IMG_1270 copyI am the token non-Texan here at From Texas to Beyond, and Kansas City, MO is my hometown; it holds a very special place in my heart as I spent the first 18 years of my life there. It is a beautiful, diverse, and unique town that is proud of its history and truly reflects Midwestern charm.

One of our weekend getaways during our first year of marriage and time in Chicago was to my hometown. We had visited San Antonio (Matt’s stomping grounds) multiple times, but he had never seen Kansas City–or tasted Kansas City barbeque–which is probably the bigger crime!

It’s about a 8-9 hour drive from Chicago to Kansas City, so when we first decided to visit, we searched options for routes to drive, etc. BUT, also wanting to have a quick weekend trip, we decided ultimately to see if we could find a relatively inexpensive flight. Thankfully at the time, we had built up some miles using our credit card and were able to find plane tickets for only $10! Score! That totally beat trying to make the drive!

Once we had settled on flying, I made the remaining preparations for a rental car, hotel, and figuring out places and restaurants I could share with Matt, as well as making arrangements with friends and family who lived in the area. Last but not least, we set out to see if we could obtain some Chiefs tickets!

Our itinerary had us coming into Kansas City Friday morning and leaving early enough Monday morning so that Matt could still get to work that day. Considering all the people I wanted to see and introduce Matt to, as well as visit the places I had in mind, we would have a jam packed weekend. It was so fun to be able to put this itinerary together, I wanted to give Matt a picture of my growing up experience as well as do some touristy things that I remembered enjoying as a teen.

You’ll be hearing from both of us over the next couple weeks as we recount our time and I hope you’ll enjoy getting a glimpse of my hometown as well as inspire you to visit this Midwestern gem! We’ll be featuring the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Gates Bar-B-Q, the Harley Davidson Factory Tour, the Country Club Plaza, Union Station, and the National World War I Museum & Memorial; stay tuned the next couple weeks for reviews, photos, and recaps!