A Trip to Topeka

This past weekend (October 21-23) LaDonna and I took a trip to Topeka. It was a chance to get away yet stay close enough and not spend a lot of time and money on travel. So many times there are places/things of interest in the area that we tend to overlook. Several years (many?) ago we spent 4-5 days of vacation in Kansas City with the kids. We stayed at a motel within ten miles of our house that had a pool and visited sites in the KC area such as Fort Osage and the Truman Library. Before taking our current three day get away we looked at going to Leavenworth, KS, St. Joseph, MO or Topeka, all within an hours drive.
We got to Topeka thursday evening and took a scenic day trip to Wamego, KS on Friday. Wamego is about 40 miles west of Topeka on highway 24 which happens to follow the Kansas river. It was a beautiful fall day, the colors and the Flint Hill region giving lots to look at. We passed through several small towns along the way; Silver Lake and St. Mary's which had a college with several stone buildings that one time had been an Indian mission. The purpose of our trip to Wamego was to visit the "Wizard of Oz" museum. When asking the museum host why Wamego for an Oz museum, she replied that someone in town gave a large collection of memoribilia and since no specific town in Kansas is mentioned as Dorothy's home, any town in the state could be "no place like home". Of course there were lots of movie exhibits as well as displays based on the original book, spin-offs and sequels. Next to the museum was an eatery called "Toto's Taco's" and a sewing shop called "The Wicked Stitch".

After our visit to the museum we ate a picnic lunch in the town park. The park was home to a dutch windmill moved from a farm originally built in the late 1800's outside of town. Wamego was a small town and as such had its own unique personality. Not sure we discovered it but it was fun looking at the attractions mentioned as well as several old historic homes.

Saturday found us in Topeka looking at "The Great Overland Train Station Museum" and the "Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site". Both contained exhibits and pictures to be read. The Train museum had a unique fountain and plaza outside as well as history of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF). With Topeka as headquarters of the Railroad their historys have much in common. The Brown v.Board of Education site had a lot of pictures and videos giving history of desegragation in the United States. Lots to read and look at so we rested some in the afternoon before heading to see a movie "Moneyball". It fit well with watching the World Series game that night in our motel.

Finally on Sunday we took opportunity to walk around the state capitol building. There was work being done on the outside of the building and of course the inside was closed. Around the capitol people were setting up booths, signs, etc. for "Race for the Cure" that would take place in the afternoon. Before leaving Topeka we headed for Gage park. The park houses the Zoo, a small train, a Carousel and a Rose Garden as well as usual sports and picnic facilites. LaDonna had a great time taking pictures in the rose garden and yes, we rode the carousel. It was another beautiful fall day and great to be outdoors. It was fun to get away and enjoy exploring new places and just like the story says........"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" (fooled you didn't I?) -30-