September witnessed the opening of one of Missouri’s newest cultural and visitor attractions, the magnificent Kauffman Center of the Performing Arts in downtown Kansas City. Many years in the planning, the Kauffman Center not only replaces antiquated and inadequate venues for the city’s three major performing arts organizations, but also does so in truly spectacular fashion. 

From the north side, the facility approximates two giant oyster shells that some have compared to the famed Sydney Opera House in Australia. The Center was designed by Israeli architect Moshe Safdie, whose other recent, and similarly praiseworthy addition to the Midwest cultural scene is the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, which opened its doors in November.

Inside are two splendid halls. From the main entrance on the south side of the complex, the 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre, the new home of the Kansas City Opera and Kansas City Ballet, is on the visitor’s left. This facility will also be utilized for “Broadway” productions and traveling shows, such as the one-woman performance by comedienne Lily Tomlin that was scheduled for the evening of my visit in late November. On the right, and connected by a spacious and truly impressive “grand foyer” on two levels, is the Kansas City Symphony’s new 1,600-seat Helzberg Hall. Both the ceiling (roof) and the south side of the foyer itself are expansive walls of glass  To the south is a panoramic view of the city (but not the downtown area itself), looking towards the Crown Center, historic Union Station, the Liberty Memorial, which houses the National World War I Museum, and other sights.

My reason for coming to Kansas City was a Sunday matinee concert by the Symphony, an excellent orchestra that has come a very long way since it’s founding in 1982 from the “ashes” of the bankrupt Kansas City Philharmonic. Although based on the conversations I had, the word had likely circulated widely among the city’s residents, but I was immediately surprised how much the interior of Helzberg Hall resembles a slightly smaller version of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.  Needless to say, however, the somewhat controversial exterior of the Disney facility, designed by Frank Gehry, is much different.  But the real test of any concert hall is its acoustics, and I am happy to report that here they are superb. Furthermore, the sightlines are excellent from seating areas throughout the hall.

I think my friend Roger Oyster, the Kansas City Symphony’s Principal Trombone, said it best in an e-mail to me after the hall debuted in September  “I am happy...ecstatic, actually...to report that Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center is spectacular in nearly every way. Stunningly beautiful, sound is flattering on stage, you can hear yourself and your colleagues always no matter what the context---it is literally among the best places I've ever played, which include Symphony Hall in Boston and pre-renovation Carnegie (Hall in New York). I've had some chance to hear the KCS in the house, and while I haven't been in nearly as many great halls as a listener as I have a performer, the sound is absolutely stunning. The best news we learned this last weekend: it sounds even better with a house full of people. We're all beside ourselves with joy here.” Don’t miss it on your group’s next visit to Kansas City!

Halzberg Hall

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Looking for something different and well worth adding to your next tour to Branson and/or Eureka Springs? May I suggest one of two significant Civil War battlefields in the area that are administered by our National Park Service? 

In fact, there are three fine, but lesser known NPS sites that are inexpensive to visit and within easy driving distance of the Branson area. Both Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield and George Washington Carver National Monument are close by in Missouri, and Pea Ridge National Military Park is right across the Arkansas line, about 25 miles west of Eureka Springs and 10 miles northeast of Rogers. This March 7 and 8, the latter site will be celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the crucial battle that saved Missouri for the Union during the first year of the Civil War.  

Open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., year-round except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Days, Pea Ridge features a visitor center with a theatre, bookstore and small museum, as well as a seven-mile tour route through the battlefield itself. Along the way, you’ll pass remnants of the original Trail of Tears, traveled by thousands of Cherokees and other Native Americans during their forced removal to “Indian Territory” (now Oklahoma) during the winter of 1838-39.  You’ll also learn about the movement of the armies, some 16,000 Confederates and 10,500 Federals, which collided here in fierce combat. You can also visit the reconstructed Elkhorn Tavern, held at different times by each side.

Although the tide of battle turned several times, with both armies suffering significant casualties, the Confederates eventually withdrew when their ammunition ran low, leaving Missouri to remain at least politically neutral and a Union State throughout the remainder of the war.   

Trail of Tears marker

Cannons at the Leetown Battlefield

On my recent trip to the Midwest, I focused on three diverse attractions. The first attraction often overlooked by groups headed towards the nearby Ho-Chunk Casino and Wisconsin Dells to the north, or to the House on the Rock to the southwest, is the site of the one-time winter quarters of the storied Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Today, on the banks of the Baraboo River, the Circus World Museum preserves the history and traditions of the circus in America. The Museum, all buildings and exhibits are open annually from mid-April until late October, while live shows featuring a wide variety of circus performers are offered from the week before Memorial Day through the Labor Day weekend. I didn’t make my visit until late November, when they Museum itself was open, but the staff was also kind enough to allow me to wander the grounds by myself on a cold but sunny day. 

