Grease Burgers from On High

One of the chief problems of the Kansas City area is that there are too many family friendly things to do and places to see and you have to somehow narrow it down. We managed to make a day of it despite this difficulty.



After an easy drive into town, we parked and walked over to the mall where a puppet show was being perpetrated for free and in full view of a hundred or so kids. We watched, we laughed, we enjoyed the serendipity of coming upon this performance by chance. Our goal was lunch at Fritz’s. This is a burger joint in the mall. The food is good in that average, fast food, greasy way. The gimmick for this place is clumsily brilliant. Above the tables near the ceiling runs a track that circles the whole restaurant. On this track travel little trains. Beneath the trains hang trays on which bins containing orders are placed. As the train chugs around the restaurant everyone watches hoping it’s their order. If it is, a little bar whacks the bin off of the train’s tray and onto a metal platform that lowers the bin to your table. No server takes your order either. You have a phone at your booth and you pick it up and place your order — as best you can over the din of the trains and people around you. The place was completely packed.




That’s our food descending from on high.

Once we were stuffed with grease, we walked over to Science City in Union Station. This is a fun children’s museum of sorts with lots to do and explore. We started by watching a cool 3D Imax movie called Wild Ocean about the massive shoals of sardines the move into the coastal waters off of South Africa and provide a bonanza of food for birds, dolphins, seals, sharks, and people.



Somehow the kids still had energy in the afternoon, so Matt, Danine and I took them to the pool while Marina made a great salad and steamed artichokes for dinner. We ate and the kids played more. They are going to bed now, and you would think they’d drop right off, but they’re unstoppable.

We are liking Kansas City and the weather we’ve been having. To be fair, we enjoyed our second day of driving through Kansas. The eastern half of the state was green and rolling with trees lining the creeks and washes. Matt and Marina really like it here and it’s easy to see why.