Topeka, KS

This fellow lives in the Topeka Zoo in the giraffes' little habitat. It sort of reminded me of the part in Seabiscuit where they put a monkey in his stable to keep him company. The bird and the giraffes seem to happily coexist in the large mammals section, and I think this is a "companion bird", but I completely clueless about what it is. The poof on the head reminds me of a poodle.

In 1961, I graduated from Topeka High School, in a class with an amazing bunch of kids who grew into some pretty amazing adults. And this past weekend, we held our Golden Reunion.

It started off with a gathering Friday night, where we all decided that they should have much larger print on the name tags, which we really needed to help us recognize each other. After hellos and hugs, we met up on Saturday morning for a tour of our old Alma Mater.

It's always been a beautiful school, but now it is on the National Reguister of Historic Places, which has allowed them to obtain some graints for restorations.

I'd forgotten how great the library was. It has the original furniture (it was restored by the inmates of a nearby prison in Hutchinson, Kansas) and the large working fireplace. In the cafeteria, they replicated the original chandeliers with the help of local artisans. And the beautiful auditorium had "new" carpet that was loomed to look like the original classic - replacing some really awful stuff that found it's way to the aisles in the 1970's.

A group of us broke off from the main group to check out the band and orchestra rehearsal room, where so many of us spent hours learning lessons about music and life - and these lessons helped us be better at the many professions we wound up in. But we were sort of disappointed that they had removed the risers and the seats along the side of the room where visitors could listen as we played.

There was a dinner Saturday night and a Good By Breakfast this morning. So finally by the time we were beginning to recognize old friends and sharing life stories, it was time to leave!

And as I start on the next leg of the road trip, I'm beginning to more fully appreciate the wonderful experience we all had in this place, and how the school and the faculty shaped so many of our lives. So it's time to sign off for now. Tomorrow, I'll write some more about some of the special friendships that grew over the past three days. Meanwhile, for now, I'm exhausted.

For the last several days, I've been looking for some good old Kansas beef cattle to photograph. I've seen a few, but they were along the Kansas Turnpike as we were speeding by at the 80 or so miles an hour speed limit.

But this little guy, who lives at the Topeka Zoo, will have to do for today's shot. When I first saw him, he was standing so still that I thought I was looking at a statue. Then he started to chew whatever was in his mouth.

When I was growing up in Topeka, the zoo was pretty basic. The most exciting part was Monkey Island, funky home of a bunch of unruly primates who taught the local kids about the facts of life and tried to throw who knows what across the moat to zoo visitors. Now it's a " habitat", no longer coed, and looking a bit more like a tropical rain forest.

The zoo is now larger and has a lot more types of animals living there. And if you find yourself in Topeka on either business or pleasure, I'd highly recommend it as a fun place to visit. The entrance is on 6th Avenue, just west of Gage Boulevard

Friday Fotos: Topeka High School Tower

This is the bell tower over the main entrance to Topeka High School, my alma mater.

I remembered it as being a pretty place, and was wondering what it would look like after many years. It's still a pretty awesome structure.

The reunion festivities began tonight and will continue over the weekend. It will be fun to once again roam the halls!

When I was growing up in Topeka Kansas in the 1950's, Potwin was a neighborhood of big old Victorian and Queen Ann homes that had become rather thin at the elbows, often used as boarding houses or broken up into apartments. Now the neighborhood has blossomed, with some of the most beautiful restorations I've seen.

Charles Wolcott Potwin bought 70 acres of land in near the Kansas River back in the 1890's, and divided it into 70 lots. If you wanted to buy one, you had to agree to build a house that cost at least $2,000 to build. In fact, the homes cost around $5,000 to build, and the neighborhood attracted prosperous lawyers, importers and a few real estate professionals.

The homes have wonderful architetural details, with fishscale shingles, wide verandahs (many of the wrapping around the sides of the houses), bay windows, turrets, and a sprinkling of gingerbread.

The streets are laid out with circular mini-parks at each intersection - a great way to slow down traffic.

If I ever get over my fear of tornados and decide to move back to Topeka, this is where I'd want to live! Especially after the local neighborhood watch guy discretely drove up and asked if we were lost. I explained that I was a visiting Realtor from Wahsington, DC taking photos for my blog, and he was fine with that!

More tomorrow!