I Went to Kansas City
Hey hey hey hey
I took a few days to pout about my cancelled postponed Monterey trip. Those days coincided with moving CJ, my 21-year-old, back to Kansas City for their junior year of art school.
I love Kansas City, but these moving trips don’t leave any time to enjoy the city. With a 14-year-old dog at home and the regular dog-sitter—CJ’s dad Brian—doing the bulk of the move, it creates a bit of a bind. Also, despite having an SUV I bought with college moves in mind, it’s not quite large enough for CJ’s big life. Here’s what moving day looks like:
Load the last of CJ’s stuff into the RAV4 and hit the road.
Take the scenic route, which adds 30 minutes to the four-hour drive. But the scenic route goes through my hometown of Sedalia, Missouri. We need to stop there to transfer the stuff in the SUV into my dad’s enormous truck, along with the stuff CJ stored in their basement over the summer. For added excitement, I tripped in their driveway while leaving. It sounded like a side of beef hitting the ground. I’m fine, just bruised and sore. Good thing I don’t have to be anywhere soon. Like California.
Rush into the dorm minutes before registration closes. Just in time! That’s this family’s motto.
Unload the truck. Order dinner to be delivered. Leave CJ to eat in their room while we eat in the truck back to Sedalia.
Drop off the borrowed truck. Continue the trip in my SUV. Roll in just shy of 3 a.m.
Once they’re settled on campus, CJ rarely comes home. Last year, they returned for Thanksgiving, winter break, and spring break, with a one-day train trip home to vote when they discovered Missouri had screwed up their voter registration.
If I need a kid fix, I’m more than happy to go to Kansas City. CJ and I have had some great visits. Sometimes I’ll go to concerts in Kansas City for a change of pace and make a weekend of it. Their first semester was excellent for this—that October, I went to KC for Bob Dylan at the beginning of the month, and Wilco for my birthday at the end of the month, with CJ hotel slumber parties to make it even better.
That night, I had a great conversation with my friend John in between the opening act and Wilco. John lives in Alaska and is a guide during tourist season. The rest of the year, he travels the world, going to concerts. It’s an incredible life.
We’d chatted online, but that night was the first time we’d met. He told me that, as a kid, he heard Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and realized he wanted a life like the ones lived by the people in the songs. And wow! Did that ever blow my mind. Because John’s done an incredible job of following that wish. I look forward to being able to hear him talk more about where that epiphany led him.
But I digress. When I go to Kansas City, I get a hotel or a house for CJ and me to give them a break from the dorm. As I’ve mentioned, CJ’s not much of a traveler, and that includes being a tourist in their current city. We tend to hunker down and enjoy the quiet and each other’s presence. Pajamas and delivered meals are priorities. Sometimes, I’ll slip out to write at a coffeehouse, mostly to give CJ a few hours of solo time, and so I can feel like I’ve done something distinctly KC, since the city has a strong coffeehouse game.
Twice a year, though, I make the drive to Kansas City to pick up CJ and drive about 45 minutes west to Lawrence, Kansas. The spring before CJ started college, my massage therapist/KU alumni friend Connie planned a trip to Lawrence for us that centered around a visit to Mud and Lotus. Located in downtown Lawrence and offering the usual spa treatments, Mud and Lotus has one rather surprising offering—a jetted mineral water soaking tub and a cedar sauna outside in a beautiful garden.
Going with Connie was smart (and a lot of fun) because she’s a professional and knew how to get a lot of bang for our bucks. The Melt Me package at the spa is a great deal on an hour of soaking/saunaing and a one-hour massage. I always opt for Hannah, who administers the kind of therapeutic deep tissue massage that leaves bruises and works wonders.
CJ and I have made Mud and Lotus a midterms tradition, going every semester. This semester, we’re tentatively planning to go for my birthday weekend, and I’m already excited. During our spring visit last March, we added the new Cloud Room to our agenda. It felt great and really? It was so much fun. Watch someone get into or out of an anti-gravity chair and try not to laugh. I dare you. The room also has a jade acupressure massage table, which feels like going through a ringer on an old clothes washer and feels awesome. There’s also a salt room, which is great for people with respiratory allergies, like me.
It’s not a Lawrence visit without a meal at Ladybird Diner. Had I been a legit chef, this is the restaurant I wish I’d opened. I love everything about diners—the community vibe, the greasy spoon favorites, diesel fuel-strength coffee, and pie. God, I love pie, and Ladybird has some of the best. I’m fond of the Douglas County pie, which is similar to Kentucky’s Derby pie with a fudgey base studded with pecans and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt to finish.
This school year, I hope CJ ventures away from campus more often to explore what a great place Kansas City is for a young artist. One of their classes will have them out and about, working on murals elsewhere in the city. The free KC streetcar now has a stop at their building, making it super easy for a non-driver to explore. If I happen to go to any shows at any of the venues along Main Street, I’m planning to use the streetcar, and I’m excited about the prospect. Maybe CJ and I should plan a streetcar day together next time I visit. Which will be sooner than later. Because I miss that kid already.
Support my Ladybird Diner habit and buy me a coffee for my next visit.