We walked to an interesting attraction that is very near to the Eisenhower complex, where I was fascinated by this old prairie cabin.

 

 

See! It even looks very nice on the inside. Nearby there was a Museum of Telephony with a marvelous collections of all types of old phones and equipment. It is sponsored by SPRINT, which got it's start in this area.

 

 

For our last dinner together, we were bussed to this very famous restaurant that specializes in the local variety of FRIED CHICKEN. It was very good.

 

 

It was served family style with all you could eat! There was a lot of chicken left over, so it was given to the bus driver.

 

 

And here is that wonderful bus, seats 56.

 

 

Friday morning there was a gathering in the Motel meeting room to wind down the week. It featured a chance for the group to give feedback to the Elderhostel staff. And it went very well.  After lunch we drove to Kansas City to visit Alan and Roselle, who had invited us to stay with them and see some of the highlights of the area. This is their beautiful home.

 

 

Alan hard at work on his computer.

 

 

On Saturday, they drove us through parts of Overland Park and Kansas City that were very impressive and beautiful.

 

Our first goal was to see this spectacular and moving memorial to the fallen servicemen of World War I. It is composed of the large tower in the center, a large underground complex of rooms and facilities, and two memorial buildings, located to the left and right of the tower.

 

 

This is the interior of the Eastern building, which has a fantastic painted mural surrounding the walls. It was painted on a huge canvas by hundreds of French painters during the war, and put on display  as a traveling panoramic exhibit. It was exhibited throughout Europe, making lots of money for the owners. Public interest gradually waned, and it was sent to US shortly before WW II, and ended up in a warehouse, where it was damaged. It was finally  sent here and some portions were restored and placed on these walls. Apparently there is still a large amount of the painting still in storage.

 

 

Around the lower portion of the walls were these paintings of maps of the major battles of the war. Oh, the ancient technology! I kept thinking of how modern computer based presentations might have done it, But this gives a wonderful serene effect that enhanced the feeling of treasured memories of great heroic deeds, and lives sacrificed.

 

 

A tribute to those who served.

 

 

Next we rode the elevator to the top of the tower. This is the view towards downtown Kansas City, MO, with the train station in the foreground. There are many rail lines threading through Kansas City, with a lot of rail traffic. It was just like watching a fantastic model railroad layout in action! And the train station had wonderful memories for me, because I went through there back in December of 1945 as a sailor on my way to the San Francisco Bay area. My, how I had changed since then!

 

 

Roselle, Alan and Marie on the top of the tower

 

 

Alan later sent this photo of me, Marie and Roselle to show that I was really there.