Many of our friends know we pet and house sit during our extended trips. If you don’t, you do now. This whole trip started with the booking of one pet sit in Durango, Colorado, starting in the latter part of September. So when we planned the trip from Maine, we knew we would need a stopover in the middle of the country, specifically Kansas. A place we could land for a week to complete a work week before continuing on over a weekend. That landing place was Manhattan. Or, the “Little Apple” which always gets a smile out of Trev. Welcome to the Sunflower State.
We were considering either Lawrence or Manhattan. Both are University towns and we knew both would be interesting for different reasons. But my husband is quite smart. He often researches places, knowing he can entice me further down the road with art and textile points of interest. (Yes, this homebody needs a little incentive sometimes to bring out my inner traveler.) When he found that there was a large, historic costume and textile collection at Kansas State University in Manhattan, and when I called, spoke with the curator and learned we could get a private tour/session with the collection, decision made.
The other major enticement was the Flint Hills just south of Manhattan. They are a tall grass prairie ecosystem we were eager to experience. I’m going to write an entire post on that. You can find it here.
Our decision on cities also depends on finding a reasonably priced rental that ticks a lot of our boxes – very clean, fast internet, good location, appealing interior (yeah, we can be picky). Ideal add-ons being a kitchen we look forward to cooking in, laundry on site and free (or any) parking. Anything after that is kind of gravy. We found a great, if not small, apartment a few blocks from the University and “Aggieland” which translates to bars and restaurants. Almost daily walks in different directions helped us get a feel for Manhattan, and it is one very cool town. Far enough off the main interstate that it was quiet, tidy, charming, and not super crowded.
The costume collection is much more than we expected. Met by a grad student and taken up to it, we essentially had a private informal presentation and tour with her and the curator. Lovely people that are very dedicated and passionate about their jobs. We, yes even Trev found it interesting, were given further resources to look up. With gloves on, they took us into the rooms holding the collection where thousands of items are stored. They focus on items owned and worn by Kansans. We also learned about Nell Donnelly Reed, one of the first self-made female millionaires in the U.S. who did it with dresses under the Nelly Don label.
When she found out I was a weaver she focused on a small collection of wearable fiber art from a woman in Washington state. I was so gobsmacked by those pieces, neither of us took photos. The whole experience was incredible and quite inspiring. I was in complete textile heaven.
Later in the week, we visited the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art on the K-State campus. Luckily, they offer late hours on Thursdays and it is free with donations accepted. Impressive museum with fantastic art, both traditional and contemporary, with a Kansas theme of course. They had a temporary exhibit about the Osage, or Wahzhazhe (meaning “People of the Middle Waters”) people who lived in that area. Can’t say enough good things about this museum and this town.
