Plaza Art Fair 2010

   Last night after work I met Maureen, Renee & some of Maureen's non-work-friends at Kona Grill on the Plaza for some happy hour drinks & sushi, and then to walk the Plaza Art Fair. The weather was a gorgeous 70-ish degrees, and the Plaza was more mobbed than I've ever seen it in my whole time in Kansas City! The Fair itself is cool, with over 240 artists selling their work, food, live music and more. But it was so crowded that it was nearly impossible to walk around & enjoy, much less actually see some art. By the time I got there at 6:00, all of the nearby parking garages were already full & I parked all the way up by St. Luke's (which turned out to be a nice walk, actually). Given all that, Renee & I planned to meet up in the morning to jog with our dogs, have breakfast, & see some art.

Guess who loves to ride in the car:

   We met at Loose Park at 8 am & did about 31 minutes of brisk jogging, 2 times around the track, which is about 2.5 miles. My hip felt great, but I got winded easily since I had to lay off the training almost 2 months ago. All four of the dogs (Aki, Taylor, Rosie & Boo) were in heaven. It was a beautiful, cool morning, 55 degrees, perfect for running. But a funny thing happened. We heard this funny sound approaching & this dude comes blazing around the track on these crazy contraptions called "Kangoo Jumps" shoes that gave him all kinds of bounce & speed...

...and on the third or fourth time he passed us, I realized it was Bob, my hairstylist of the last 10 or so years. LOL!

I never noticed the gold crown on Hall's department store before!

   After the run, we walked downhill to the Plaza & got takeout from Panera (mmm... my favorite baked egg souffle with bacon & spinach!). I stood outside with the dogs while Renee got the food & coffee, and it was so funny because Rosie & Boo look enough like giant shibas that virtually everyone who passed by thought they were all related, and thought that they were all MY dogs! Yeah, just call me Jen the Dog Whisperer Wannabe. We ate across from Brio & then we walked around the Fair.

Boo & Rosie at home

   Here's a view from the south side of Brush Creek, with the Chinese lanterns on the bridge and a few of those 240 white tents:

   Even as it opened at 10:00, the fair got crowded quickly. The dogs were tired & well-behaved from the run, but there were still crowded sidewalks to navigate, kids & strollers all over, noise from the crowd & the live music, and the smell of food being grilled everywhere. Add that to the fact that Aki HATES to wear a harness, and DOUBLE HATES to be coupled to Taylor, and she was a bit of a grouch. At one point, Taylor accidentally brushed up against Aki on one side & an old man's ankle on the other, and Aki snarled to warn him. The old man whipped around & sternly said to me, "HE TRIED TO BITE ME!"

   I saw the whole thing & there was no doubt that this guy was full of B.S. In fact, it took all my strength not to flippantly say, "Aw, shut up, you old fart!" But I bit my tongue & kept walking. It's a good reminder of how litigious people can be. You gonna sue my dog for touching your ankle? Jerk. Minutes later, two adorable little girls swarmed my dogs without warning & gave them giant hugs. Oh yeah, these dogs are dangerous...

   Dick Daniels already had a nice crowd, and since his work was my favorite I wanted to show some photos of his booth. Make sure to check it out if you're down there this weekend—definitely worth the trip!

That was fun! Thanks, Renee!!!
And check it out: Dick with Mayor Funkhouser & Gloria: