Kansas Visitor's Guide 2007/2008 - (Page 42) Z For couples PHOTOGRAPHS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JOHN NOLTNER (4), MICHAEL C. SNELL, JOHN NOLTNER WICHITA (Clockwise, from left) Headgear at Hatman Jack’s. One of Wichita’s street sculptures. An inspired entrée at the Larkspur. W ICHITA GOT AN early start at Saturday nights. East of Old Town at the Crown Uptown Dinner entertaining grown-ups. When the West Theatre, professionally staged musicals are accompanied by a fourwas still a frontier, and Wichita was nothing entrée buffet in a restored 1928 vaudeville showplace. more than a rowdy railroad terminal on the Works of masters such as Winslow Homer and Chisholm Trail, cattle drovers could find Charles Russell are among the extensive exhibits in almost any sort of fun—and trouble—amid the the Wichita Art Museum, one of several museums town’s sprawl of saloons. clustered along the river. Several blocks upstream, It’s safe to say the fun is more refined now that Botanica, The Wichita Gardens showcases native and new-tothe dusty Arkansas River settlement has grown into the-region prairie plants. You can stroll pathways through Rose, the state’s largest city, a thoroughly 21st-century Shakespeare and Wildflower gardens and other themed areas. metropolitan area of nearly 600,000. If you prefer a landscape divided into drives, chips and You still can get a drink and listen to live music in putts, the six-year-old Auburn Hills Golf Course offers an the 10-block historic Delano District, once notorious 18-hole layout that winds through wetlands and tree-lined for its taverns and brothels. But expect jazz and martinis fairways. You also can play five other municipal courses. rather than honky-tonk piano and Couples who save money shopping at the outlet store whiskey straight up. Drovers surely of Coleman, the Wichita-based outdoor sportingwould have been impressed by the goods giant, can splurge later at several shopping fancy headgear for sale at Hatman Jack’s, areas. Bradley Fair, an open-air plaza, attracts one of the district’s most popular shops, shoppers with upscale retailers such as Ann Taylor and likely baffled by the Kansas-themed and Williams-Sonoma. Gander Mountain, gifts at The Sunflower Shoppe. specializing in hunting, fishing and camping gear, Across the river and a few blocks east of is the centerpiece of the rapidly developing downtown, Old Town encompasses several Wichita Waterwalk district. blocks of vintage warehouses restored to form If you have time for a side trip, take a drive an entertainment and dining district. Restaurants about 45 miles northwest to Yoder. This range from the lively River City Brewing Company Amish-Mennonite community features and Whiskey Creek Steakhouse to the Larkspur, crafts shops, a bakery and a restaurant which offers live jazz during dinner on Friday and serving hearty, from-scratch fare. Official Kansas Visitors Guide 42
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