On This Very Christmas Night

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  Kansas City, Missouri
Sunday, December 18, 2011

This morning we got up, packed up the car, and drove to Kansas City, Missouri. We had been to Kansas City two years ago, and at that time we went to the Truman Home National Park. However, we were unable to tour the house because there were no tickets left. Today we had extra time, and so we unexpectedly got to visit this national park for a second time. Today, there were tickets available, and we got a private tour of our president's home. Before taking the tour we watched a short film about the president and his family. On the tour we saw many of the items talked about in the movie, such as the grand piano the Trumans gave their daughter for her birthday, the fence the Secret Service had to put around the property to protect the Trumans and their house from excited citizens, Harry Truman's library, and many others. The house itself was decorated for Christmas, with a wreath on the door, poinsettias around the fireplace, and candles and holly on the table. The furniture was arranged just as Bess had left it when she died in 1982. Other notable parts of the house included the spot where Truman was standing as he made the decision about the Vietnam War, paintings of the family that had hung in the White House during Truman's years as president, and a blue couch which important and famous people sat on when they came to visit the home.

Once we were finished with the tour of the historic home, we got a quick lunch and then drove to the Spirit center to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert. They were absolutely amazing! We enjoyed the concert tremendously. They mostly played Christmas music, including favorites of ours such as Christmas Canon Rock, Mad Russian's Christmas, and Wizards in Winter. A narrator spoke in between each song telling a story about a Christmas Eve night. The music of course was outstanding, but what made the show even more spectacular were the special effects. Spot lights, strobe lights, multicolored lasers, moving lighted screens, fire, fireworks, catwalk stages right above the audience's heads - they had it all. Sarajevo was probably my favorite song of the night. The orchestra played with such passion and feeling, and the choreographed lights and lasers made the entire song even more intense. At the end of the song, there was a final burst of fireworks, and as the stage grew silent and dark, the fireworks shimmered down like golden glitter.

After the fabulous concert, we drove to our hotel here in Illinois. The lobby is decorated for Christmas, complete with trees, candles, holly, wreaths, and nutcrackers. We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow!

~Tracy

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