FROM THE EDITOR
C O N T R I B U TO R S
16
KANSAS CITY MAY 2022
Josh Beecher
PHOTOGRAPHER
The photos of the Hotel Vandivort were taken by Josh Beecher, a photographer and videographer based in Springfield.
Kayala Masisak
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
The photos of the Night Claw hard seltzer at Nighthawk were taken by contributor Kayla Masisak, a graphic designer, photographer and allaround creative person from Kansas City. She loves smiley faces, dogs and bright colors.
Natalea Bonjour
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
The portrait of Grace Ames of Colonial Gardens was taken by intern Natalea Bonjour, a Kansas City native and graduate of Pittsburg State University, where she majored in graphic communications with an emphasis in digital media.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOANNA GORHAM
I
’m pretty much always planning a road trip. I just like to get out on the road—whether it’s driving up to Green Bay for a football game and then over to Minneapolis for a few spins around the ancient barrel-roofed ice arena where The Mighty Ducks was filmed, or going down to Florida for a few days of sugar sand beaches and a dip in a bright blue swimming hole. I’ve done those trips just in the last three months—with visits to Tulsa and St. Louis beside. I know a lot of people who don’t love a long drive, but if I’ve got the Cocaine & Rhinestones podcast going and a few Starbucks Doubleshots in the cooler, I’m pretty much good to go. This is why our May issue, which always has a regional travel theme, is a personal favorite of mine. This year, I got to spend a great weekend in Tulsa. And if you have any doubt whatsoever about how great a weekend in Tulsa can be, I hope the story on page 56 conveys some of my excitement. But I didn’t even have space to get into some of my favorite moments from that weekend, which included a couple of drinks at the Saturn Room, a great Tiki bar and a slice of peanut butter pie for dinner at Antoinette Baking Co. From editing this magazine, I can tell you that there is more than enough going on in Kansas City for you to ever need to hop in the car. But, I usually find that these little getaways make me even more appreciative of the comforts of home and better attuned to all the things that make KC a great place to live. And, of course, among those things is the central location—this time of year a road warrior can get deep into the Rockies or down onto the Gulf in a day’s drive. The spots we picked are all a little closer: Omaha, Springfield, St. Louis, the Flint Hills and Excelsior Springs, where you can stay in the tree house on our cover. Associate Editor Mary Henn took those last two trips and was so impressed with the history and friendliness of the two towns that she’s planning a road trip to survey other charming little burgs in the area. I know that feeling all too well—roadtripping is addictive, especially if you end up staying in a great hotel. The more you get out, the more you want to get out. Because the hotel industry has been hammered by the pandemic, this year we’re making them the star of the show in our Great Stays package on page 54. We’ve profiled six great newish hotels and given you a few tips on what to do during a weekend stay at five (we figure you know your way around St. Louis). We hope that this feature helps point you to some great stays this month—in my personal opinion May is the queen of all road trip months since the weather is nice Martin Cizmar but cool and the summer crowds are still at EDITOR IN CHIEF bay. Drive safe, and see you in June! MARTIN@KANSASCITYMAG.COM