Within the complex are historic elephant, horse and animal barns, the Hippodrome (venue for the live performances), classic circus train cars, a carousel, sideshow facilities, and both the W.W Deppe Circus Wagon Pavilion and the C.P. Fox Wagon Restoration Center. The Museum building itself houses what is billed, in typical circus fashion, as “the largest collection of restored parade wagons, antique advertising posters and big top memorabilia in the world.” 

Here also is a theatre for regular showings of a circus movie, and displays that I found particularly interesting which tell the story of the Ringling Brothers themselves, as well as their extensive schedules of annual circus tours, performance and amusement innovations, plus the promotional efforts that they perfected. Groups with an interest in exploring a widespread form of public entertainment that was extremely popular before the days of movies, television and “virtual reality” are sure to enjoy their visits.

In my humble opinion, Barcelona is one of the most interesting and beautiful cities in Europe. Many Mediterranean sailings depart from or conclude at its excellent, state-of-the-art cruise ship complex, so visitors frequently have the opportunity to spend a few days visiting this incredible destination before or after their shipboard adventures. 

There is literally so much to see here that one day. As the capitol of Spain’s autonomous (since 1975) region of Catalonia (Catalunya), the city’s residents proudly consider themselves to be Catalonians rather than Spaniards. 

Barcelona has done an outstanding job of successfully combining its historic and modern elements. On one hand, the ancient cobbled streets and narrow alleyways of its Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic) lead to such incredible architectural riches as the massive Gothic-style Cathedral, the adjacent Royal Palace, and picturesque squares. On the other hand, there is the bizarre but fascinating and chronically unfinished La Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church), the renowned creation of the city’s great architect and native son, Antoni Gaudi, as well as his equally strange Casa Milà and Parc Güell. 

The city’s historic and fascinating downtown pedestrian and shopping street, Las Ramblas, leads from the Columbus Monument to the Plaza de Catalunya, where one can find the massive and traditionally European El Corte Inglés department store. And yet, not that far away is the ultra-modern, harbor front Maremagnum shopping and adjacent aquarium complex.                   

Also among the city’s top sights are its great Picasso Museum, the incredibly ornate Liceu Opera House, and Montjuïc, the mountain park west of the downtown area, which overlooks the city.  All together, the city boasts more than 50 significant museums.

Dining (especially late dining) is also a passion here, so finding your fill of authentic tapas will pose no problem. Getting around is easy, either by taxicabs or the excellent public transportation system.  Or, if you prefer, the on/off, double-decked and brightly colored Bus Turistic provides a convenient way to see all the important sights with a minimum of hassle. Regardless, Barcelona is a city that you’re sure to enjoy exploring!

Antoni Gaudi's Holy Family Church

Antoni Gaudi's Parc Guell

Las Ramblas

Principal city of the largest of the Balearic Islands, Palma is surely also one of the most upscale, chic resort retreats of the Mediterranean. The waterfront is lined with luxury hotels and apartment buildings, and I doubt whether I’ve ever seen a port filled with so many (literally thousands) of high-end sailing and motor yachts.

Wealth is evident here wherever one looks. The island of Mallorca itself covers some 1,350 square miles, and has a population of 800,000, a number that swells to 1.5 million during the “high” summer season.

The heart of the city is its Gothic Quarter, home to Spain’s second-largest Gothic cathedral. The interior of the structure is particularly magnificent, and contains several features added later that were designed by Antoni Gaudi.

Next door is the suitably impressive Almudaina Palace, which has been a popular retreat for Spanish kings through the centuries due to the area’s superb climate.  And from this point, the elegant shops and boutiques that line the main streets of Es Born and Via Roma are but steps away. 

Other points of significant interest on the island include the elegant resort of Port Andratx, the manor houses of La Granja and Son Marroig, the lovely village of Valldemossa, and the unusual Caves of Drach, which reportedly contain the largest underground lake in the world.

Village of Valldemossa

Cathedral's main altar

Yachts and hotels lining harbor

On a relaxing cruise along the Mediterranean coast, I discovered Malaga. A popular tourist destination and the largest city on the Andalusian Coast, Malaga is home to roughly 670,000 residents. If one comes by ship, it is also the usual gateway to ancient Granada and the world-famous palace of Alhambra, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain. 

