Hi,

I'm gonna be meeting the in-laws for the 1st time this August in Wichita. Anyone have suggestions as to where to stay, eat, drink, sightsee & maybe even dance?

The bf hasn't been to Kansas either. His mom moved there after living here in CA many years.

...Your advice is much appreciated.

Yeah, New York or San Francisco or Miami or Atlanta or or Los Angeles or Dallas or Chicago or... well you get the idea!

Just razzing youa bit sorry! Have fun meeting the in-laws SC! Good luck!

Yeah, avoid the tornadoes! They're a killer.

Also avoid the Westboro Baptist Church. Thats the crazy Rev. Phelps place. I'm not kidding, their dangerous. They blam gays for the 911 attacks and show up to protest at funerals of our fallen soldiers. Again, stating it's our fault.
As far as what you can do, I don't have a clue. But it is going to be extremely hot. So take some sunscreen and get naked.
Oh, and one more thing. If you see a little girl in a blue and white checkered dress with a small dog, run away from her ASAP. She's crazy too.

FLMAO. ... Y'all are funny!

Baxion, I did happen to think about the lil girl w/ the blue & white checkered dress & her dog. But perhaps more on the museum, amusement park, or visiting center type of place. I'm sure somewhere in KS there has to be The Wiz of Oz Museum or Dorothy & Toto's Adventure Ride.

...Actually that'd be a REALLY campy avatar--me in front of that museum or on a Dorothy & Toto Ride.

In terms of the weather, I went online & saw that the avg temp there in Aug is 77 (+-4), it can be 75 one day & 90 the next. So I guess that's how they come up w/ that avg.

I wish we were going during high season for storm chasing. I'd love to do that. I've read that they (& other tornado alley states) have group tours...I know, I know sounds kinda suicidal, but I love nature--whether she's calm, serene, & beautiful or when she's got PMS.

As for Phelps & his kool aid drinking congregation, maybe I should take my We're here. We're queer. Get used to it! tee & attend one of their Sun morn services. ...Now that REALLY sounds suicidal to me. God I'm twisted sometimes.

I don't know why I didn't think of this before. Wichita has the Hopalong Cassidy Cowboy Museum. Admissions only a quarter, but it's well worth it. And on Thursdays they give lasso twirling lesson at no extra charge.
Of course, if it was me, I'd head down to McConnel A.F.B. (just south of the town). Hot military guys stripped down to nothing in the middle of the August sunshine. (Aug. temps are well into the 100's, seriously)
And I do think theres an Oz museum, it might just be in Wichita. Try the Kansas Tourism website for stuff to do.

Hummm...twirling...sounds kinda of gay to me...Ok, I'm there!

Thanks for the info Baxion. Hopefully the museum exists, that'll be a hoot. As for the nekkid mens @ the AFB, ouch! I may have to tell my other half that I need some "space" & I'm going sightseeing.

So basically from what they said, for the whole time you're there, you and the hubby will be the token f*gs. Start a trend, eat a cowboy!!

The Oz Museum. Too "F-en" funny!

From the map I checked online, it's about 100-120 miles from Wichita. I'll have to see if we have time to visit it.

There was a bar there but I think it closed down. I usually just pass through wichita to see my boy in salina. I suggest asking someone on gay.com

SC, you're not going to fake your own death are you?

Oy! Tell me about it GTF! Of course I have very mixed feelings about that individual, but I will reserve judgment until hopefully one day we find out why such extremes were taken 'bout his situation. But still, I find it quite disturbing that one would go to such lengths, & quite frankly lies, to disappear from OS and on top of that fake a death. All it takes is a bit of honesty & say, "Hey guys, I need some space right now, but I'll contact you later when I feel better." Of course that's me & I can't expect from people what I would simply do. Plus, we are living in the age of cyberspace so anything can be said & anyone can become who they wish without real consequences. They only consequence can be alienation or being banned, but that is painless in my opinion. Let me tell you, I'm beginning to become quite the cynic when it comes to trusting people online.

The Rev. Fred Phelps and his "congregation" are based in Topeka, not Wichita. Unless the Phelpses are in town to picket someone's funeral, you won't see them — unless they show up on the news.

The gay bar scene in Wichita is always changing, just like the scene in other cities, but I always hang out at either J's Lounge, The Other Side or Trends when I'm in town (which isn't very often, because Wichita is three hours away from my home in Dodge City.) J's Lounge and The Other Side are just around the corner from each other, which makes it convenient. There are other gay bars scattered throughout town, including the Side Street Saloon, but the three I've mentioned are the easiest for me to find.

The Old Cowtown Museum is supposed to be a good place to visit, and there's a Native American museum as well. I haven't been to either of them, so I can't vouch for their value.

The Liberty Press is Kansas' statewide gay & lesbian newspaper, and it's a good source for information about Wichita's gay scene. If you need other information about what to see and do, The Wichita Eagle is your best bet.

Thanks Eric.

By bad. That was me that said Phelps is based out of Wichita. I honestly thought he was. Sorry about that. But please, don't let this ruin your visit. For Dorthy still needs the hung man. Er..Tin..tin man, Dorthy still needs the tinman.
Anyway, enjoy your trip. I'm going to go hide under the bed now.

Baxion, that was no prob that you got where Rev. Satan Incarnate is based wrong. To quote that famous line, Frankly my dear I don't give a damn [where he's based].

