KC, Madison, Minneapolis
 

Road tripping July 4 - 14.

KC, Madison, North Shore Lake Superior, Minneapolis, KC

Need recommendations for things to do. Interesting restaurants? Good art museums? Interesting parts of town.

From my other thread, I've got , Oklahoma Joes and Cafe Gratitude restaurants in KC.
Nelson Atkins and Kemper Museums in KC.

Need some feedback for Madison and Minneapolis.

Madison is a great place. Rent a kayak on lake wingers, lunch at jacs on Monroe street. Check out the farmers mkt on the capital square on Saturdays. Breakfast at marigolds nearby or mickeys dairy bar.
Best new restaurants are Pig in a fur coat, Forequarter and Nostranos. Get a beer at the student Union just off State Street and listen to the bands and people watch on the weekends.
Chasten museum is wonderful? So is Mad museum of Contemp. art. Dine at Frescos.
Pizza at Paisans, burgers at Dotty Dumplings. If you are on the west side, Eno Vinos is a must.
Drive 45minutes to New Glarus the Swiss community. I could go on forever!

exiledprincessK,

Is the farmers market open all day on Sat. I might not get there till afternoon. Of all those restaurants mentioned which are your top 1 or 2?

I missed your KC thread so here is my unsolicited input:

Kansas City things to see:

National WWI Museum
Steamboat Arabia Museum
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (after visiting the museum, stop by Arthur Bryants for the best damned BBQ in KC)
Airline History Museum
The Shawnee Indian Mission near Mission (3403 W 53rd St
Fairway KS) is interesting. Right smack dab of suburbia is this park. Very interesting site.
The water fountains

Kansas City places to eat (listed by order of preference and yes they are all BBQ places, because HELLO! Kansas City):

Arthur Bryants - best BBQ in town. But go to the original location near the Negro leagues museum -- the neighborhood might seem "sketchy" but the parking lot is perfectly fine.
Oklahoma Joes - go to the original location (3002 West 47th Ave)
Jack Stack - get the burnt ends and their bread pudding is to die for
Gates - be prepared for the cashiers to yell at you when you order "WELCOME TO GATES MAY I HELP YOU?"

Unless you're a hipster or hardcore vegetarian, I'd totally skip Cafe Gratitude.


Kansas City what to drink:

Boulevard beer. Great stuff.

The Nelson Atkins and Kemper are great museums, but coming from Long Island I would assume that you have seen similar many times. I would recomend replacing one of them with something more unique such as the Steamboat Arabia Museum, Negro Leagues & KC Jazz Museum or the National World War One Museum.

We were in Madison about a month ago. We took a tour of the state capitol, had some really good pizza at Ian's on State Street, looked around at the farmer's market, and went to UW's Babcock Hall for some of their delicious ice cream.

If you click on my name, you can find my trip report (which I really should finish today).

Lee Ann

In Minneapolis, the Institute of Arts is terrific (good Asian collection, but lots of good stuff in general), as is the Walker Art Center (for modern art; cool architecture, too.)
www.walkerart.org
www.artsmia.org

If you happen to be in Madison on a Saturday, the public radio show Whad'Ya Know? is broadcast live from Monona Terrace. Odds are good that you will even be on air.

thanks for the tips! ill reference it when im there.

when driving kc-madison-duluth-minniapolis, is any of it scenic or just as well driven at night?

are there any july 4 activities my first night in kc?

mrs pickle you mentioned groupons in your post. are groupons good the day you buy them?

Driving Madison to Duluth you will want to do in daylight, particularly the northern part. You'll be in rural/forested areas and there's a good chance of hitting a deer with your car at night. They tend to be more active starting in late evening and I always see some either on the side of the road or crossing/running in front of my car. Daylight is best.

Here is a link to the July 4th festivities in Kansas City:

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/06/27...ebrations.html

You haven't mentioned where you are staying in Kansas City, or if it is on your other thread, I missed it. Anyway, KC's "official" celebration at Berkeley Riverfront Park would be north of downtown alongside the I-35 bridge over the Missouri, if that helps with a point of reference.

As for scenic drives, the drive north from Duluth is spectacular--it's been compared to Hwy 1 in California--there are waterfalls, beautiful lighthouses, pretty parks with hiking trails and picnic spots--plan to take your time and enjoy it.

The Dane County Farmers' Market in Madison is open until 2 pm. It's a must-do, IMO.

>>mrs pickle you mentioned groupons in your post. are groupons good the day you buy them?<<

Sometimes they are; other times, you have to wait 24 hours to use one. Be sure to read the fine print before you buy.

Lee Ann

It's been a while but we had fun in Madison at Essen Haus.

For Minneapolis, Summer is the best time to be here. Assuming you are here towards the end of your trip, I would suggest several things

- Basilica Block Party
- Aquatennial
- Renting bikes at Lake Calhoun and riding all around the Lake of the Isles area. Dinner on the roof at Stellas in Uptown
- Heading west to Lake Minnetonka and renting kayaks from Tommy's Trolley in Excelsior and kayaking around. Dinner at Bayside or Maynards on the deck. Alternatively, go early, kayak, have lunch at one of the lake front restaurants, take the Minnehaha over to Wayzata, walk around and have dinner, take it back.
- Twins game at Target Field. Lunch before at Smack Shack, Dinner after at Bar La Grassa
- Lawn Bowling at Brits
- Visit some of the galleries in North Minneapolis and grab a tiki drink and a pizza at Psycho Suzi's

if i use priceline what parts of kc, madison and
minni (can i call it that?) should i try for ?

also hows the drive from kc to madison?

im thinking if i cant get to madison by sat morn id go instead to the de moines farmers market. any feedback on that one?

In Kansas City, the two Priceline zones I would recommend are the Country Club Plaza or Downtown/Crown Center--there are many nice hotels located in both zones. There isn't a lot going on in downtown Kansas City most evenings, so if you were wanting to walk to restaurants or do some shopping, then stick to the Plaza--hard to go wrong there, although there are a couple of hotels that are kind of on the outskirts of the area. Check biddingfortravel.com to see what has been coming up.

The North Shore of Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian Border is gorgeous. Many parts of the road go along the lake and there are many scenic places to see waterfalls and hike along the way. Grand Marais is about 100 miles north of Duluth and is a very scenic little towm with a shops, restaurants, art galleries, etc. The town is right on Lake Superior and has a beautiful harbor. The scenic drive from Duluth to Two Harbors is also very nice. If you stay in Duluth you will want to be down by Canal Park which is bu the Duluth Ship Canal where the big freighters come in and you are right next to them when they enter the harbor and go under the Aerial Bridge. You can also take a harbor cruise, tour a large freighter that is permanently docked by Canal Park. There is also a Lake walk which you can take from Canal Park. There are many shops and restaurants in Canal Park and there are also more restaurants and shops in the Fitger's Complex (you can drive there or take the Lake Walk). You have already gotten some good advice about Minneapolis. I really enjoy being out around the lakes that are close to downtown and it is fun to go out to Lake Minnetonks or to the river near Stillwater. I would bid for hotels either out along 494 in Bloomington or downtown. There are a lot of choices. Another place that I enjoy is Minnehaha Falls. Have a good trip.

I would bid on hotels downtown. Quite a few fun, funky boutique-ish hotels have opened lately. See if you can get one of them. No sense in coming to this fun city and staying out near the Mall of America.

On your way to Madison, consider a stop at the Amana Colonies in eastern Iowa. They are a national historic landmark that consists of seven 150 year old villages with great German food, restaurants and crafts.