Malaga, the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, is conveniently near to beautiful beaches and charming villages like Mijas and Alfarnatejo. Nearby also are the prestigious resorts of Marbella and Puerto Banús, extensive vineyards and wine cellars, as well as the picturesque town of Nerja. Nerja is home to important subterranean caves that are among the largest in Europe. Excursions to all these and more should be available aboard your ship.      

Like Barcelona, Malaga boasts a significant Picasso Museum and a splendid Cathedral, built between 1528 and 1728, which combines element of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. Overlooking the city and offering majestic panoramic is the imposing Castillo de Gibralfaro, constructed by the Arabs during the 14th century. 

Lovely parks and gardens can be found adjacent to the downtown area, where shopping is also a popular visitor pursuit. Although the bustling port area here is relatively close to the downtown area, there is some bad news of a temporary nature. Cruise ships dock close to very substantial freighter operations, and the entire complex is torn up in the midst of a major reconstruction project, so walking into the city is all but impossible, requiring the use of a port shuttle bus at €5 per person round-trip.

Roman ruins

Statue of Pablo Picasso in front of the building where he was born

View of city from Castillo de Gibralfaro

Aquariums are some of my favorite places to visit as I travel around the country. There's sometime about coming face-to-face with exotic ocean creatures that thrills me in a way that museums and historic sites simply can't.

At Newport Aquarium, part of Newport on the Levee in Northern Kentucky, I got an up-close glimpse at hundreds of creatures, both domestic and exotic. This million-gallon aquarium features nine main exhibits, which give visitors opportunities to see marine animals from both local freshwwater and faraway oceans. The most exciting section of the aquarium is the "Surrounded by Sharks" tank, a wrap-around exhibit that has visitors walking through clear acryilic tunnels in a ginat tank as eight or nine species of sharks swim above and around their heads. It's the closest you'll ever come to deep-sea immersion without a wetsuit, and the closest you'd ever want to be to these critters without a shark cage.

I also enjoyed exhibits that showcased some of the aquarium's less ferocious residents. My co-worker Stacey and I stood mesmerized at the "Kingdom of the Penguins" exhibit, watching these lumbering birds plop off of the rocks and glide through the water with effortless ease and impressive speed. In the aquarium's aviary, we got up close to parrots and other colorful, exotic birds that pearched in low tree branches just above our heads. Some other visitors stopped to pose for pictures with the birds, who stood gently on their outstretched fingers.

My favorite display, though, was the jellyfish. These simple, translucent creatures simply amaze me — you can see right through their bodies, watching their heads undulate and their long, whispy tentatcles flutter as they ply their way through the water. The dark environment and neon lights behind the tanks give the jellies an otherworldly glow. And when you think about it, a visit to the aquarium is as close to another world as most of us will ever dare to venture.

Up close with exotic birds.

A facinating world of darkness and neon light in the jellyfish exhibit.

I visited the Creation Museum last week as part of a daylong editorial research trip in Northern Kentucky. There's a lot to think about in a museum that deals with such weighty subject matter as the origins of human existence and the search for absolute truth; at the end of the visit, though, two main thoughts filled my mind.

First, I was very pleasantly surprised by the scope and quality of this museum. Some museums that are closely tied to faith are also seen as haphazard or amateur, but the display design and educational content in this museum stand up to other major natural history museums in the U.S. And the museum planners didn't skimp on their vision — this $27 million facility features a planetarium, a theater, two cafes and a number of impressive dioramas and animatronic exhibits. Throughout the exhibits, the museum makes a clear, cogent case for creationism, dealing with questions about evolution, the fossil record, Noah's flood and dinosaurs, with displays that will please both casual visitors and those seeking scientific answers. The idea perpetuated by some critics that this museum is but a naive, superstitious Christian attraction is simply untrue.

The quality of the museum and its exhibits led to my second main thought as I left: If this facility were dinky, cheap, unscientific or poorly put together, it would be very easy to write it off and ignore the message of its content. But because the exhibits are thorough, compelling and well-presented, they engender a real dialogue about the origins of our universe. The Creation Museum has many enthusiastic fans — and also plenty of outspoken critics — but the fact that it is a controversial attraction doesn't diminish the importantece of its subject matter. If nothing else, the greatest success of this place may be that it forces visitors to deal with very important questions about human life, God and the search for eternal meaning. A visit to this museum makes honest thinkers seriously consider what they believe, and why they believe it.

