I love traveling with my kids and husband, but a runaway girls trip with just my sister-in-law and the baby was fantastic!
After lunch at McAlister’s, we left Wichita. We made it to Kansas City with no stops, which felt like a miracle with a baby on board!
First, we checked into our beautiful hotel – The Raphael Kansas City. We had a queen suite on the top floor, giving us a fantastic view of the city – and the Christmas lights up for a little longer.
From the hotel, we headed to Under the Cover bookstore and El Torreon KC for a book signing. Under the Cover is the coziest bookstore specializing in romance novels. The store was beautifully decorated and perfectly organized for my sister-in-law to find the books she wanted. I nursed the baby on one of the couches while she shopped. After she selected her books, we headed to the book signing at El Torreon. The venue has a remarkable history as a dance hall, concert venue, skating rink, and wedding and event venue. It’s even on the National Registry of Historic Places, as it opened in 1927. The entryway also had the most enormous chandelier I’ve ever seen, and I am seriously kicking myself for not getting a picture!
After getting signed books from both authors at the event, we hit the road and found our way back to our hotel – starving since we hadn’t eaten supper, and it was 9 PM. Thankfully, our booking included a $50 meal credit for dinner or dessert at Chaz, the jazz restaurant in the hotel’s lowest level. We sat right behind the bar and enjoyed listening to the live jazz music while we chatted about the book signing and our upcoming meal. We started with wine and the KC mac & cheese; then I got the chicken “BLT” sandwich. The mac & cheese was the best I’ve ever had and was large enough that I didn’t need the sandwich. The sandwich was a fun take on a BLT with bacon jam, arugula, and tomato, topping a chicken breast. After our delicious dinner, we got the Kahlua chocolate mousse for dessert. The mousse was smooth, rich, and perfectly wrapped up our late-night dinner. The meal credit covered about half our bill, and then we went to our room to read and sleep.
The following day, we returned to Chaz for breakfast with a $30 meal credit thanks to our membership status. My sister-in-law was thrilled with the eggs benedict, and the vanilla-infused pancakes I had were delicious. Our bill totaled a grand $8, and then we went to IKEA.
After touring IKEA for a few hours, we headed back home in time for our weekly Girl Scout meeting.
Overall, the trip was a blast, and the beauty of The Raphael, El Torreon, and Chaz will not soon be forgotten.
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