There's been a theme to the last couple of days and that theme is history. It also featured something that shouldn't be a tourist attraction, or worth talking about, but somehow is. Much like Bass Pro Shop before it, I walked in expecting a commercial outlet and was soon busting out my camera to take pictures. I'm trying to think of anything comparable at home, and I suppose those ye olde shoppes that cash in big on their heritage might count? But they don't seem to put anywhere near the same amount of effort in and more often than not just look like a smaller and darker version of every other shop around them.
Welcome to Spangles! And more importantly, welcome to America, mainly as I'm not sure you've been properly inducted until you've seen some form of Elvis. Spangles is a small chain restaurant that I'm told only operates out of Wichita. They're a burger joint that has been open since the 1930s and go to great lengths not just to look the part, but go above and beyond the call of duty to look that good.
Apologies for breaking out the vintage filter, it just seemed appropriate. The atmosphere there was fantastic, every wall was covered in something new and interesting to stare at. And the food? Oh, if I could just move into that dinner and never have to leave I think I could live in this country quite happily. I mean, I'd weigh several tonnes after a few months, but I'd be happy? If there was one thing my visit to Spangles did teach me, aside from how great the food is, it was of the perils of driving on the wrong side of the road.
Don't do it, kids. You'll careen into an American style dinner and forever be enshrined as a decorative piece, where everyone can laugh at you for being such an idiot. Trust me, it'll happen.
After that we went to the mall, which was nothing to write home about but I did experience a real taste of mid-western culture (I implied this was the South last night, ignorant foreigner that I am, a mistake I will not be repeating! Due in no small part to the picture below).
They... They start them young here. Real young.
...
Moving swiftly on, the next day we headed out to the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, not the museum we were planning to go too but my goodness does it have a beautiful building!
The inside reminded me a whole lot of the local history museums back home. The ones that are one part local history museum and one part very recentish history museum. The Victorian era drug store replica really reminded me of the bar replica in the history museum in Luton and the replicas of the old rooms, with time period specific furnishings, called back to the Sherlock Holmes museum of all places in my mind, but that is in no way a bad thing! I love little museums like that, they document things that other places might overlook. And for five dollars entrance? Yeah, I was more than happy there! Even if most of the exhibits did look a touch creepy.
Wait, can go back to that last picture?
Johnny Depp... Is that.. Is that you?!
Moving even more swiftly on again, there were some really cool looking exhibits in there too. Including the aforementioned drug store replica, and the old time garage with the model T was fun too. It was great to see the signage in the museum use the words 'Victorian era' because I always did wonder if that was a British thing or no. For all I knew they tagged their eras by president. I loved the atomic age displays too, mainly because I'd be quite happy if somebody bought me some of that cool, retro Sci-Fi looking furniture.
If nothing else, it was nice of the museum to lay a chair out for the humble British visitor. They even roped it off to keep away the riff raff.
And while we're on the subject of being painfully British, I also had my first taste of iced tea in Spangles. I know it's not strictly and American invention, but my native friends insisted and so it happened, and I'm still wishing it hadn't. I will never understand the allure of cold tea. Never. The sweetened version tasted like ten hour old regular tea with a nice think film of undissolved sugar in the bottom of the mug. I swear I've poured better tasting things down the sink, and I may have accidentally out a paintbrush in some of those. I did get my revenge by accidentally getting one of them lost in what was supposedly a rough neighbourhood. Which to me looked a lot like the set of Sister Act 2 pouring out into the streets, with an awful lot of eighties style hair and clothing on the teenagers as they came out of school. It was curious and uncanny and led me not to worry, until I remembered that people got shot in those movies and then I was about as worried as she was after that!
We survived, though, and I think today I'm going to take it a little easier. Hopefully they'll be more fun to be had in Kansas, as I've heard about some really great things here and hope to be able to visit them. I'll see you guys when I have something to share!
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