We visited the Memphis Botanic Gardens and this was in the Japanese Gardens.
Last Day of February
We spent the last day of February renewing Donna's Passport and picking up bread at a local bakery. Renewing a passport sounds trivial but when you realize you need a printer and a stapler reality sinks in. We also needed to decide how we would get the passport mailed to us. The process takes 7 to 11 weeks and we don't know where we will be when it arrives. We could use our Washington Address but then the passport would have to be mailed twice and that adds risk. We decided to tap into our friends Kevin and Victoria in the Chicago area. We will have it mailed to them and then pick it up during our Chicago stay.
We started the day gathering what we thought we were going to need and mapping out the stops. First stop was Walgreens to get a passport photo. That was a bust because after waiting at the photo counter for what seemed like 10 minutes we were told the passport photo station was down. We did use this stop to get a padded envelope so we could mail the application once we made it through all of the steps. We decided to go to CVS next and that all worked out for us. With passport photos in hand we went to the library to use their printing services. We had to get a guest pass because we aren't members and they were very helpful walking us through the process. The print out went way more smoothly than it could have. At this point we were ready to start filling out paperwork but we forgot the checkbook (for those that don't know what this is, it is kind of like Venmo but made of paper instead of an app). We decided to head back to the house and regroup. Donna used the quiet atmosphere to fill out the application without any mistakes and I found the checkbook.
At this point we had all of the elements but we had to combine them to make an application. The passport photo needed to be stapled to the application. Who has a stapler? Not us. We went to the FedEx shipping center hoping they would allow us to staple and ship. When we got there they said they couldn't mail to a P.O. Box but they did let us use the stapler. After stapling we combined it all and went to the post office. Our application is now in the mail and hopefully we will have it back in time for our stay in Winnipeg Canada! We are going international!
The Staple Lobby still has a stranglehold on the passport renewal process.
We decided to buy bread to celebrate.
It is yummy!
Starting off March at the Botanic Garden
On March 1st we went to the Nashville Botanic Garden. We used our RAP pass to get in. It's a great garden with really fun areas to explore. We really liked the Japanese Gardens and the My Big Backyard area which had cool gardens and places for kids to play.
One of the My Big Backyard gardens
Donna in the Chrysalis Swing
You know, for kids!
After our Gardens visit we went shopping for some groceries. We wanted to get some fixings to go with our bread so we got Mortadella (we love it) but it was so expensive. I got the idea to do a taste test with Mortadella and Bologna (the cheap American version).
Mortadella is better for sure but to for 10x the cost of Bologna.
Our fancy taste test
BBQ and Taxes
March 2nd proved to be a windy rainy day so we stayed in and did our taxes. They went pretty smoothly. Turns out you don't get any returns if you don't pay anything. Once taxes were done we celebrated by going to Bain BBQ which is a short walk from the house. We were the only ones there because it was 3:45 on a Thursday. The person behind the counter asked if we had been there and we said no so she handed us some brisket to try. It was delicious! She also handed us some rib meat to try. It too was delicious! Donna got the brisket sandwich (she was going to get the pulled pork sandwich but the brisket sample changed her mind) and I got the rib plate. It was really good. We ended up buying a jar of sauce on the way out.
We picked up a Mustard Sauce
Donna's sandwich was great
My ribs were great but I had leftovers
After dropping our leftovers off at the house we went back to Cooper House Project brewing to continue our "taxes done" celebration
That's it for today. If you missed the previous post you can find it here. We went on a Whiskey Distillery Tour and got fried chicken downtown.
Kansas City is our 2nd stop in BBQ country (last month we were in the Dallas area) so we had to try BBQ here, for science. I did a little research and then Donna picked up the research ball and crossed the finish line. We ended up at one of the top BBQ places according to some list online that we could walk to, Chef J BBQ in the West Bottoms district. Our walk included walking over a long bridge that wasn't created with pedestrians in mind.
The Hereford Bull can be seen floating above the tree lines.
Hot and not much protection from traffic
This area hosts quite a few Haunted Houses in the fall including The Beast which is reportedly the best in the nation.
We arrived in the area of the BBQ place and there was a street fair going on, Bark in the Bottoms. The Bottoms appears to be an antique alley as well as a few other places. They set up some stalls, a bar, invited people to bring their dogs and called it a festival. Missouri Liquor laws allow alcohol consumption in public areas as long as there is a festival going on. More on Missouri Alcohol Laws in a post yet to come.
The BBQ joint is only about a year old but has a lot of good reviews and magazine accolades. There was a line out the door but we were assured it moved fast by some person on Yelp.
The bar for the festival that was going on
Magazine accolades
More magazine accolades
The prices were a bit cheaper than Hutchins's BBQ in McKinney. You can read about that visit here.
The space was a mixture of old brick and timber as well as new artwork
They have the meats
4 Meat Plate with Sausage, Ribs, Brisket, Burnt Ends, Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad, and BBQ Beans as well as a side of spicy pickles that comes with everything.
The pulled Pork Sandwich with 3 sauces. All of the sauces were great.
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I won't pretend to be a BBQ expert but after having 2 of what are reported to be the best styles of BBQ from 2 places that are reported to be doing it the best, dollar for dollar I'll take prime rib over BBQ. It was delicious but I prefer places like House of Prime Rib in SF and The Golden Steer in Las Vegas. We may have BBQ again on this trip but it won't be something that becomes a checklist item for each place we stay like Pinball and Breweries.
After eating we packed up our leftovers and explored a mid-century antique store. The walk home was hotter than the walk there and I had to keep our leftovers level so that that the grease didn't leak on our reusable bag. Getting back to the air conditioning was great. We had a few hours to relax and cool off before our evening adventure.
The American Jazz Museum
Later that evening we got ready and called a Lyft. We were heading to The American Jazz Museum. The museum is located in the 18th and Vine neighborhood of KC. It is small but there is a lot to see and do. We were able to get in free with our NARM Pass. It is also connected to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. We didn't have time to visit but will if we run out of things to do.
The museum started out with a 20 minute video about the history of Kansas City Jazz.
I found a new movie we need to watch
There were a lot of listening stations with great info on what you were listening to
This display was B-Flat
We learned about Soundies, early music videos in Coin-operated Panorams placed in various public spaces.
Here is a trailer for a whole movie about Soundies. I looked it up and you might be able to watch the whole documentary for free on Tubi.
After our museum visit we had tickets (free) to Friday Night Jazz in The Blue Room. It was a great experience and full of local flavor. Also the Boulevard Beers were only $4.
I had to take a look at the tap list so I knew what they had.
Getting Jazzy!
Myra Taylor wants my beer
There was a Corvette show going on outside the venue when we left.
It was a great day of exploring KC and some of the things that KC is famous for. We are really enjoying our time here and it has moved up on the list of places we would spend more time in. It's only Day 4 of KC and we have done a lot but there is still a lot more to do. One of my goals is to get a better idea of the neighborhoods in KC. I feel you can't get a good idea of the city unless you explore many different areas and since KC is so spread out, it's a little harder to do than a place like SF. If you went to SF and only saw the Outer Sunset, it would feel like a much different place than it actually is.
That's it until tomorrow. If you missed yesterday's adventure, you can find it here. We went to Kansas to go to an IKEA and went to an awesome museum.
