With Kansas City having no notable bodies of water, or anything to ski down, snowboard or hike up, what do we do?
The first thing that I believe takes up our time is following and cheering for a sports team: the Chiefs, the Royals, Sporting KC, KC Current, KU and Mizzou: Kansas Citians have numerous amounts of sports teams to obsess about. While the rest of the country follows teams and cheers for them, it is not on as deep as a level that we are on here.
In addition to professional teams, on Friday nights during the fall there are many students at Rockhurst football games — mostly for social purposes.
Along with cheering on sports teams, people also spend their money on concert tickets. Whether it’s Kenny Chesney on Fourth of July weekend to a one-man band at Starlight Theater, people are always going to concerts, even if they aren’t the biggest fan of the person performing.
Because we don’t have any mountains to hike or ski down, many people get their physical activities in by joining workout studios like Power Life and Fusion. Also, since we don’t have a beach to go to, it’s common to see people tanning on a towel on their driveways in the summer. My friends and I rotate which day we go to certain pools to give us something new to do every day.
In addition to tanning in summertime, pickleball has taken over summer nights. Pickleball courts all around KC are packed with people of all ages playing pickleball and listening to music on their speakers.
There are many places to visit in Kansas City, from Union Station and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to farmers markets and various walking trails. I know these things sound “boring” because they are in the middle of the Midwest in the state Missouri, but they are actually activities that make you feel like you are out of town.
The National WWI Museum and Memorial was built in KC because we are in the heart of the country. People from all over the country come to visit it to remember and educate themselves on WWI. The Liberty Memorial Tower is over 217-feet high and once you ride up to the top, you will see some of the best views of KC, including Union Station.
Lastly, I can’t talk about what to do in KC, if I don’t talk about the food scene. We are known for barbeque: Gates, Joe’s and Q39 are a few of the most popular. I think everyone needs to experience the stress of ordering at Gates, if you don’t know what you want. For being in the middle of the country, the Mexican food here is amazing. From Tiki Taco, Rudy’s Tenampa Taqueria, Taco Cacao and Los Tules, you will never be disappointed if you want Mexican.
Hemma Hemma, Billie’s Grocery, Earl’s Premier and The Mixx are restaurants with a large variety of food genres on the menu and are good for lunch or dinner.
Homegrown, McClains, Mildred’s and Rise are some of the best places to go sit down for breakfast– if you can get in on a Sunday morning.
So, if you feel like you have nothing to do, you can always turn on the TV to watch any KC sports team, go try a new restaurant, tan outside or go play pickleball if weather permits, or go visit a museum you might not have thought to go to.
