“Your mom has a tech conference next week,” Beth told me. “So, it looks like we are going to Kansas City, KS.” I stopped wagging my tail and looked up at her with my biggest puppy eyes. “Who’s ‘we?’” was the question I tried to convey with my baby browns. It’s not very fun when my moms travel and leave me at home. Fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with FOMO on this occasion. My moms decided to bring me. My job would be to keep Beth company while Terry was doing tech-y things.
Business is a pleasure in Kansas City, KS
“You packed the dog food, right?” Beth asked when we got to our hotel. Terry’s response wasn’t very reassuring. “I thought you were packing it, honey.” Ruh-roh! I was already on a diet. Now it looked like I was going to starve to death. At least I was going to end my run on this planet in a nice hotel with Animal Planet in HD. But that’s not to say that I wanted to spend all my time in the room. Hangry or not, I still wanted to see Kansas City, KS. But first I needed to take a quick power nap.
The knock on our hotel room door woke me up. When Beth opened it, a man in a KC Pet Food hat stood there holding a big bag of my Diamond Care Weight Management dog food. “Thanks,” said Terry, handing him some money. “You’re a life-saver.” The man just laughed and said “No worries, we’ve been feeding Kansas City dogs for almost 100 years now.” He bent down and gave me a nice little scratch behind my left ear before whispering into it, “And we don’t just do deliveries. You’ll have to convince your moms to stop by our store where I can hook you up with a bone.”
Both my ears perked up at this. I’d do anything, even play dead, for a B-O-N-E.
Where will you stay in Kansas City, KS
Our first night in Kansas City, KS was my favorite because we spent it together. It started out at the source of the mouthwatering aroma I’d smelled since we first arrived. “Welcome to Woodyard Bar-B-Que,” said the restaurant hostess. Upon noticing me, she immediately headed out to the patio and sat us in between a freshly-groomed Golden Retriever and his family and a birthday party attended by a pug who was so ugly she was almost cute. I wanted to be social, but I also wanted to remain alert in case my moms dropped anything. The nice waitress had brought me a dish of refreshing ice water, but between the ribs, wings, brisket and even burnt ends, I was nearly drowning in drool.
After dinner—where I cheated on my diet with what could very well be the world’s best barbecue—Terry suggested we see a movie. Did she forget I was a 150-lb. Saint Bernard? I wasn’t sure how were they going to sneak me into the theater, but I was all for seeing “The Secret Life of Pets 2” ahead of my friends back home.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to wear a disguise to get into the movie. The theater turned out to be Boulevard Drive-In. In fact, it turned out to be so welcoming to canines (and kids under 11) that our admission is free! I got so wrapped up in watching Max, Duke and Buddy on the big screen (the world’s first 4k drive-in cinema) that I even forgot to properly beg my moms for some of their popcorn.
“Well, I’m off to my conference,” Terry announced early the next morning. “Don’t have too much fun without me.” Beth and I promised not to. It was a promise we wouldn’t keep.
The noise was barely audible to Beth. But I heard it loud and clear. The unlatching of my leash was the sound of freedom. I lumbered (I’m a large breed after all) toward the other dogs frolicking in the off-leash area of Wyandotte County Lake and Park. Between all the grass and trees there was so much green I quickly forgot we were still in the city. The park, and its lake, were huge.
After a long walk and some good rounds of catch, Beth needed a caffeine-fix, so we ended up in the Starbucks drive-thru. When we pulled up to the window the barista handed Beth her soy latte before looking at me. “Would your co-pilot like a puppacinno?” she asked. Beth laughed and nodded.
LOVE! I wanted to shout. I’d LOVE a pupaccinno—preferably a venti.
You know how they say all dog’s go to heaven? Well, I can definitely say that’s true for any dog who’s been to St. John’s Dog Park. It’s absolute heaven. Nothing quite gets me like a huge, open lawn full of endless opportunities for running, rolling and sniffing. I was so in the moment that it took me awhile to check back in with Beth. When I did, she was taking in the view of the skyline.
“It’s been a perfect day, hasn’t it?” Beth said. I wagged my tail enthusiastically.
While on sniff duty, I met a few friendly locals. I asked them what they liked best about living in Kansas City, KS. “The parks, of course,” said the Aussie with two-different colored eyes. “There are so many things for dogs to do here.” Then the jowly Basset Hound chimed in. “If I had to pick, I’d say the happy hours!”
I found out what he meant later that afternoon. After making a few new friends at the dog park, Beth and I joined them for happy hour on the patio at nearby Mockingbird Lounge. I’ve been to “pet friendly” establishments before, but this place was tops. My new friends and I lounged in the shade. I didn’t want to be antisocial, but after a full day of running around I was ready to rest my eyes. I drifted off to the sound of Beth and her new friends laughing and talking.
I woke up as everyone got up from the table. It had been a great day, but I knew that Beth and I were both ready to see Terry again, so we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
“Today was great, but I’m so exhausted,” Terry said when we met up with her back at the hotel. “How was your day? You guys didn’t have any fun without me, did you?”
“Nope,” Beth said, winking at me. “Not a lick.” I stopped wagging my tail and looked at Terry with my saddest puppy eyes. What my mom didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. After all, we didn’t want her to have FOMO, now did we?