Ooookay, I guess I'm not keeping up so well. Let's see, last time I checked in we had arrived in OK City. That day we visted the site of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995...where 168 perished in a terrorism attack. At the time it was the worst attack on US soil...eclipsed by 9-11. There was a monument where the building fell, and an incredibly moving museum across from it. This was an amazing display vividly capturing this sad episode and focussing squarely on the people who were victimized by this act of cowardace. I was especially pleased to have Sam experience this since he had no idea it had happened.
From there we drove our longest stretch of 5+ hours to Kansas City, MO. There was a spectacular vista as we drove thru Kansas called the Flint Hills. This looked like a scene from Dances with Wolves...just stunning landscape. Well we needed to go straight to the game, and thankfully we made it in time. BEAUTIFUL STADIUM! Probably the best I've ever been to. Just something about it made it feel really comfortable. A CRAZY MASSIVE scoreboard didn't hurt either! I mean this thing had to be at least 10 stories tall...just colossal! The game went well...KC won on an 8th inning homer - and then we went to our hotel. This took FOREVER though horrible traffic, and then a hotel which was booked with a bunch of party rats. Anyways we did enjoy the pool, then retired for the night.
We woke up on our 8th day by visiting what is called the College Basketball Experience (CBE) which was in downtown KC. I had NO idea this existed, and big kudos to Sam for finding it in a guide. Simply put, this place ROCKED! Talk about interactive-overload! This place was decked out with a working basketball court, and many other areas to test your shooting, free throws...whatever! There was small part for a hall of fame, which was also well-done. Sam was able to get a pick up game with some other kids, and came away stating that this was his favorite part of the trip. Nearly 5 hours at this place testified mightily to his feelings.
After just about dragging Sam out of there, we headed off to Springfield, MO for a minor league game. We arrived (after being bombarded by Branson billboards and "Fantastic Caverns" ads), and made our way to the stadium. Very new and very nice field...home of the Cardinals AA squad. Sam as usual took a walk around and made fast friends by the lawn area. I just enjoyed the game, which the Cardinals won. Back to the hotel for some more swimming and sleep.
I planned to awake on Day 9 by going to Fantastic Caverns. However I felt suspicious about an attraction I never heard of, and one that was being blitzed in every ad around us (seriously). I took a look online on reviews, and sure enough they were lukewarm at best. Apparently it also cost $20+ each. No thanks. I convinced Sam to visit a Civil War site...and so we did. It's called Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, and we were both impressed. We took a leisurely drive thru the site (for $5!), and met with some National Park folks at an old house regarding the history of the place. Good stuff. We stopped several times to get out and view the battlefield. We topped it off with a very well-done movie at their visitor's center. Oh yeah, we were DRENCHED after all the stops...it had to be near 100 degrees. The theater was a Godsend, and we were then off to St. Louis.
The journey to St. Louie went well...but getting to the hotel was a bit tricky, and I did myself no favors by losing the camera...in the car. We needed to get to the stadium by 6pm so Sam could get a tour of the press area. Well thanks to the camera issue, we ended up just about running 6 blocks from our hotel to the game. We did make it up to the press area (wasn't easy), and our guide Melody escorted us through the press area and broadcast booths. GREAT experience for Sam once again. We exited into the snazzy club area, where we found some seats and stayed put. Another new and gorgeous stadium with the rabid fans to go along with it. When the game concluded we made our way back to the hotel, where we found out we had a suite. SWEET!
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