Explore Kansas City in the Fall with Special Journeys!

If you’re looking for a trip that is close to home with some tasty fall treats, shopping, and sea life, then this is the trip for you.  We’ll begin our trip with the quintessential fall activity, apple picking!  Make sure you get your best apple recipes ready for when you head home with your bag full of delicious apples.  Nothing tastes better than when you’ve picked it yourself!  We’ll also enjoy a fun hayride around the orchard.

Next up on this fun Fall trip brings us to the Crown Center for some shopping.  When it comes to shopping in Kansas City, Crown Center isn’t just another run of the mill kind of place.  You’ll love exploring unique finds and one-of-a-kind stores.  Grab a KC themed item at ‘Best of Kansas City’ where there are shirts, cups, pins and more.  Or stop by the ‘Missing Piece’ to grab a fedora or fascinator to top off your Fall look.

When we’re done working up our appetite by shopping, join us by enjoying some of that delicious Kansas City BBQ. KC is known for their spices, slow-smoked, and tomato-based barbecue sauce, YUM!  Served with baked beans, French fries, coleslaw and other southern-food staples, you’ll be going back for seconds.

The next day brings us to the Hallmark Visitors Center.  Here we will discover how a teenager from Nebraska tucked two shoeboxes of postcards under his arms and set out to create an iconic company in Kansas City. We’ll explore interactive displays and fascinating exhibits to give us a glimpse of the creative spirit of Hallmark and it’s over 100 years of history.  At the Center, we can watch a bow machine create a star-shaped bow with the push of a button, to take home as a souvenir. Or enjoy the many Christmas trees on display.  Starting in 1966 the employees of Hallmark created and decorated a life-sized Christmas tree as a gift to the founder, J.C. Hall.  There are so many unique trees to see as each year there was a different theme, such as the bread dough tree.

We then will explore the Kansas City Sea Life. This wonderful attraction is brimming with oceanic creatures both great and small. At the interactive touch pool, you’ll be able to reach in and touch one of the many amazing rockpool creatures, such as a pencil sea urchin, cowrie snail, sea stars, and more.  Then head on over to say hello to Gertrude and Lou, two of the sea turtles swimming around at the Sea Turtle Rescue Center.  All of the turtles at the center have been deemed non-releasable back in to the wild, so they spend their days swimming and saying hello to all of the Sea Life Visitors.  Gertrude was found off the coast of Florida caught up in marine debris which caused her to have severe damage in her front right flipper.  Lou, who loves to eat cucumbers, has a large dip in his shell, and while the staff isn’t quite sure how he got it, you’ll have to see if you can spot him in the tank!  We’ll also see mesmerizing jellyfish, Sea Dragons, and of course, sharks! It’s a fun way to end this amazing trip to Kansas City.

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