Daytripping Lawrence Kansas Thursday 19 August 201

I have been going to Lawrence, Kansas since spring 1990, when I read about the great music scene there in the local alternative weeklys and the local music paper.  Familiarization with bands like the Sin City Disciples and Kill Whitey let me know that something exciting was in Lawrence.  My first roadtrip there was to go see Day on the Hill 1990, which had Sin City Disciples headlining.

Sin City Disciples at the Bottleneck, Lawrence Kansas, August1991


Kill Whitey at the Americn Rights Festival outside Lawrence Kansas, September 1991 performing "Conversation"


Ken, Suyen and I left for Lawrence from Kansas City.  Ken and I to do some daytripping, Suyen to do shopping at her favorite store -- the Gap.  She doesn't share our enthusiasm for local businesses.

Driving Downtown Kansas City

Much has changed in Lawrence.  in 1990, downtown was primarily local businesses.  It even had a Woolworths downtown, if I remember right -- not that Woolworths is local, but it was always a fixture of downtown areas everywhere.  I remember sometime in the early 90's, that part of downtown, (where McDonalds, then McDonalds captive mexican chain is now ) was completely torn out and modernized.  About two years ago, I was in the antique mall downtown, and found a book commissioned by some study group that decided that downtown Lawrence was incredibly old fashioned and out of step with the modern times and needed to be torn down and replaced with a mall.  I believe the study was released in 1980.  About 1990, the Riverfront mall was opening up much to the protest of many local citizens.  Downtown Lawrence is still surviving, Riverfront Mall is dead.

Driving in Lawrence Kansas

boB Cutler on www.Battlecam.com

Driving on KU and in Lawrence, Kansas with boB Cutler

Driving in Lawrence Kansas with boB Cutler Here in My Car

Driving downtown Lawrence Kansas at night


PS

Daytripping Clinton Missouri

Ken's Pix

Stevo's Pix

We chose Clinton, Missouri as our next daytrip destination.  Actually, we had intended to go here two weeks ago, but other things got in the way.  Ken and I left later than we wanted to, but with temperatures hovering around 105, we wouldn't have been able to do much in the hot sun anyway.  We passed through Belton after several wrong turns on our way south and east of the metro.

Livestream through Belton
Belton Part 2

Approaching Clinton Missouri always brings to mind a terrible tragedy that happened downtown here several years ago.

Coming into Clinton

I mention several times having come here and working here...



Clinton Missouri has the largest town square in the state of Missouri.

Ken and I "wound the clock" several times before tiring out from the heat...



When we finally did tire out after not much time in the heat and humidity, we checked into 1/2 Pints Frozen Custard for a cone and some much needed water.  Poor Tima was stressing as well in this heat.  It is not easy being a little black dog close to the ground in the high temps.  Her ears were pointing straight back like the way a horses ears would do when the horse is pissed.  Though Tima could not come into the a/c, she did get a cup of frozen custard and a nice cup of water.

Across the street from 1/2 Pints, is the KATY depot.  The Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad cut through Clinton, and parts of it are still here.  The Katy trailhead starts here where the railroad ends.  We wondered if trains still operate here.  The Missouri and Northern Arkansas is a successor line.  The railway ends here in Clinton, and the trail begins here.

Downtown DeSoto

Ken and I mused that many people probably have never heard of a DeSoto.
We found this time capsule here, and wondered about it's existence.  Well, a video by the owner explains everyting...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNmQspSW5rE

We walked around a bit after being refreshed in the custard place.  We stopped in at Ben Franklins Coffee, where I got an iced mocha, and Ken got a coke.


Looking for the Leaky Roof

The Katy was not the only railroad in town.  In 1995, while working on a story for the tv station I worked for in college, I came upon an interlocking tower in a back yard.  A man there explained to me that it controlled the crossing of the "Leaky Roof" railroad, otherwise known as the Kansas City Clinton and Springfield Railfroad.  We were unsuccessful in finding the tower.

We did find a great animated sign...

 Found an animated sign


We left Clinton heading north on 13 Highway towards Warrensburg.  We stopped by Safari Motel to get some snapshots of the googie there.
Departing Clinton

Driving through Warrensburg at night

Watch live video from stevosvoboda on Justin.tv

HERE IN MY CAR!!! Competitive Painting at the Keyhole Gallery

Watch live video from stevosvoboda on Justin.tv

Daytripping Lee's Summit Missouri

Lee's Summit Missouri

Ken and I set out for the next suburb in line as you head east on 350 Highway out of Raytown and Knobtown -- Lee's Summit.

  While Lee's Summit is a sprawling/growing part of the Kansas
City metro area, it has the kernel of a small town that the sprawl is growing out of, with a nice alive downtown area.

     Ken and I started at the old MoPac depot where we parked.  Amtrak had come in while we were there.


Today I actually got to do some of my other hobby -- railfanning.  Yes, I am a foamer, and I plan to include more train vids and pix in this blog.  In addition to the livestream, I caught three other trains passing through Lee's Summit -- a UP mixed manifest, a Missouri and North Arkansas mixed (which is the first time I've ever documented something from this line) and another Amtrak train.
   Ken and I then embarked on this warming afternoon on exploring downtown.  We have had a recent respite from the heat, but this afternoon was the beginning of a re warming trend.  Ken and I went to the block of buildings across from the station first.  There seems to be a lot of bars and restaurants downtown, which is nice for a non-college town.

The first gallery we perused was the Hidden Gallery.  The featured artist is Bob Byerly.
  
In addition to bars and restaurants, there are a lot of galleries and boutique shops downtown. We made our way to yet another gallery on this hot afternoon.  Tima could not come in unfortunately...

GOT art, or Gallery on Third, is a place started by a married couple who wanted to see more art downtown.

They are in between shows, with a call for artists for a new one coming out soon.

We hit another boutique shop/gallery with an interesting past...



Anytime I see an old neon sign, I'm interested.  Apparently, according to the person at the store, this was once a hotel, and the old Lee's Summit hospital before that.

Around the corner, we found a facade that left us scratching our heads.  It looked like newer construction, but the streamline modern style seemed much older.  We walked past several artifacts from a different era...

www.thefillingstationbbq.com
When we made it around the block,  we finally came to the answer to the mystery of the streamline modern theatre building we found.  No, it is not a historic building -- it actually is a reproduction of a theatre that used to be there at one time....

The whole block is part of downtown redevelopment in Lee's Summit.  Ken and I noticed that downtown Lee's Summit has invested a fortune in sidewalks and lighting and beautification.  I think the fact that downtown seems to be alive is a reflection of the pride that this town has shown in it's urban core.


Our next stop was right around the corner for ice cream.

The heat of the afternoon was finally breaking.  We walked on and explored a thrift shop and we headed west to the chinese restaurant that is in a former Griffs Burger Bar, with the distinctive A Frame design by Valentine Diners of Wichita Kansas.


We stopped in and ordered some a la carte and lemonade, but underestimated the serving sizes.  What was meant to be a snack turned out to be a bit more.  It was good, though.  For more information on Griffs than you'd ever want to or need to know, go here....
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/aframegriffs.html

Also, Valentine Diners, of which there are several in the area, can be found here...
http://www.kshs.org/diners/index.htm
http://www.kshs.org/diners/identify.htm#aframe

We took a few more pix at dusk, then headed back.