I attended KU for a couple of years, and the first time that "The Wizard of Oz" was shown on TV, the whole campus basically SHUT DOWN to watch it....pretty funny.

It's amazing what one shot @ fame will do to a state & its populace. ...

Just teasing, just teasing...Don't want anybody getting their bloomers twisted in a knot now.

You're kidding.

I grew up in Kansas (Manhattan, "the Little Apple") and graduated from KU, and never saw any references to "The Wizard of Oz" except for a business in north Lawrence called Emerald City Antiques. The movie has been on TV every year since the '50s, and no one I know in Kansas has ever given a sh*t.

That Oz museum outfit in Wamego has only been around for about five years.

Never been to it myself.

Hey man, I haven't participated in these boards for a long time, but I was just perusing through and saw your thread here.

Wichita ain't all bad. Alas, the Oz Museum and Fred Phelps are both a couple hours drive away from Wichita.

I live in eastern Kansas in the metro area of Kansas City, MO, and grew up in Oklahoma not terribly far from Wichita. Haven't spent a lot of time there, but been there a few times.

Couple things:
As an architect, I've heard great things about Moshe Safdie's museum in Wichita called Exploration Place. Haven't been there yet, but want to go see it. It's on the riverfront near downtown. Don't know if the museum itself is any good, but the buidling looks awesome: http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/1206/design_1-1.html

For a really good restaurant, I highly recommend Yia Yia's Eurobistro. It's run by a restaurant group out of KC, and they have a location in Wichita: http://www.yiayias.com
Their website is not very informative (not even a menu), but at least it gives you a link to the address so you can find it. I just ate lunch at another Yia Yia's near my work this afternoon. If the one in Wichita is as good as this one, I'm tellin ya it's probably the best restaurant in town, and not too expensive.

And as always, Google is a powerful tool. Just type in "Gay Wichita", and you'll find info on at least 3 or 4 bars. Might check out the latest Damron Guide next time you're in Barnes & Noble or something.

maxallen,

You the man! You the man! Exactly what I was looking for.

I went online for Damron, but there's a fee, so yeah I was gonna go to a GLBT bookstore. Usually, however, I have found that a certain percentage of businesses listed in the Damron Guide tend to be no longer in existence by the time I visit or the "gratuitous praise" of certain places tend to be too gratuitous. And I don't mean that in a snobby way. I can eat @ hole in the walls as long as the food is good; I can stay in 2 or 3 star hotels & not really care that they don't have suites available. You get the pix. At any rate, I tend to prefer to hear from the locals or at least from those who have been there & enjoy going to a specific city/country & trust the advice given. I've never really been disappointed by such approach, especially if it's my GLBT brothers & sisters.

Keep it coming. Looking forward to meeting the in-laws & exploring a new part/city of the country...

SCTrojan,
If you have a couple of extra days and want to get away from the in-laws and Wichita, you can always drive a couple of hours south down I-35 to Oklahoma City, and visit one of the largest gay "resorts" (um, it's a big motel) in the country, the Habana Inn. http://www.habanainn.com. The rooms aren't the greatest, but they're not the worst (not quite) either. My partner and I and some of our friends from KC go there each summer for a 4-day weekend of hanging out by the pools and drinking, and this year we'll be there Aug 10-14. Two very nice pools, 3 bars and a restaurant in the complex, plus other bars and eateries within a block or two. It's a park-your-car-and-not-drive-anywhere weekend (unless you want to get out and see the sites of OKC). Sundays they have poolside beer bust. It's a hoot.

Darn, we'll actually be there the following weekend.

Sounds like fun at the Habanainn. Who knows we may take a drive there anyway. We'll see. Thanks for the invite.

Oh, so I noticed Yia Yia's website does have a menu afterall, under "catering and menus". Duh. The one in Wichita sounds just like the one where I live. It's pronounced like yah yah's, by the way.

If you like to drive out in the countryside, you should go for drive through the Flint Hills, mainly north and east of Wichita. Look on a map for scenic state highways. I once stumbled on a jewel of a town called Cottonwood Falls, probably about 90 minutes northeast of Wichita. Couple of restaurants, shops, antiques, and an incredible old courthouse. Google it for photos and info. And if you're a nature buff, look up the Tallgrass Prairie National Preseve, where you can do educational tours and hikes. It's surprisingly interesting.

Have fun on your trip!

My bf mom called the other day & said she's gonna come out & visit us during the month of Nov. He ended up confessing to her that we were gonna surprise her in Aug. To make a long story short, they both agreed that her visit in Nov will be sufficient for them to spend time together so we're not going to Wichita.

On a more happier note, we are going to Lake Tahoe in Aug instead. We've never been so we are looking forward to it.

Excuse me? On a happier note your going to Lake Tahoe? I just can't believe you'd rather go to Lake Tahoe than Wichita Kansas. I mean, Kansas has wheat. Fields of wheat. More wheat than you can shake a sickle at. And for what? Mountains, lakes, casinoes, fresh air, blue skies?
I was at southern Lake Tahoe, (stayed at harrods, on the border), just a few years ago and let me tell you, if I had a choice between the two, then Kansas would win hands down and furthermore....
Oh hell, even I don't believe all this crap.
Tahoe is GREAT. Hope you guys have a blast up there. Some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever incountered. One of my favorite places I've been. Sorry though that your going to have to wait to see your bf's family.

Lol Baxion. Some funny post!