The Magic of Wichita
If I knew what was good for me, I would never live in a house with a TV, couch, or internet access.
Obviously, this is not realistic and actually I know I cannot really blame my laziness on other things that I clearly have control over. No, in fact, my television does not make me watch it and Facebook does not force me to give up huge chunks of my life to it so I can follow other people's internet lives. It's all me, baby.
Sad. But true.
But thus is rural life sometimes, at least for me.
I've gotten it in my mind that Wichita is SO FAR AWAY. Or anything interesting for that matter. Kansas, to me, feels so spread out that I never want to do anything because it means hoping in the car and going and going and going. Exhausting. So usually, I stay home and do nothing. (Okay, sometimes, this is awesome. I do like being home. But other times, I look at my life and think, huh, for a 24 year old, this is really sad. I often feel like I have more in common with middle aged women then my own peers. Why? Well, I really like things on PBS, tea, and going to bed at a ridiculously reasonable hour).
I've been in Kansas for awhile and the more I stay here the more far removed from my Chicago life I feel I become. It feels like forever ago that I did anything remotely fun, new and exciting.
Until this morning!
Today, my sister and I headed to the far away land of Wichita (ha) to have breakfast. (And I forgot my dumb camera. Boo. I am so disappointed because I would've had a ton of awesome shots. I tend to believe that the more I find to take photos of, the cooler my life becomes. bummer).
Most of the parts of Wichita I know are the terrible "suburbia threw up" parts, but this morning we headed to Douglas/ Old town and for a few glorious (even magical) hours of feeling like we were in a city.
Our first stop was breakfasting at a small, hipster-ish place called The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie. This small cafe offers healthy eating options, including lots of vegetarian and vegan choices (which I value a lot). Leah and I both had a breakfast veggie crepe that came with a piece of grain toast and dipping oil. So good. This little hole in the wall joint had lovely exposed brick, cool tables and table cloths and yummy food. Definitely a find, especially here in Kansas.
Another reason for going to Wichita was to hit up this running store my friend, Todd, told me about. During a brief stop into First Gear, a sales associate looked at my feet and recommended new runners for me.
Oh. My. Word. My shoes are so awesome! They are like a throw back to the 90s. I am so pumped to go running this coming week! It's going to be awesome! I might have to put some N*Sync jams on my MP3 player.
After a successful shoes purchase and a quick stop at the Spice Merchant to buy more loose leaf teas, Leah and I found ourselves ready for second breakfast. (Though our first breakfast was good, the portions were not very big, especially for people who had been awake since 7:45 and didn't breakfast until almost 10:45ish). So we decided to pop into another place we've been wanting to visit - Mead's Corner. Good coffee, good scones, and a good atmosphere.
Ah, it was a really good morning. I felt my wintery spirits start to soar as we walked around in the sunshine and the great atmospheres. I really miss city life, but am grateful that Wichita has a little something to offer. Even if it is "so far away."
Obviously, this is not realistic and actually I know I cannot really blame my laziness on other things that I clearly have control over. No, in fact, my television does not make me watch it and Facebook does not force me to give up huge chunks of my life to it so I can follow other people's internet lives. It's all me, baby.
Sad. But true.
But thus is rural life sometimes, at least for me.
I've gotten it in my mind that Wichita is SO FAR AWAY. Or anything interesting for that matter. Kansas, to me, feels so spread out that I never want to do anything because it means hoping in the car and going and going and going. Exhausting. So usually, I stay home and do nothing. (Okay, sometimes, this is awesome. I do like being home. But other times, I look at my life and think, huh, for a 24 year old, this is really sad. I often feel like I have more in common with middle aged women then my own peers. Why? Well, I really like things on PBS, tea, and going to bed at a ridiculously reasonable hour).
I've been in Kansas for awhile and the more I stay here the more far removed from my Chicago life I feel I become. It feels like forever ago that I did anything remotely fun, new and exciting.
Until this morning!
Today, my sister and I headed to the far away land of Wichita (ha) to have breakfast. (And I forgot my dumb camera. Boo. I am so disappointed because I would've had a ton of awesome shots. I tend to believe that the more I find to take photos of, the cooler my life becomes. bummer).
Most of the parts of Wichita I know are the terrible "suburbia threw up" parts, but this morning we headed to Douglas/ Old town and for a few glorious (even magical) hours of feeling like we were in a city.
Our first stop was breakfasting at a small, hipster-ish place called The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie. This small cafe offers healthy eating options, including lots of vegetarian and vegan choices (which I value a lot). Leah and I both had a breakfast veggie crepe that came with a piece of grain toast and dipping oil. So good. This little hole in the wall joint had lovely exposed brick, cool tables and table cloths and yummy food. Definitely a find, especially here in Kansas.
Another reason for going to Wichita was to hit up this running store my friend, Todd, told me about. During a brief stop into First Gear, a sales associate looked at my feet and recommended new runners for me.
Oh. My. Word. My shoes are so awesome! They are like a throw back to the 90s. I am so pumped to go running this coming week! It's going to be awesome! I might have to put some N*Sync jams on my MP3 player.
After a successful shoes purchase and a quick stop at the Spice Merchant to buy more loose leaf teas, Leah and I found ourselves ready for second breakfast. (Though our first breakfast was good, the portions were not very big, especially for people who had been awake since 7:45 and didn't breakfast until almost 10:45ish). So we decided to pop into another place we've been wanting to visit - Mead's Corner. Good coffee, good scones, and a good atmosphere.
Ah, it was a really good morning. I felt my wintery spirits start to soar as we walked around in the sunshine and the great atmospheres. I really miss city life, but am grateful that Wichita has a little something to offer. Even if it is "so far away."
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