#MOblogPaws - KC By The Numbers

The gang from ATonksTail.com are back to tell us more reasons BlogPaws should come to Kansas City!


Hi everyone! We're baaaack! Thanks to Sebastian & his mom for letting us guest post on their blog again about one of our fave topics - our hometown.

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Mommy loooves lists, so when she saw this one in the newspaper, she knew she had to share!

Kansas City is popping up on all sorts of national lists and here's where we rank in them:

Top Five

Kansas City was in the top 5 in.... (hit it, Faraday!)

#5 - Most Charity-Conscious City (Charity Navigator)

This is not ranked, as you might think, per capita. Instead, Charity Navigator looked at the financial health of the nonprofits in a city. And KC ranked fifth most healthy!

(That's because we have such big hearts)

#4 - Most Underrated US Cities (shermans-travel.com)

Did you know we house the US's only WW I Museum? We also have an American Jazz Muesum (we *are* the home of 19th & Vine after all) and the Negro League Baseball Muesum, to name a few.

#3 - America's Manliest Cities (Sperling's Best Places)

*puffs out chest* They must have seen my Fabio picture. 'Nuff said.

#2 - Top 10 Cities for Book Lovers (Livability.com)

As kittehs we love this! More lap time! Mommy definitely contributes to this statistic, since she loves to read.

aaaaand......

#1 - Favorite City for Barbecue (Travel + Leisure Magazine)

No really! We didn't make this up! Our city has tons and tons of places filled with the smoky mouth-watering aroma of barbecue. One of our faves is housed in a real live, still working gas station, too. YUM!

*giggle* But wait, there's more!

Other Honorable Mentions:

• 17th Most Literate City (Central Connecticut State University)
  
• 12th Smartest City (Daily Beast)
  
• 14th Best City for Families (Parenting magazine)
  
• 10th Most Affordable Place to Buy a Home (US News & World report)
  
• One of America's Best Ice Cream Cities (Food & Wine Magazine)
  
• 11th Most Frugal City - Hey! You can prolly get a coupon for that ice cream! (coupons.com)
  
• 9th Most Tattooed City - you gotta come over & check out Sebastian's Mom's Cattoo
  
• 2nd Most Drivable City in America (Travel + Leisure)

And we wrap this list up by mentioning something Sebastian's already blogged about:

Frommer's listing KC as a TOP 10 DESTINATION!! Woot!

Now don't you want to come visit us?

Wow! We sure have a lot of top rankings! Thanks again guys for contributing to #MOBlogPaws!

#MOBlogPaws: Delicious Doggie Treats

So far, I've told you about many of the cool things that humans would like about Kansas City. Now I'm going to tell you why the doggies will want to have a BlogPaws conference in Kansas City: KC is home to a gourmet dog bakery, Three Dog Bakery.

The founding bakery is located on the Country Club Plaza, which has been featured in a couple of previous #MOBlogPaws posts. Dogs are always welcome in Three Dog Bakery and are even offered a sample treat when they visit! Three Dog Bakery offers all-natural, baked treats, pastries, and food. Don't worry kitties-they have cat treats too! "We Pity the Kitties" treats come in chicken and salmon flavors.


Three Dog Bakery was started in 1989 by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff and their three dogs, Dottie, Gracie, and Sarah Jean The Biscuit Queen. Mom actually got to meet Sarah Jean! All three dogs have now gone Over The Rainbow Bridge, but their legacy continues. There is even a book about Gracie titled Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale by Dan and Mark.

In order to help not-for-profit rescue groups, the Three Dog Bakery Foundation was created. The company gives up to 1% of its net profits annually to help the Foundation.


There are several locations around the world, but the founding bakery on the Plaza is pretty special. It is the heart of the company and is very warm and welcoming. Three Dog Bakery is a must-see for any dog visiting Kansas City. In fact, every time Mom goes to Wichita, she goes to Three Dog Bakery first and buys treats for Grandpa's dog, Yaz, since he doesn't get to visit them himself. So, start barking doggie pals! Tell your humans you want to come to Kansas City for BlogPaws in 2013!

When you care enough to visit the very best - #MOBlogpaws

We want to thank Sebastian for letting us post again on

one of our favorite topics!

You’re talking about ME right?

No, silly! We’re talking about yet another reason BlogPaws should be hosted in Missouri: it’s the home of one of America’s icons, Hallmark Cards.

