Missouri 2008 Official Vacation Planner - (Page 34) GAEL GERMANN, KANSAS CITY, MO. Northwest City sophistication meets the Wild West. K ansas City contains a dazzling mix of attractions. Historic Union Station and snazzy Crown Center share an intersection. The upscale, Euro style Country Club Plaza borders earthy, eclectic Westport. The 18th and Vine District celebrates jazz and Negro Leagues baseball. Art Deco downtown has welcomed a new arena and a contemporary entertainment district. And The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has opened an ultramodern extension. Meanwhile, the 150-year-old, riverfront City Market is still going strong. North of KC is St. Joseph, starting point for the Pony Express. Pick up a Stetson hat during your visit because you’re now in Jesse James territory! The home where James was shot and killed is in St. Joseph. Kearney is James’ birthplace. Liberty is where James carried out a daring daylight bank robbery. Among the more respectable figures from the region is Harry S Truman. The city of Independence holds the Truman Presidential Museum and Library. Another “local boy who made good” is Walt Disney. Marceline is Walt’s boyhood hometown and the inspiration for Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. Other towns worth seeing? Explore Civil War sites in Lexington and Marshall. Aim for Arrow Rock, where amid antebellum homes lies a prominent professional theater. Chillicothe, too, is crammed with histor y as well as a unique claim to fame: It’s the home of sliced bread. Rural roads here are lined with farms and orchards. Stop at a roadside stand for fresh produce or linger at one of the wineries in Weston or Waverly, where you’ll enjoy a pastoral view with your vino. Sample the food and shops of Jamesport, Missouri’s largest Amish community. Or explore nature at its purest at Swan Lake or Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge. Wild Northwest, indeed. Fun tour of Independence history sites 34 Missouri Vacation Planner 2008 Young Walt Disney staged his earliest productions inside this barn in Marceline.
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