Wonderful Wichita

I grew up in Wichita, Kansas.

I didn’t think about the Wichita experience as a kid. I had my schools, I had my friends, I lived here and there and everywhere. But by the time I was a teenager it became cool to be a whiny Wichitan. I whined that we didn’t have a Krispy Kreme. I whined that we didn’t have an Abercrombie & Fitch. I whined that we weren’t Kansas City. We weren’t Oklahoma City. We weren’t Denver.

I graduated and went off to college, and college, and more college. Now, here I am living in Durham. I’m 1,200 miles from Home on the Range. And I miss it. I was recently able to return to the Air Capital City with Evelyn and Gideon for three full weeks, and I was reminded why I miss it. Let’s count the top three ways.

Proximity. 

I grew up mostly on the East side, and I remember thinking that the SedgwickCounty Zoo was soooo far away. Where I live now, everything is at least a 20 minute drive away as a rule. While we were in Wichita, I loaded the kids in the car, hit the road, and in 15 minutes we were walking through the gate saying hello to the flamingos. I walked to The Donut Whole for some incredible donuts and iced coffee. I walked to the Crown Uptown with a two-year old to watch a play (Snow White) and have lunch. I walked to Dillon’s. I walked around the neighborhoods on sidewalks with mature shade trees.

Proximity.

Before I could drive, my friends and I knew the bike paths like the back of our hands and we were all over the city. You can get from here to there, and there to here, in Wichita without any trouble or traffic jams.

Proximity.

This is not exactly true anymore, but when I was growing up in Wichita we had a waterpark, an amusement park, an indoor ice skating rink, a world-class zoo, and excellent public pools all within our city limits. Now the waterpark is gone and the amusement park is gone but not forgotten, but new things have come and others have been continuously updated and improved. Do Wichitans know how good they have it with the Sedgwick County Zoo? I didn’t know how good it was until I went to the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. The Melbourne zoo's a fine zoo, sure. But I realized about 20 minutes into my time there that I had it really good with the Sedgwick County Zoo. Movie theaters with cry rooms, stadium seating, and THX? That doesn’t just come standard unless you’re in Wichita. Eleven beautifully maintained public pools in one city? Wichita has ‘em.

Food. 

I always have a “must eat” list when I get a chance to go back to Wichita. What’s on it? NuWay. The Donut Whole. The Old Mill Tasty Shop, where I don’t even need a menu to know that I’m getting the chicken salad with a chocolate shake. The Artichoke for a Fix-it, guac, and a Boulevard Wheat. Taco Tico. The Chinese Kitchen in Dillon’s (I know, I know…). Flying Donuts. El Patio Café. The Nifty Nuthouse. Cero’s. The Beacon for a Beacon Traditional and strong coffee. N&J Middle Eastern Cuisine for the spinach pies – I die. The GoodEgg. Tanya’s Soup Kitchen, where I learned that they don’t have a kids’ menu but they do offer a flight of the daily soups with a roll for only five bones. Oh, the food.

There is a Krispy Kreme now. Just about every chain restaurant you’ll find anywhere else is in Wichita too. And that’s fine. But when I’m there I do my best to eat locally because there’s so much there that you can’t find anywhere else. You’ll have no shortage of places and things to eat in Wichita.

Cost.

It doesn’t take much to get by in Wichita. Don’t believe me? Let’s play a game. We’ll call it the $10 or less game. What can you do for $10 or less in Wichita?

• Eat a good meal at any of the places listed above, and many more.
• Exploration Place ($9.50 for a regular adult ticket, and $6 for kiddos 3-11)
• Botanica ($7 for adults, $5 for kiddos 3-12)
• Old Cowtown Museum ($7.75 for adults, $5.50 for kids 4-11)
• Wichita Art Museum ($7 for adults, $3 for kids 5-17)
• Visit one of the eleven outdoor pools
• Take in a Wichita Wingnuts game, followed by a really good fireworks display.
• Watch three movies a real-life, old-school drive-in theater.

And for just a few bucks more, you’ll score admission to the Sedgwick County Zoo and Tanganyika Wildlife Park.  These prices are super reasonable.

If you don’t have ten bucks to spare, have no fear because there are plenty of free things to do. The public parks. The huge, awesome fountains at Riverside Park (and other places around town) where kids and adults are invited to play. Standards like the public library story times are there too.

Here are some of the favorites in action, for those who appreciate visual aids:

Riverside Park Fountains

Maple Bacon donuts at the Donut Whole? Yes,  please. 

Checking out the Children's Garden at Botanica. 

More Botanica.

In the Asian Petting Zoo at the Sedgwick County Zoo.

Saying hello to a baby and a mama orangutan at the Sedgwick County Zoo.

Taking in a Wichita Wingnuts game.

Meeting friends for breakfast at The Beacon.

Up close and personal with the red kangaroos at Tanganyika Wildlife Park.

Feeding the giraffes at Tanganyika Wildlife Park.

Making a water maze at Exploration Place.

Loving some old-school equipment at College Hill Park.

I love Wichita. When I first moved to the East coast, I grumbled that every vacation would be spent going to Kansas. But now that I’ve seen what it’s like to live elsewhere, I realize that I had it pretty good in Wichita. I’m more than happy to take my family back to the ‘Ta for vacation (and not just because the grandparents are all there).