My Wichita Favorites

As my permanent time in Wichita is coming to an end, I've been filling my time with my favorite things to do in good ol' Ta Town.  There are so many things I'm going to miss about Wichita.  It's funny to think when we all graduated from high school, everyone was so ready to "get out of here".  I chose to stay in Wichita for college, because it was the best place for me to play basketball, and I have to admit I was a bit jealous of my buddies heading off to Lawrence and Manhattan.  However, after many fine years (26.5 to be exact!) in this awesome city, I've come to realize how much I'm really going to miss living here.  I've always said anyone who thinks there is nothing to do or enjoy in Wichita really isn't trying!

Every morning I've been walking my crazy, little doggies (Max & Fletcher) through every lovely street in College Hill we can get our feet on.  We've been so lucky and spoiled with this awesome weather the past few days that as soon as I can get my teeth brushed, we are out the door.  I'm really going to miss the College Hill area.  Each house has such an intriguing personality of its own, I never get bored looking at the same ones every time we pass by.  I'm going to miss driving down Roosevelt St, which is still lined with brick between Central & Douglas, and the cute little sprigs of green popping up in between those bricks in the summertime.

Max & Fletcher

I still ask Tim all the time how I'm going to handle my withdrawal symptoms by not visiting The Anchor, whether it be dinner or their amazing breakfast only served on the weekends!  I mean come on, what bar has an amazing atmosphere, welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds, has an amazing line up of brewskis, AND has a fabulous vegetarian menu?!?!?!  Tim is positive I'll find a replacement in Chicago, but I'm not so sure about this!  I think The Anchor will always be my favorite little bar in Wichita, and I plan on stopping by EVERY time I come back to visit.

And if you haven't tried Kanai (a sushi restaurant) out west, you're missing out on Wichita's best sushi.  Now being a vegetarian I'm addicted to the harmony roll (filled with cream cheese, red pepper and asparagus tempura) but my girlfriends swear they have the best tuna, shrimp and crab filled creations around.  Amazing presentation and great atmosphere, we always show up by 6pm or we end up waiting for and hour just to get a table.

This morning after a long walk with the pups, I headed down Douglas to The Donut Whole and indulged in a cinnamon streusel cake doughnut and topped it off with a yummy vanilla soymilk.  I think I'll be lucky to find a place as cool as The Donut Whole in Chicago, especially if they make cake doughnuts that taste like a root beer float or ones that have Fruity Pebbles on top.  

I have to say the spot I'm going to absolutely miss the most is the cozy, little front porch of our house.  Tim and I have spent countless hours sitting at our cute, small mosaic table.  We read, share stories and share wine or a cocktail while the world just passes us by.  Depending on the weather, we usually light our chiminea and the wonderful smell of pinon pine dances around us.  We have colorful, big trees surrounding the yard and I'm going to miss watching them turn from green to yellow and red.

Our house

The patio

 Wichita will always be "where I'm from" and "my hometown".  Tim and I have decided that Wichita probably won't be the place we settle in the future, but it will always be one of our favorite cities.  And no doubt about it, it will definitely be the city that holds our favorite friends.