” Well, let me tell you why: “because we can, because we did,” and — as every single self-proclaimed off-the-beaten-path traveler will tell you — “because we conquered.” We didn’t actually conquer anything, but we did do what we do best: eat and walk and eat some more. And then walk some more and then eat again. And by golly, we’d do it again.
Tell us, would you go to Kansas City? What city has stood out for you?
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