Drinks with Don

I recently spent a whole week at the Intercontinental Hotel on the Plaza in Kansas City.  While Kansas City is not a US city often on must visit lists, I have always really enjoyed the city as I have visited it many times over the past decade.  With a few distinct areas, my favorite is the Plaza which is a Spanish inspired section with low rise buildings based on those in Seville, Spain filled with restaurants and shops. 

I had a beautiful Plaza facing room so I could see the holiday lights on all the buildings which is a holiday tradition for the area.  Additionally I could also easily walk for a bite of the famous Kansas City barbeque at a favorite restaurant of mine. 

I travel frequently and often find that half of the nights away I want to grab a quick dinner that I can bring back to my room.  It was no different at the Intercontinental, and on my second evening there, I stopped by the concierge lounge on my floor and expected to grab a plate full of the appetizers and snacks to then retreat to my room and work. 

When I walked in I was greeted by a concierge named Don who immediately said. "Welcome to Drinks with Don".  I was the only person in the room as early January is not a popular time to be on the road.  Don was so engaging I could not help but to start to chat with him.  What a conversationalist Don was and we just kept chatting about lots of topics until we were joined by one other hotel guest.  I arrived in the room hoping to grab a quick plate to go and two and a half hours later I left having had a wonderful conversation among the three of us in the lounge.

The next night I returned to the lounge rather than going to an outside restaurant as I was hoping to find Don on duty again and to engage in conversation with him and other guests.  I was not disappointed and had yet another great evening in the concierge lounge just having fun conversation and food. 

With just two more nights at the hotel planned I thought I would tip Don as a thank you, but the more I thought about it I wanted to get him a gift as a tip since he and the atmosphere he created in the concierge lounge had really made my trip more enjoyable.

I walked over to the Plaza and bought Don two ties (during our conversation one evening he mentioned how much he loves ties) that would match his "Welcome to Drinks with Don greeting". 

The first tie had grapes, bottle openers and corks on it.... 

and the second beers on skis (aka "brewskies").

On my last day at the hotel I surprised Don with the ties and he was genuinely thrilled.  He immediately put one on and said that he could not wait to be done work for the day so he could show them to everyone.  There is no doubt that the ties will be great conversation subjects in the lounge over the coming weeks.

I so look forward to returning to the hotel soon to enjoy conversation and food in the lounge and catch up with Don.  The Intercontinental is fortunate to have him.

First Flight

I started this year with a flight.  While I somewhat dreaded arriving at the airport the Sunday at the end of what for many people is a two week vacation, I arrived early resigned to the fact the lines would be long.  I assumed extra time would be needed to get through security behind many people who travel infrequently and thus are not speedy in the process. 


Upon arriving at 6:30pm at the airport I was pleasantly surprised to find a nearly empty terminal!  I literally walked right up to the belt to push my carry on baggage through the scanner.  I was checked in at to my gate within 15 minutes of arriving at the airport.


While my flight was delayed an hour, the plane was only 20% full with row after row of empty seats.

So I decided to take advantage of the fact I could move around to row after empty row and leave some notes inside the magazine in the seatback pockets.  It seemed each was newly placed onboard with January 2016 dates and the puzzles in the back not yet completed.

I hope the finders smile and start the year with the same pleasant travel experience I had.

Boxing Day

Today, the day after Christmas, is the lesser known holiday of Boxing Day.  A British tradition from a long ago time when servants had to work on the Christmas holiday and had the next day off to celebrate and visit with their own families.  The servants would receive a Christmas box from their employers as a present for their service during the year.

Boxing Day was celebrated in the United States until independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776.  Now there are some Boxing Day events at historic locations within the US, and I have found one to go to today where there will be a sale of British goods and foods as well as a tour of a home right near one of the battles for independence.


In trying to think of something to leave for finders on Boxing Day, I thought of the lesser seen $2 bill.  It seems a lesser known holiday could be celebrated with a lesser known bill.  Plus the $2 features Thomas Jefferson who was one of the founding fathers responsible for helping separate the United States from Great Britain and leading to the end of the Boxing Day festivities in the new world. 

Hope the finders can buy themselves a little treat for the holiday.  Perhaps a cup of British tea. 

Annual Ornament Gifts

I have chosen my ornaments for what has become my annual tradition of leaving ornaments for finders.  Regardless of religion, a sparkly ornament can  make a lovely addition to a tree, doorknob, peg board, etc.  May they bring a little joy into the hearts of the finders.

Birdies in the Grass

On a recent weekend in Kansas City I had a whole day to just enjoy the city with no set plans.  I started the day at the free tour at Hallmark Cards.  The museum walked through all the cards, movies, bows and wrapping paper, ornaments, etc. that the company has ever made.  There was also a bow making machine making free souvenirs at the push of a button!

 

Hallmark, a family owned business deeply rooted in the KC community, has been very generous to the community and especially generous to the Nelson-Atkins Museum which as a result has an impressive collection and is always free.  So after meeting up with a dear friend for lunch we went to the museum to wander through the contemporary art wing and then around the grounds.  The museum has an outdoor sculpture park and is known for the birdies on the lawn.

The day had me feeling so good that I left a few gifts around and even snapped a couple pictures after they were dropped off which is a rarity.

 

Joining Social Media

After existing only in the blog world for 5 years, the time has come to join Facebook in order to better connect with followers and gift finders.  Going forward all posts will be on both the blog and Facebook.

If you follow my blog and are on Facebook please like my page.

Riding the Rails

Last week I had to travel from Boston to Philadelphia, and after consideration of driving, flying or riding the rails, I decided the train was the route to go. 

There is something peaceful about riding a train and watching the world go by outside the window.  Although I rode to Philadelphia on a weekday fully booked train, I took a much less crowded train back on a Saturday and found time to read, write emails to friends, work on some art projects, etc. 

While I brought a few magazines to read, I also read the usual seat back staple Amtrak magazine which got me thinking about leaving some messages within the pages for other travelers.  Since I rode until the very last stop, toward the end of my trip I was able to move to many empty seats and leave the below message in several copies of the magazine.