Momma’s job is an American icon???

Where she works is! It’s one of the very few privately held third-generation family run companies in the U.S. (Only a third of all family run companies make it to the second generation, and even less to generation #3.)

And it’s a company that’s all about helping people connect with one another and share how they feel. How many companies can claim to do that?

And it’s not just through cards, either. They make ornaments, gifts, interactive storybooks, even TV specials like “Jingle All the Way” (voted by the NY Times as best new holiday TV special)! And it all started from one man’s dream and two shoeboxes of cards hidden under a bed at the YMCA.

We won’t give away the whole story cuz we wants you to come see the fab documentary mommy produced that plays in the Visitor’s Center Theatre here in Kansas City, but Hallmark is a pretty cool part of American history!

And their art collection? Mowzers! Mommy walks past Picassos, Salvadore Dalis & Grandma Moses Originals *every day*!! She knows the curator at the Hallmark Archives & will ask them for a Special Tour just for BlogPaws, if it comes to Kansas City. (included are an entire Tibetan Thai Temple, tons of Illuminated Manuscripts from the 1500s, and loads of other really cool stuff!)

But here's a teaser, with some great pics of Hallmark's international headquarters at Crown Center in Kansas City, also home of Kaleidoscope (a free creative ideation facility for kids) and the soon-to-open LEGO Land and Sea Life Experiences. I think Sebastian plans to tell you more about them in an upcoming blog post, so be on the watch for it.

Master Artist hand lettering a card

Hallmark's Corporate Entrance

Master Artist sculpting an ornament

Hallmark At Night

The hand of the artist - using watercolor

Kaleidoscope: A place kids are invited to be creative & have fun

Visitor's Center & Museum: make your own bow & see fads from the past like paper dresses

Meet Me in St. Louis, BlogPaws!

My pal Maggie is here again this week to share why #BlogPaws should come to Missouri. Take it away Maggie!

Hi all! This is MaggieTKat again writing from the wonderful city of St. Louis, MO. I am joining my buddy SeabassCat to encourage BlogPaws to come to one of the cities in Missouri. St. Louis is truly the Gateway to the west, almost dead center of the United States. There are several interstates that converge in St. Louis: I-44, I-55, I-70, and I-64. I looked up mileage between St. Louis and some cities where bloggers and anipals live. Most of these cities are less than a days’ drive, or so Mom says, and she likes to stop for available litter boxes. Here’s my list:

City                       Miles

Columbus, OH     396

Chicago, IL           263

Oklahoma City, OK           459

Kansas City, MO   238

Denver, CO       796

Madison, WI       310

Atlanta, GA     468

Austin, TX    720

If you don’t want to drive, Lambert International Airport (code STL) is serviced by the following airlines: American, United, Southwest, AirTran, SA3000, Airchoice1, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Cape Air, Continental, Delta, Frontier, and US Air. Amtrak comes from Chicago and Kansas City, and Greyhound goes everywhere.

So, now you know that we are central to everything, a reasonable idea of mileage, and airlines you can take. So, please tell BlogPaws you would like to come to either Kansas City or St. Louis, Missouri! We would love to show you our state. As the song says, “Meet Me in St. Louis.”

Wow, St. Louis sounds pretty drivable! And look at that gorgeous picture of the Arch! Mom has always loved flying into St. Louis and seeing the river below her. Now don't you think we should have #MOBlogPaws?

Kansas City: City of Fountains

When you think of the City of Fountains, you probably think of Rome, right? Well guess what? Kansas City, Missouri is called the City of Fountains, too! In fact, KC has the second most fountains of any city in the world, right behind Rome, Italy. Some say that KC actually has more working fountains than Rome.

Many of Kansas City's fountains are located at the Country Club Plaza. You can read what my pals over at A Tonk's Tail had to say about the Plaza in another #MOBlogPaws post, it's a pawsome spot to visit!

The J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain is the most photographed fountain in the city. The four horses are supposed to represent four rivers: the Mississippi, Volga, Rhine, and Seine.

The Neptune Fountain on the Plaza originally came from England and was installed in 1953.

The Bronze Boar has a sign telling visitors to rub his nose and drop a coin. All the coins go to Children's Mercy Hospital.

The Frog Fountain is located at Zona Rosa, another shopping district in Kansas City.

