I posted this in the other thread but will post here as well to cover my bases. Here's a giant list of things to do/see/places to eat while on your Kansas trip. This information was sent to me by Blazek's parents who live in Lawrence. They each sent me an email of stuff to do and I did my best to sort it all out to post here;
.
KANSAS CITY:
-If you stay in Kansas City, a good bet is in either in the Overland Park area (Suburbia with lots of food and hotel option) or you can stay in the Plaza district. High end shopping and eating, and good people watching.
-Your bbq should be in Kansas City. Period.
-You must, however, go to at least one, if not numerous, BBQ joints. This is KC's thing, and it lives up to the hype. There are hundreds of BBQ joints the area but you'll find everyone has a different favorite. My must stops are Joe's Kansas City, Jack Stack, and Arthur Bryants. All very different. You'll also read about Gates BBQ, and BB's Lawnside, Q39, and many others. BBQ is very personal, but you cannot go wrong.
-As far as the sites, I'd recommend the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum. It's one of the finest art museums in the country thanks to the Bloch family, who recently gifted 30 pieces of their own (HR Bloch family) including Cezanne, Gaugin, Monet, and Manet. There was a Picasso exhibit a few months ago, and it still may be there.
https://www.nelson-atkins.org
Terrific museum, and it's right near The Country Club Plaza, which is a high end shopping district with good food and drinks. A very walkable outdoor area loaded with fountains and beautiful architecture.
https://countryclubplaza.com
Another highly recommended area is 18th and Vine Historic Jazz District
https://www.visitkc.com/18th-vine
Great jazz and the Jazz Museum, as well as the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame, and very close to Arthur Bryant's (one of better of bbq joints in KC)
LAWRENCE:
-Lawrence is a small town (85,000 and 28,000 students) so most people freak out if they have to drive more than a few minutes to get what they want
. Be forewarned, everyone drives their own cars and public transportation is rare
-Lawrence is a terrific college town, and I'd stay there if you can. The campus hotel "The Oread" is beautiful but fills up quickly. You can see the entire county from the top floors and it has a great restaurant/bar on the top. It’s one of my favorite places to sit for a sunset.
- Another choice is "The Eldridge," which is a historic hotel on Mass Street. The newest is Towneplace downtown.
-Mass Street is the main drag in Lawrence where you'll find a bevy of good food options, microbreweries (try FreeState Brewery). And then you have the obligatory chain hotels.
You'll want to drop by "The Wheel," which is the quintessential college bar, and oftentimes named one of the best college bars in America. You can google it. The Wheel is within EASY walking distance of the stadium so you can get there early, and enjoy cheap beer in the bar or in the beer garden. There's a smattering of other bars within walking distance including the bar in The Oread, as well as more divy places like "Bullwinkles" and "The Hawk."
You want to eat at 6 Mile Chop House and Free State Brewery both very good.
A place called Wheatfields has been voted the best breakfast in the Midwest. Everything is homemade!!
A good Mexican place is Salty Iguanna, another good place.
Downtown Lawrence is call Mass Street that is fun to just walk and look, cool place. Silas and Maddeys is the best HOMEMADE ICE CREAM SHOP ANYWHERE!!!
First Watch is a great place for breakfast
Massachusetts Street (Mass Street) is a 4-5 block downtown area. Shopping, boutiques and restaurants are there. Outlying areas have great food as well. It’s the Midwest so be prepared for beef. . We also have a high Mexican population do there are tons of authentic restaurants everywhere. Because it is a college town you can eat anything from you want and most of it is locally grown.
The campus houses an art museum and a natural history museum.
-If you make the trip, make sure you take an hour to visit Allen Field House on campus where the Jayhawks hoop it up and always win, and you can see the original rules of basketball. It's like a cathedral, and you'll enjoy the experience.
If you can get your hands on a parking pass, tailgating right outside of the stadium is a fun time. The stadium is situated at the bottom of a large hill affectionally called "The Hill," where people will be eating and imbibing, and tossing the football. There will be tailgating in the parking lots outside the stadium as well.
I'd guess I'd start at the Wheel (or The Bull/Hawk), and then saunter over to the stadium for game. It's easier than dragging food and drinks around. You'll be able to eat and get your drink on, and then have a leisurely ten minute walk to the stadium.
OTHER THINGS TO DO:
A cool activity is to tour the Holiday Whiskey Distillary in Weston, Missouri (really cool about an hour away), plus there is a wine distillary there as well.
This are is well known for all the Civil War museums etc. there is Fort Leavenworth , a cool place from the Civil War
As you know, Kansas has been lousy, but it's the third game of the year, so it can only be so bad. :)The fans are expecting a better product and talking about how they will likely beat Rutgers , and it's a beautiful time of the year, so the tailgating should be good.