Cliff Hanger, hanging from a cliff, and that's why he's called Cliff Hanger!!!!!!

This immortal verse of epic poetry, as you undoubtedly are aware, is from the great kid's show Between The Lions. The show detailed the exploits of that awesome guy, Cliff Hanger, who was irreparably stuck hanging from the side of a cliff. What this has to do with my blog, I don't really know. But it may start to make more sense as I go along.

Last Saturday I helped my sister move into the house they've been trying to close on for four months, and while I've been part of some much harder moves, it was still hard work. Besides the fact that helping people move into a brand new (or in this case, brand newish) house is such a heartwarming experience, it helped that she and my brother-in-law moved into a seriously beautiful neighborhood, complete with cool houses, winding roads, lots of trees, and a cliff. In fact, it is of this neighborhood I plan to write, so if you're not into that sorta thing, now would be a good time to stop reading. I mean it, if you're not going to be interested, stop reading like, Right Now!

So, I guess you didn't stop reading. Darn, I guess that means I have to keep writing. Ok where was I? Oh yeah, neighborhood. They now live in the Old Northeast area of Kansas City. Their house is sort of like a little (not so little) cottage hidden in the middle of urban Kansas City. The house is pretty cool. It has the whole TARDIS thing going on: it seems bigger on the inside, full of cubbyholes, an accessible antic with a random cedar-lined closet, and a basement with an obscenely low ceiling. They also share a driveway with their neighbors, which I think is kinda cool. But I guess their new neighbors didn't feel the same after having our U-Haul truck in their only exit all day. 

I was first introduced to this place on Halloween night. The plan had been for my sister and brother-in-law to have their house by that night so that they could participate in the festivities. On the big night, their street was closed to through traffic and the city provided candy to all the houses to hand out. Some of these houses had some seriously cool displays set up in their front yards. There were inflatables out on the street and a real life Ghost Buster. Doctor Who was also spotted disabling some suspecting Cyber Men (actually, this was just me blinding random people with my Sonic Screwdriver), and the lawn of the Kansas City Museum was haunted by creepy looking Victorian ghosts. Besides the fact I chickened out of Trick-or-Treating, it was a great time. Even if some of the family hadn’t moved into the neighborhood, we'd still plan on frequenting this festival of awesomeness, even if the queues  for candy at each house were a mile long.

If you're interested in more scenic scenery the trees along Cliff Drive are exquisite. Perhaps the best way to see them in all their Autumnal glory is by participating in the Cliff Hanger 5k/8k foot race (hence the stanza at the beginning.) This medium-sized race happens to be another one I frequent, mostly because they give out pancakes afterwards. Like I said in a previous blog, free food should be the main reason for attending any event. If racing isn't your thing, then consider that Cliff Drive is closed every weekend to auto traffic.  So maybe a brisk, or maybe not-so-brisk depending on the weather, stroll would be in order.

I already sort of mentioned the Kansas City Museum on Gladstone Blvd. which is literally down the street from where my sister now lives. When this establishment isn't being inhabited by the undead, various historic and educational exhibits can be partaken of. Admission is free, there's a great view of Downtown, and, most importantly, the Visitor Center serves root beer.

Root beer seems like a good enough place to stop. So I will. Hopefully I've been successful in peaking your interest in this awesome part of town. It seems like a collision of an older, urban way of living, with the personal sanctity people now-a-day's crave. Plus, they're getting Google Fiber. Which is reason enough to venture forth, even if it's just to siphon someone's super fast wi-fi.  

Josiah Bell, Teen Blogger