The Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs, MO

 Excelsior Springs, MO

Selfie in front of the Hall of Waters

Hall of Waters

We are at the 3 week park of our time in Kansas City, MO and usually about this time we start looking forward to the next place for whatever reason.  We have both felt it and we have felt it in places we are having a really great time.  I guess it's human nature.  Maybe I need to spend the next 50 years trying to live in the now.  Anyway, a good road trip usually snaps me out of the feeling so I started looking at surrounding counties we haven't been to and things to see and do inside those counties to give us a reason to drive there.  Today I found The Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs MO which is in Clay Co MO which we have been to and which is about a 2 minute drive to Ray Co MO which we haven't been to.  Excelsior Springs is the site of the first spring water discovered in 1880. At that time, it was the only natural supply of ferro-manganese mineral water in the United States and one of only five known worldwide.  A second ferro-manganese water, the Regent spring, was discovered in 1881. Altogether four distinct kinds of mineral water are located in downtown Excelsior Springs, with more varieties than anywhere else on earth.  I found this info in the link above.  In 1936 the Federal Public Works Administration in Missouri funded the building of a mineral water health resort and water bottling plant.   It is a five level, reinforced concrete "T"-shaped building with strong Art Deco and Depression Modern features. It features a decorative boiler stack tower with cast stone and an aluminum cap 30 feet high.  Info taken from here.  In 2020 the National Trust for Historic Preservation named it one of America's most endangered historic places.  It is currently a small museum and city offices as well as a municipal court.

One of the linked sites has some of these elements lit up at night.

The "Bar" area was closed but I was still able to get good photos

Clay County MO has a lump of clay as their mascot.

The Art Deco Design has Mayan elements mixed in

We saw these in a James Bond movie

Each element used to have this trim all the way around it.  

The Excelsior Springs area looks pretty depressed right now.  Hopefully it can bounce back.  I am glad different agencies have stepped in to keep this old building safe.

After our visit we did a little grocery shopping.  Later that evening Gordon (one of our Disney friends we went to The Academy Museum with in LA and will be going to Disney World with in January) arrived in town so we went to get a drink on a roof top bar near us.  The weather was fantastic for a rooftop beer.

That was it for today.  If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here.

A Walk Around Echo Park Lake

 Los Angeles, CA

We took a walk

Echo Park Entrance

Today was a day where we had no plans listed on our calendar.  We slept in, made coffee, blogged, and lounged.  We had some leftovers for lunch and then decided to walk to Echo Park.  It's about a mile from us and a mile around so we were committed to a 2 mile walk.

The view of the park on the approach

Entering Echo Park

There were quite a few more people in the park on a Tuesday at 1pm than I would have thought.  Maybe people taking late lunches, maybe people "working from home".  Francis got to meet a few nice dogs and we met a few nice dog owners as well.  When we got to the lake I saw a Black-crowned Night Heron fly into the reeds so I started a bird list.  I haven't done much birding in LA County so I figured this would be a new bird and I was right.  I picked up 3 new birds for LA County, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Brewer's Blackbird, and Barn Swallow.  

One bird that we saw that wasn't new was the Canada Goose.  It's breeding season so we saw probably 100 in different stages.  

We were carful not to get goosed

Echo Park was founded in 1892.  In addition to being here during Canada Goose Breeding Season, we are also here for the Lotus Bloom! The bloom is celebrated with a festival that is in its 41st year.  The festival celebrates the people and cultures of Asia and The Pacific Islands.  

A few different varieties of Water Plants

Water Lillies

The Bloom!

An interoperative sign

Francis isn't really in a headlock,
it just looks that way

We continued our walk around the lake looking at birds and seeing the sights.  Another thing Echo Park Lake is known for is their Swan Peddle Boats.

The boats lined up and ready to go

We are still considering if this is something
we want to pay for. Donna pointed out that it's
cheaper per person than a beer at a comedy show

The last sight for us to see was the WPA era statue.  The Queen of the Angles or Lady of the Lake as it is affectionately called stands with its back towards Downtown Los Angeles.  

The Lady, a Swan Boat, The Fountain,
and DTLA in one shot

Francis sniffing around the statue's plaque

After our walk we went home and I took a nap because I can!  Later we had Happy Hour and then made dinner.  We used up all of the ingredients we bought at Numero Uno Market the other day.  Black beans, Soyrizo, potato, and avocado make a nice bowl.

It's fun to go out to eat but making food at home
is fun and it really helps save on money.

Last night we went to a comedy show.  Check it out here.