Some of Mom's favorite fountains are at Kauffman Stadium where the Royals play. Called the Water Spectacular, it is the largest privately owned fountain in the United States.

Although Kansas City, Missouri is known for its fountains, the entire metro area has fountains. This is the Lenexa City Hall Fountain, dyed pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. They also dye it green for their annual Spinach Festival! It runs 24 hours a day, even in the winter.

My favorite thing about the KC fountains? The first fountains in Kansas City were designed by the Humane Society so that dogs and horses would have fresh water. Sounds like KCMO has been thinking about its animals for a very long time!

You can learn more about the fountains at the City of Fountains Foundation. Wouldn't you love to visit Kansas City? It would be a great location for a Blog Paws Conference if you ask me!

Bring BlogPaws to Missouri: Equal Time for St. Louis

Last week, I posted about bringing the BlogPaws conference to Kansas City, Missouri. This week, I'm happy to have a guest blogger to talk about bringing BlogPaws to a different Missouri city, St. Louis. Thanks so much to Wanda Kruse, aka @MaggieTKat's mom, for helping us out with our #MOBlogPaws mission!

I’m Wanda, part of #MOBlogPaws, and I will be highlighting great things about St. Louis!

St. Louis is the Gateway to the West, and we celebrate our great city with the incredible Gateway Arch. You can actually ride up the legs of the Arch to an observation point at the top! The Arch grounds and museum are free, but to the ride to the top requires a paid ticket.

There are lots of free venues, so St. Louis is perfect for a family trip. We have a great art museum, science center, Anheuser Busch brewerytour, Purina Farms, Grant’s Farm (pay to park), and a wonderful zoo (pay to park). For those who enjoy adult beverages, you can sample beer or soda at both the Brewery and Grant’s Farm.

We have all sorts of paid attractions, most very reasonable. The Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the country’s premier gardens, and features the largest Japanese garden outside of Japan. Various other sites include the AKC Dog Museum, Museum of Transportation, and of course the Arch. St. Louis is home to 3 sports teams, the Rams, Cardinals, and the Blues.

Anyone love theater and music? There are a number of theaters and theater groups in the metro area. In the Grand Center Theater district, you will find the Fabulous Fox which features Broadway touring company musicals. Across the street you will find Powell Hall, home for the St.Louis Symphony. Other venues include Stages St. Louis and the RepertoryTheater. Concerts can be found at the Scottrade Center and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater by checking ticketing companies.

I love living in St. Louis. I can get anywhere in under 30 minutes from where I live. We have some of the cheapest gasoline in the Midwest! St. Louis is often described as a big little city. I have barely scratched the surface, so I invite you to come and experience my town for yourselves!

Wow, Wanda! St. Louis sounds amazing! How will anyone be able to decide which city should get the BlogPaws conference? As much as Mom loves KC, she wants to visit St. Louis, too.

Check back again next Monday when we will take a closer look at one of Kansas City's attractions!

Bring BlogPaws to Missouri!

Mom has attended two BlogPaws conferences: BlogPaws West in Denver, September 2010 and BlogPaws 2011 in the Washington, D.C. area. The next conference will be in Salt Lake City in 2012. I am now going to start a campaign to bring the 2013 conference to the midwest, specifically Kansas City, Missouri.

J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain, a Kansas City landmark.

I live in the Kansas City metro area, on the Kansas side of the state line. It's a great place and I think it would be the perfect place for a conference like BlogPaws. You might think I'm biased because I live here, but other people think KC is an awesome place too! Check out this article from the September issue of Wild Blue Yonder magazine featuring KC and many of its unique offerings. You'll get to hear more about some of these places in upcoming blog posts (this is a full campaign!) from me, Mom and other local Kansas Citians who love this city passionately.

And there's more! Frommer's recently named Kansas City as a Top Destination for 2012. Why wouldn't the BlogPaws crew want to come to a Top Destination? Not only is it a top destination, it's a convenient destination! We're in the middle of the country, so we're easy to get to, whether it is by flying or driving. According to the website travelnotes.org, from KC to Dallas/Ft. Worth it is about 510 miles. To Denver or Columbus it's about 610 miles. To Chicago it's about 540 miles.

I hope you stay tuned for all of the upcoming posts and I hope you jump on board with team #MoBlogPaws. KCMO has a lot to offer and I would love to share it with all of my blogging buddies!