Gina Gouchenour, Wichita resident

posted at 2007-10-26 16:39:06

Wichita is a cool place because … “because of the variety of things to do such as the art crawl, the trolley. There’s Exploration Place for kids. Bars for adults. And we have fabulous university (motioning to her WSU T-shirt).”

What’s the craziest or most unusual thing you’ve done in Wichita?
“The most fun is riding my bike around the bike paths and getting to see the sites from that perspective. You can get into places that you can’t get to in the car.”

Is there anything that you’ve recently learned that you could do in Wichita that surprised you?
“I had no idea that the art museum had such a great party (during Final Friday). They had a swing band and this was the biggest surprise for my night.”

Is this the first time you’ve been out on a Final Friday?
“No, we usually just stick to a certain particular gallery. This is the first time that I’ve ventured to the (Wichita) Art Museum. I never go this far west.”

If somebody is in Wichita for four hours, what’s the one thing that they have got to see?
“The flames of the ‘Keeper of the Plains.’ I think they’re awesome, even though they’re only on for five minutes. It’s very, very cool to be down there and see that.”

Have you tried to roasting marshmallows on them?
“I couldn’t get close enough. They wouldn’t let me get close enough.”

But you thought about it?
“Yes I did.”
“I took pictures of the ‘Keeper’ in high school, a number of years ago before they re-did it. It was nice, but now it’s just so grand. They’re really made a place for it. I think they did a great job to highlight it the way it should be.”

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
“Since I grew up here, the thing I’ve really enjoyed is the expansion of Old Town. At first I wasn’t a big fan of it. But now I think it’s probably the best idea they’ve ever done. I just like the variety. You can go in the daytime and go to the shops -- I’m counting Delano with Old Town. And then at night, there’s plenty to do until 2 a.m.”