We were thinking of taking a rest day and a driving rain in the morning confirmed the plan. Nick's mom graciously offered to host us another night even though Nick was pushing off to Austin in the afternoon.
Kansas City is a bit of a twist. The city and its buildings are clean and and many look newly constructed. Yet their architecture and signage hark back to an older industrial era.
We drove back to the power & light district for lunch. The neon signs along main street reflected off of the wet roads. A down poor kicked in again and we took shelter in the mall which is outdoors but has a large translucent warehouse roof 100 feet above the court yard. The sound of the rain on the roof was impessively loud, muting my conversation momentarily. I'm told that the power & light, named after the K.C. utility, was an industrial slum only 30 years ago and has benefited greatly by a city revitalization plan. The plan worked.
We decided to catch a movie at the Mainstreet AMC theatre two blocks away. This is the nicest theatre Ive been to in the US. The lobby was immaculate, which I've come to expect in mainstream KC businesses.
As I approached the concession stand I noticed they had beer taps. I asked if I could bring one into the movie and the woman responded with a befuddled yes. She poured me a tall cold beer in a glass no less and I made my way into the gigantic viewing room and took a seat in an overstuffed leather bucket chair. What a middle American treat.
We ate dinner at a sports bar in the famous Country Club Plaza so we could catch the NBA finals. I am the Plaza is technically the first strip mall in America but it bares no resemblance to the commercial sprawls we have been riding past. The architect styled the buildings after the city of Seville, spain, incorperating beatiful stone work around many of the store facades, carved reliefs and ornate fountains. I did have the strong sense I was in Europe.
We headed home after the first half of he game. I was upgraded from the couch to a bed and slept soundly.
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