Return to KC was not deja' vu

Students enjoying some good BBQ at Arthur Bryant's.

By Kelly Parsons

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I'll be honest, the first thing I thought was how much I wasn't looking forward to today's trip to Kansas City. During the drive from Columbia, memories of my first experience in the city ran through my head.

It was the last weekend in March, and the UNC basketball team was to play its second- and third-round games in Kansas City's Sprint Center. Being from the South, where the weather's always warm in the springtime, I naively packed clothes for warm weather as I prepared for my trip to cover the game, regretfully failing to check a weather forecast.

Had I done so, I would have seen the 80 percent chance of snow showers, and perhaps I would have been a bit more prepared. Needless to say, a blizzard commenced the day I arrived, and I spent the rest of the long weekend shivering, my only source of warmth found in a lightweight cardigan.

As we approached the city, overcast and gloomy just as I had left it, I prepared myself for yet another unhappy experience in KC. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when I got out of the car at the 18th and Vine Jazz District. The street was artsy and historic, its buildings appearing much more inviting than what I had seen on my previous visit. When I walked inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, my perspective became even more positive.

At the beautiful museum I learned things about the negro baseball leagues and their ties to the city. Slowly but surely, my attitude began to shift. On our next stop, Arthur Bryant's bar-b-que, I had one of the best meals I've had in a long while. The interior of the low-key restaurant reminded me of the southern food establishments I frequent at home in North Carolina, and the food was just as good. As we walked out of the restaurant to return to the car and drive back to Columbia, I began to realize my view of Kansas City had all but done a complete 180. And just as I did, the sun peaked through the clouds.

What I learned from that days' experience was that often, first impressions can be off base. A return visit to a city is a must before making a sweeping judgement. Because sometimes, all it takes is a little bar-b-que and baseball to inspire an entirely new outlook.