Things I Miss from the Midwest

Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy living out here, and there’s a lot of places and things I missed besides friends when I went back to Kansas to complete my senior year before moving back out here (the Capitol, Trader Joe’s, The Express, to name a few). Here’s just some stuff I was surprised to discover I missed now having been out here for an extended period of time. It’s not a rant, but more of a tribute to what the Midwest has to offer:

The proximity of big box stores: I miss having Wal-Mart and a Super Target so close to where I lived. The aisles were twice the size of any stores around here. And Wal-Mart’s a little farther out than I’m used to. It’s cramped at the regular Target. Those were my go-to stores and their sheer size always made shopping an easy and enjoyable experience instead of the bumper to bumper shopping cart traffic I encounter out here. I realize because property is so valuable out here, holding the same amount of space here as in the Midwest would be relatively more expensive for the retailers.

Parking lots without validation: Besides driving in DC, I loathe attempting to find a place to park almost anywhere within the beltway besides home or work. I hardly have cash on me (bad habit, I know), much less quarters, dimes, and nickels for timed parking. And just when you thought a street was available to park, you need a permit for another 15 minutes until it’s 6pm. Or parking in a parking lot to go shopping. Oh, your store doesn’t validate my ticket for the place I parked? Guess I’m going to go buy an expensive slushie from another store to get it validated then. I understand that charging for space to park makes parking available, and I appreciate that—I’m willing to pay if I know what I will owe and how to pay before even leaving my house. But since the rules are not universal for everywhere I go in terms of times, form of payments, and what can and can’t be validated, I may be stuck with just a credit card and a prayer that someone will lend me correct change.

Non-state-owned liquor stores: I enjoyed being able to buy beer, wine, and liquor all in one place; and at a liquor superstore with a lot of variety at that.

Tailgating: I think my friends and I have done a pretty solid job at attempting to recreate tailgating halfway across the country. But I can’t help but miss visiting friends from truck to truck in a vast expanse of cars, red cups, and team flags prior to and during halftime of K-State football events. It’s like one giant barbeque covering a solid square mile.

Watching my alma mater play football and basketball: I’ll admit, my team hasn’t had a lot of face time on national television, but one advantage of being in the vicinity of the Midwest is being able to watch them on TV regionally. Props to the Wildcat 91.9 for live streaming their radio coverage of K-State sports for free.

Buffalo Wild Wings: We’ve started having watch parties for 24, and the apparently natural choice to supplement the show is buffalo chicken wings with beer. Unfortunately, there’s no wings place close to our viewing party that will let us pick up or order delivery of cheap delicious wings. Dominos is the closest we’ve got, and they’re not expensive, but they’re not that great of a deal compared to what I’ve known. BWW, I miss your many wings’ sauces and wings for extra cheap.

Watching field burning at night: Driving down I-70 and turning onto highway 177 heading to Manhattan (the Little Apple for you non-Midwesterners) at night, it’s really beautiful to watch the slow burn of old foliage over the ridges of the Konza Prairie. You’re lucky if you’re not the one driving so you can watch the miniature walls of flames climbing across the rolling plains. It smells amazing too.

Sonic: Do not get me started on Sonic. I freaked out when we found one on the way to Dewey Beach last summer. Every time I fly into Kansas City, my first request is to get Sonic. I miss its drink happy hours (Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade or Vanilla Coke!) for half price, the fries, burgers, and Super Sonic Breakfast Burritos anytime of the day. What’s more, we always get Sonic commercials here when the closest one is at least an hour away. Fortunately, I hear that the company is scouting out places in the beltway!

I know I have more, but this extensive enough. You get the idea. Anything you guys miss having been out here for almost a year?