Kansas
Travel Blog
Chronicling
changes to KansasTravel.org and Keith's exploration
& photographing Kansas restaurants, attractions, museums, festivals
and art. Contact him.
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Saturday
- November 3, 2018: Two friends joined us in trying the new Maui Express
restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas. This is at least the 4th restaurant
in this location. My favorite previous one was the New York Dawg Pound.
The
menu consists of teriyaki sandwiches, wraps & bowls. The bowls can
be ordered mild, medium or hot. I had a chance to sample several of the
bowls and a wrap. Much as the dishes sounded like something I would really
like, I was not excited with any of them.
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Tuesday
- November 6, 2018: We added a review of Pretty
Boy Floyd's Steaks & Shine in Ellsworth, Kansas. It is a speakeasy
themed steak house in the basements of three old businesses. |
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Friday
- November 9, 2018: For lunch today, I tried the new Toni's Italian
Restaurant
in Olathe, Kansas. Is is on Santa Fe, just east of I-35 in a building which
has housed at least three other restaurants. There are a variety of $8,
$9 and $12 lunch special and I went with the $12 shrimp scampi. It was
really more food than I look for in lunch and I would rather they reduced
the serving and dropped the price a $1.50.
The
meal began with a large house salad and warm bread with a nice olive oil
mixture for dipping. The scampi was a generous serving with 5 large shrimp.
I look forward to seeing how this restaurant develops over time.
Downtown
Diner in Olathe has changed hands, but is keeping the same menu and
chefs. We will miss Rich and Sue Caines who we have known since their previous
restaurant and now at this location since 2011
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Toni's Italian Restaurant
rolls & olive oil |
Saturday
- November 17, 2018: I had a full day of exploring southeast Kansas,
with the first stop being at the Osawatomie State Hospital Cemetery, north
of Osawatomie, Kansas, which was the burial location of patients at the
State Hospital whose bodies were not interred by family members. There
are 346 burial markers in the cemetery. They do not have names, dates or
anything to identify those who are buried here, other than the 4" high
numbers from 1 to 346 in the order they were placed.
The
next community where I stopped was Greeley, Kansas where I photographed
the beautiful St. John The Baptist Parish Church. As I was leaving town,
a sign which said Gerth Cabin, caught my eye. I discovered that it was
an 1856 log cabin which was moved next to the 1915 Wagon Bridge over Pottawatomie
Creek. The grounds can be visited anytime and tours are available by appointment
through the Anderson County Kansas Historical Society.
I
continued to do quick drive-thrus of the communities I passed, until I
arrived in Moran, Kansas where I revisited Chancy's Grill & Shake and
had a late breakfast/early lunch. Chancy's was one of the many restaurants
we learned of when our Best Kansas Burgers
page was first published. I had dined here once before, but needed to try
more of the menu before doing a review. Today I had a pork tenderloin and
chili cheese fries. Both were good, but the French fries are eclipsed by
the curly fries I had on my previous visit.
Back
on the road, I continued to make brief passes though communities to take
a few photos, but didn't stop again until I arrived at St.
Aloysius Church Historic Site in the unincorporated community of Greenbush.
A grotto has been added since my last time here and I needed photos to
update its page.
Pittsburg
was the principal community I had planed to visit today. I photographed
Timmons Chapel at Pittsburg State University and then to the University's
Veterans Memorial Amphitheater which honors veterans of all branches of
service. In addition to a 250 seat amphitheater, the memorial has a 1/2
scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, a reflecting pool,
and a plaza with with more than 2,000 engraved paving stones.
Lunch
was at Bob's Grill, a wonderful little breakfast and lunch place with great
hamburgers. I had already dined here several times over the years, but
some how had failed to write a review. It had been a couple of years since
the last visit, so I needed new photos and confirmation that things were
still as good before reviewing the restaurant. I had a double cheeseburger
with chili fries (fresh cut) and they were both so good that is took great
discipline not to finish them. They were a bargain at only $9. A single
quarter pound cheeseburger and fresh cut fries is only $6.25!
Heading
back north now, I stopped at the Miners Hall Museum which has been developed
in the Community Center in Franklin, Kansas. I had been in the building
in 2010 when the Kansas Explorers were having their annual event called
"The Happening" in Franklin. At that time, there were just a few displays
on the edges of the interior, but now it is a fill blown museum.
Fort
Scott was the final stop on the the southeast Kansas tour. I revisited
the Fort, Gunn Park and the Nu Grille Cafe.
The Nu Grille opened in 1946. I had a fabulous cheeseburger and onion rings,
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Osawatomie State Hospital Cemetery
Gerth Cabin
Pork tenderloin
Memorial Amphitheater
Bob's Grill |
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Wednesday
- November 21, 2018: We drove up to Leavenworth, Kansas with out of
state guests, planning to revisit the C.W.
Parker Carousel Museum, but we hadn't checked the hours and were surprised
to discover they are closed on Wednesdays. Instead we did a driving tour,
going though the Mt Muncie Cemetery. Leavenworth National Cemetery, the
VA Medical Center campus and through town to see the buffalo and the United
States Penitentiary.
Lunch
was at All Slabbed Up BBQ. I forget just how much I enjoy the food at this
place until I go back again. I had a great meal of burnt ends, pork ribs
and fries!
On
our way back through Bonner Springs, we stopped by Moon Marble. This place
is always fun! I was a little disappointed at first when the glass blowing
demonstration was done by a young man instead of the owner, Bruce Breslow,
but he did a great job and the demonstration was quite entertaining.
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glass blowing demonstration |
Monday
- November 26, 2018: We started visiting Christmas displays in Johnson
County for our Kansas City Christmas Light Tour today and will be going
out photograph several times a week for the next 4 weeks.
Northeast
Kansas had a storm with high winds this weekend and any Christmas Light
displays were damaged. Paulie's
Penguin Playground in Olathe suffered a setback from the November 25
storm. The Craig family hopes to have the playground back up by Wednesday
or Thursday, November 28 or 29.
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Paulie's Penguin Playground |
Friday
- November 30, 2018: In the early evening, I drove to Lawrence to make
the first pass to update our Lawrence
& Eudora Kansas Christmas Light Tour.
The
decorated trees along Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence have been
the final stop on our Christmas Light tour for many years. This year, South
Park, just south of downtown has a huge tree which has been decorated with
blue lights on the branches, icicles, flashing stars and hanging strings
of lights which move with the wind. Parking is available next to the Douglas
County Courthouse.
Before
checking the rest of the displays, I tried out Sully & Hanks which
opened a year and a half ago on 9th Street, a few blocks west of downtown
Lawrence. I was brought in by great looking photos of burgers on their
Facebook page and ordered the $14 Guinness Melt and onion rings. The burger
was described as a griddled burger with Guinness demi, corned beef, braised
cabbage and house cheese blend on a toasted brioche. How could anything
with that wonderful description have so little flavor! The onion rings
weren't bad.
Back
n the car, I checked on old and new displays. Mary Ann and Gary Martin's
animated "Parkside Christmas" is still impressive. Although the neighbors
who started the displays lining the streets at Wildwood Drive and Woodridge
Drive have moved away, others are carrying on and 40 houses are participating.
We
followed up by checking on the three displays which were on our tour in
Eudora last year, and happened to pass a wonderful Nightmare Before Christmas
display on our way to revisit the Grinch Christmas. I would love to learn
more about this display. It is fairly simple, but matches up with the house
wonderfully.
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South Park Tree
Sully & Hanks
Nightmare Before Christmas |
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