A room-sized exhbit depicts the construction of Noah's ark.

This exhibit presents numerous natural phenomenon that seem to defy evolutionary theory.

The museum takes a firm (and controversial) stand about the source of truth and morality in the world.

Numerous groups toured Woodford Reserve Distillery the day we held our planning retreat there.

On November 4, we held our annual editorial planning retreat at Woodford Reserve Distillery in Woodford County, Kentucky. This is the third time we've held this retreat at this historic central Kentucky site over the past decade or so. Woodford Reserve produces premium small batch Kentucky bourbon and is owned by Brown Forman Corporation. Some buildings on this tiny, wooded site date to 1838 and the distillery was listed as a National HIstoric Landmark in 2000.

We were impressed by the number of corporate and leisure tour groups that came to the facility on this late fall day. Tim Knittel, the culinary program and meeting facility manager here, told me that this was actually a light day for groups. During football weekends, the distillery hosts up to a thousand or more guests on Fridays, he said. Ten thousand guests or more tour the distillery on busy months, he added.

Knittel and Marnie Walters, manager of sales and marketing for the distillery, are working with other entities in the central Kentucky region to package the distillery for meeting groups. We met in their creekside facility, The Dryer House. An adjacent patio offers outdoor seating for meeting attendees beside the tiny creek that runs through this property.  Tours of the distillery are complimentary for groups meeting on the premises. Catering is handled through Knittel's office and is arranged through local chef Ouita Michel, who runs another Woodford County establishment, the Holly Hill Inn.

For more information on Woodford Reserve, visit www.woodfordreserve.com.

Some buildings date to 1838 at Woodford Reserve Distillery outside Versailles, Kentucky.

We planned much of our 2013 editorial for four different publications and online editions in The Dryer House meeting facility.

The Dryer House sits on a creek and has an outdoor patio in the back for casual meetings in nice weather.

The stately Ross Bridge Resort, seen here from the first tee,  holds a commanding

place on the property and is visible from many holes on the golf course.

Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa is carved out of the Appalachian foothills just minutes from busy Birmingham, Alabama.  As soon as you drive onto this resort property that carries a Scottish theme for its namesake, you can feel yourself begin to relax just a bit.  We arrived here after breakfast at FarmLinks by way of a schedule change.  Due to a wet forecast for Friday, our hosts with the RTJ Trail set us up to play this resort's spectacular course a day early.

I've played this course a couple of times with the resort's general manager, Steve Miller, who is a pretty good player.  Steve had planned to play with us at Ross Bridge, but when we switched dates, he ended up playing with us the next day at the nearby RTJ Trail's Oxmoor Valley course.  I had the chance to play with Mike Gunn, a sales executive with the Greater Birmingham CVB, and a couple of fellow writers.  Ross Bridge is one of the longest golf courses in the world if you play it from the back tees.  Not only did we not do that, but I don't remember ever seeing anyone play from those tees in my rounds here.  It measures nearly 8,200 yards from the tips.

The first thing you notice about this course is that you almost always have a great view of the imposing Ross Bridge Resort from anywhere on the course.  This 259-room resort hotel sits on the property's highest point and is a focal point for any round here.  The golf shop is attached to the hotel, so guests walk from their rooms into the pro shop.  Each room has a balcony and the rates at Ross Bridge are very reasonable compared to most resorts of this caliber.  Miller told us at lunch the next day that $189 a night was a fairly good average rate here.  He also estimated that as many as a third of all guests in the resort played the course at least once during their stay.

Ross Bridge has some great holes and its greens are a bit less severe than some of the other RTJ Trail courses.  This is a resort course and if you play it from a reasonable tee based on your handicap, you can score here. 

After golf, I went to my room and opened the balcony doors overlooking the resort pool.  As I got out of the shower I heard the bagpiper.  A lone piper began on the first tee and walked a bit around the property, ending up on the poolside patio.  I listened for 20 minutes or so while I relaxed on the balcony.  This is an evening signature at Ross Bridge and it really drives home the resort's Scottish theme.  Bluegrass music has been described as a "high lonesome sound".  Bagpipe music?  For me it has always been ethereal and haunting. Something best heard from a distant hill.  This tradition makes a lasting impression for any visit to Ross Bridge Resort.

The finishing holes on each nine come in over this lake at Ross Bridge Resort.

The Ross Bridge course measures almost 8,200 yards from its back tees.

Players carry as much of the lake as they can with their drives on 18.  Their second shot will also carry

over water to this heavily bunkered green.