Kansas City area cafe members?

[sonyam]

I just finished a relocation drive from CA to Ft. Leavenworth, KS, and am just wondering who may live nearby? Any favorite camera/gear shops? Any places I need to make sure and visit before I leave? (we'll only be here 10 or 11 months....) :tongue:Thanks!:tongue:

 

[general]

Welcome

Welcome to the mid-west, Sonya. Congratulations to your husband, that is an important step to reach in his career. Don't have any special recommendations for the local area, but I am sure you will find many interesting things to do.

 

[Gary Mayo]

I am about four hours north of you. Welcome to the Midwest!

Lamberts Cafe in Springfield, Missouri. Great food and they even throw it at you!

 

[sonyam]

Welcome to the mid-west, Sonya. Congratulations to your husband, that is an important step to reach in his career. Don't have any special recommendations for the local area, but I am sure you will find many interesting things to do.

Thank you. I'm no stranger to the midwest, as I'm a KY girl at heart. :Love: I feel relieved to be back on the comfy side of the country for me. I felt out of place in CA.....
I'm very proud of my husband and all he's accomplished. CGSC is just a short school for him, so we'll be here less than a year, but once we're done we're off to Pittsburgh for him to get his Phd. I'm excited for that move as well.

I am about four hours north of you. Welcome to the Midwest!

Lamberts Cafe in Springfield, Missouri. Great food and they even throw it at you!

Thanks for the welcome! I feel more at home here already than I did in CA (although the cafe members there were the nicest people I met the entire 4 years....)

 

[tintingkc]

The Ft. Leavenworth area is pretty tame. If you venture in to the Kansas City down town area there are lots of great things to shoot. A bit of a drive but not bad. The plaza is a fun place. Great place at night. Lots of stuff to see. Otherwise its your typical city.

 

[sonyam]

I don't mind the drive to Kansas City, I know Leavenworth is pretty boring. We were here for 6 months a long long time ago....
Do you have a favorite camera shop?

 

[general]

Country Club Plaza

The holiday lights at the plaza are very colorful and photogenic. A great place for lunch (I have never had dinner there) is Lidia's (Italian food) near the old train station.

 

[tintingkc]

There are several spread around the area and the people who run them seem real nice with decent knowledge. Overland Camera is probably going to be the closest that I know of. May be one closer. I don't get out that way often.

Union Station is also a nice place to put on your list too.

Lidia's is not to far from Union Station. Just north of it.

 

[LindaZ]

Glad to hear you arrived to Kansas!

Funny... I too lived in CA for 4 years and never came to like it.

 

[sonyam]

The holiday lights at the plaza are very colorful and photogenic. A great place for lunch (I have never had dinner there) is Lidia's (Italian food) near the old train station.

Thanks! Italian is my favorite, so I'll definitely be going!

There are several spread around the area and the people who run them seem real nice with decent knowledge. Overland Camera is probably going to be the closest that I know of. May be one closer. I don't get out that way often.

Union Station is also a nice place to put on your list too.

Lidia's is not to far from Union Station. Just north of it.

I'll go visit Overland Camera as soon as we're settled then! We're still living in a hotel today.....maybe tomorrow.

Glad to hear you arrived to Kansas!

Funny... I too lived in CA for 4 years and never came to like it.

I like the weather, in short doses. I liked the cafe members I met, but the locals in my town weren't nearly as friendly as I'm used to living around. Maybe you'll still be in PA when we move there next summer and we can have a girl's day out shooting!

 

[WizardOfOz]

You are not too far from a couple of nice, small towns. Parkville and Weston, both in Missouri. They have unique shops and are very friendly.

If you like to photograph flowers, plants and birds, there is a great place called Overland Park Botanical Gardens http://www.opkansas.org/. They are kinda funny about cameras, and just tell them you are a nature photographer. Otherwise, if they think you are there to do portraits, then they charge $25 for a commercial photography fee.

There are many more photography places to go around the area as well. I have been here about my entire life (excect for a few years in Southern CA as well).

As far as camera shops, there just aren't that many any more, nor do they have the inventory like they use to.

Prob the top 3 are:
Overland Park Photo http://www.overlandphoto.com/

Crick Photo (very friendly staff)http://www.crickcamera.com/

Photographx Unlimited (closet to you)http://www.photographxunlimited.com/index.shtml

There is also IPAS. I do not know if they are still in business. When I was doing photography full time, that was the only place I went. Sometimes there is a wait for customer service, but they generally have the best prices in town.
325 Southwest Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64108
Phone: (816) 421-3644

Enjoy!

 

[Bill]

Although I am not in Kansas, I like in a small Ohio town where the only camera's for sale are at Wal-Mart. Small mid-west towns have their benefits, but the availability of a good camera shop is not one of them. My best advice for any one living in a small (or even large) town is B&H Photo (NYC camera shop). I usually print my own photos, however, when I do go commercial, I use the services through the internet.

 

[LindaZ]

Unfortunately, I don't think we'll meet! We're relocating to NC!

 

[kw26]

Mama Mia's in Leavenworth isn't bad for Italian. We just PCS'd from there in May (CGSC & SAMS).

Overland Camera is your closest decent sized camera store.
It's really not that long of a drive to NKC or Shawnee area (only 25 min) if you avoid K7 and take 435.

Weston has a great little underground Irish bar even if you don't drink there is a restaurant attached.

We spent most of our time in Kansas City exploring. Hit up the WWI museum if you get a chance worth a visit.

Any questions about good places to eat let me know. Did you get stuck in the old student housing or did you choose to live off post?