As my regular peeps will know, my husband, Daniel, and I are moving to New Haven, Connecticut, where he will pursue a Masters degree at Yale. I’ve been thinking about our move a lot, both logistically and emotionally. One thought that slipped across my mind is that I may never live in Kansas again.
Full disclosure: Daniel and I have every intention of setting up a home in the Midwest one day. However, first and foremost, we have to go where he can get a tenure-tracked professorship. We’ll be in New Haven for two years, an unknown location (definitely not anywhere near home) for five years for his PhD, and then we’ll be chasing that professorship. Luckily for us, if all goes according to plan, I can be a full time writer from anywhere.
Anyway, point is: I do not know when I’ll be back to Kansas to live. Therefore, I’ve decided to make a Kansas Bucket List to hit my old haunts one last time and maybe see some things I’ve been postponing my entire life. I’ve got four months to do it. Let’s see how many I can cross off!
Places to Go (Ran out of time for all of these. A good excuse to come back home!)
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- Stull Cemetery
- Lebanon, Kansas (geographical center of the U.S.)
- World’s largest ball of twine (Cawker City, KS)
Things to Do
Host a going away party- Graffiti session at Java Break (Closed for construction on the day I went. Boo.)
Make a Kansas shirt at ACME- Have an amaretto sour at the Record Bar
- Have a drink at the Hillsdale Tavern
Star Wars marathon with our friends, Devin and Caleb- Miami County Wine Trolley Tour (Ran out of time for this, too!)
- Ride Verruckt (world’s tallest water slide) (And this…at least I made time for my novel!)
Buy/make something “Kansas” for our apartment
Photos to Take
- Childhood home/property
- Our walking route
Baker UniversityA few favorite spots in Lawrence- Sunflower fields (The ones near me haven’t bloomed in time.)
- Sunset (ours are the best in the country)
Midwest imagery (grain silos, barns, hay bales, etc.)Make copies of old family photos
If you were moving away from your hometown, what would you make sure to see and do? If any of my Kansas people are reading this, what did I miss from my list?
Kate M. Colby 
I wish I’d done that before I left Chicago. I was keeping it on the DL that I was moving at all.
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I’m glad I’m doing it. I don’t want to leave here with any regrets, and sharing the adventure with everyone makes leaving Kansas a little less scary!
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The Nelson-Atkins Museum is my ultimate favorite place. Depending on when you leave, you should also attend Shakespeare in the Park during the summer. It’s held on the field just across from the museum. http://www.kcshakes.org/?page=the_festival I guess if you’re into BBQ, you should eat at some of the local places to get your fill. Just to say you have.
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Shakespeare in the Park sounds fun! Definitely something I will look into. I’m pretty good on BBQ, I think. I’ve eaten my fill over the last 20-some years! Though I know I will miss it, especially if the grocery stores in New England don’t carry KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce.
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If your travels take you through Emporia, stop and get a coffee at Granada for me. I used to love that place. A really nice guy named Rocky used to run it and would make a not-so-hot-chocolate for my little girl and a lovely Raspberry Mocha for me as many mornings as we could afford it.
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Good to know! I’ve driven through Emporia once or twice on the way to Wichita, but never stopped here. Sounds like a lovely place.
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May this move bring only great things and new opportunities 🙂
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Thanks, Galit!
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Do you know where some good sunflower fields are and about when is a good time to go? I would love to take some pictures of them too!
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