An escape… to Salina
I promised to tell you about my quick day trip to Salina a few weeks ago; you can breathe again.
Jackie, Bo, Micah and I decided to take a Friday night and travel 90 miles each way to Salina, just east of Hays. The drive there was fun, but did seem to take a while. Bo had ordered a new laptop, so he wanted to pick it up at the FedEx hub by the airport. That ended up being the best move of the trip, as I told him to ask the FedEx lady if she knew of any good Italian restaurants. Half expecting a recommendation of Fazolis or other “barely Italian” place, she gave us the name of a place downtown called Martinelli’s Little Italy.
The food was fantastic and plentiful. I had tri-color rigatoni, but there were about 20 other dishes on the menu. Free fresh bread and a cozy atmosphere that didn’t make you feel under-dressed made this the best restaurant in central/western Kansas.
As we stepped onto the sidewalk, barely able to walk, we looked around downtown in wonder. It was JUST like a movie! Salina probably has a population of 50,000 or so, making it one of those small towns that Hollywood loves to incorporate into their romance movies.
The lighting was extremely low in the sky, making everything a warm orange tint. Add in some really strange clouds and you have the perfect fall evening. Micah looks bemused, Bo confused, Jackie normal and myself, unsure.
The city of Salina seems to appreciate the fact that people enjoy walking. They even created tunnels (cars not allowed) for pedestrians and bicyclists to cut through a block. We all agreed that these were quite neat.
The variety of shops along most of the streets was incredible. Camera stores (open by appointment only!), hat stores and even lamp stores.
Soon it was time to see a movie at the Salina Art Cinema, “Door in the Floor.” The theatre itself was great, with only one small screen. It seemed to be recently remodeled, making it nicer than an average multiplex theatre. The presentation was incredible, with the screen bright and very sharp. Sound was good too, lacking that booming excess found in most multiplexes (ahem, Warren Theatres.) Yes, we know you have THX, but the sound should be accurate, not excessive.
As for the movie, I’d highly recommend it. Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger play an estranged couple, planning on separating for a while. Bridges is a children’s book writer, quite famous, and invites a young man to apprentice for the summer. This young man is at first perplexed by the lack of things to do, but soon finds things to keep him occupied, including Bridges’ wife. Mix in quite a bit of “The Graduate” and you suddenly have this dark, but humorous look at a young man growing up. Enough said.
Movie over, we piled into the car again and headed back to the cultural wasteland I call home 9 months of the year.
November 4, 2004
2 responses to An escape… to Salina
oh, but appartently the new downtown arena will change all that cultural wasteland. right. you know what our culture is? cowtown and … exploration place? uh huh… sure.
i’m saying the biggest problem with wichita is not the lack of places to go or things to do… it’s the people… our only interest is ourselves… and if we go out… clubbing… getting wasted and going home going to work and doing the same thing the next night.
btw “we” doesn’t not inlude me. guh.
anywhere you go. it’s the people.
ay adam… awesome post and incredible pics… i saw’em in yer gallery already… but i love getting the story and atmosphere/context that go with them. charming and exciting.
peace.
Just like you, the other day I found myself walking around downtime Salina. I got the same feeling of coziness and calmness as you.
Unfortunately I didn’t run into a delicious Italian restaurant. Instead I tried a small sports-bar type place. I like going to that type of places because sometimes you run into a hole-in-the-wall with great food. The food wasn’t bad. The service was horrible.
But now that I know about this italian place, I will make sure to go as soon as I get a chance.