The beginning of our trip to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City (home of the Royals) was exciting. If you missed that story, you can read it in my last post. After our drive over curbs and grass medians to escape the parking lot into which we were locked overnight, we turned our truck and trailer north toward Missouri.
Changing Geography
From my perspective, one of the wonderful things about this trip is changing geography we see along the way. The west coast was familiar, since we just toured the California coast last year, and I have made the drive into Arizona in the past. However, from Arizona through Texas and into the Midwest was largely new territory. I have particularly enjoyed learning about the interplay between the people and the land.
At one of the rest stops in Texas, we read about the invention of barbed wire and the “fence-cutting wars” that ensued. Around 1876, John Warne Gates introduced barbed wire to Texas. Farmer ate it up, as it was a great way to establish their property under the Homestead Act. It also kept people and their animals out of their crops, while keeping their own animals nearby.
But Native Americans and cattle ranchers, who were accustomed to driving herds of cattle over miles of open plains to get food, were not happy with the invention. Animals and people alike were injured by the sharp metal edges, and barriers to migration caused animals to starve. In retaliation, ranchers began cutting the barbed wire to let their animals roam more freely. Finally, the law clamped down and farmers won the “war.” It was a transformative influence on the American West for farmers and ranchers, but even more for Native Americans. You can read more about the history of barbed wire here.
Our Impressions of Kauffman Stadium
We arrived at our campsite, Campus RV Park in Independence Missouri, in time to drop the trailer and rush to the game. We arrived in plenty of time to wander around the park. The Kauffman Stadium’s Hall of Fame is the best one we have seen so far. It was informative to someone like me, who is not as knowledgeable about baseball, and equally fascinating to die-hards like Brad and Ryan!
The field felt much more intimate than some of the other fields we had visited. Appropriate to the City of Fountains, the ballpark features an enormous set of water features in the outfield that light up with color in the evening.
Our Seats: We were seated in Section 125, Row M, seats 10, 11, and 12. The nice thing about a smaller city is that your dollars go further! Our seats were fabulous … just behind home plate … for about a third of what we paid for similar seats at Fenway.
The Food: Brad and Ryan had the Brisket-Achos, Kauffman Stadium’s twist on nachos with Kansas City barbequed brisket, beans, and coleslaw on top! They gave the nachos excellent reviews. I was ready for something a little lighter, and enjoyed a watermelon salad with cucumbers, feta, mint, and balsamic reduction. This came from a stand that was run by volunteers and supported a nonprofit human service agency in Kansas City!
Non-Alcoholic Beer Review: Kauffman Stadium features Old Milwaukee as a non-alcoholic brew. They compensated for their choice by ensuring that it was more broadly available. This was the first stadium I found where people knew where to find the non-alcoholic beer, and there was more than one location!
1 More Home Run for Housing!
The Royals beat rivals, the New York Mets, 4 to 0 with one home run for Home Runs for Housing! That brings our grand total to 10 home runs in 6 games. Every time a team hits a home run, we add about $350 to our total. Be sure to read all about ALICE in my recent post to get a better understanding of why we are raising money for this group of people!
Up Next: A Stop at the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City
Tomorrow, before we make the five-hour drive to St. Louis, we’ll make a stop at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to learn more about the history of the sport. Check out my next post for a recap of what we see!
