Downtown Lawrence

The downtown here is what we would hope for Winona. A mile or so on Massachusetts St. is full of stores, restaurants, and night clubs. It is a vibrant street where hippies (new and old), college kids, soccer moms and business execs converge. Some of the turn-of-the-century architecture remains, mixed in with the new or converted to a more 21st century-use. Case in point would be the old Varsity movie theater, now home to Urban Outfitters. We attended Pan's Labyrinth in another theater, the Liberty, that still retains its original function and art-deco style.
Perhaps what most surprised me about Lawrence on my first visit was the preponderance of "free spirits" everywhere you turn. When you consider that Kansas has always been a free state, as in never legally permitting slavery, you can see where the live-and-let-live attitude has a long history here in town. Clothing-wise, the vintage look is quite popular here, too. We had breakfast today at Wheatfields, a bakery so serious about their bread that they brought a basque oven-maker over to create their brick oven.
After another long walk with Mobi, lunch was enjoyed at Local Burger, which lives up to its promise of serving local burgers, such as lamb, beef, buffalo, and their speciality- the best veggie burger I have ever had. This is a place not to be missed. They are sensative to vegan and vegetarian diets, the environment, and local farmers. There was a man in the paper this week who had lost almost 25 pounds in a month, due to swtiching from fast food restaurants to eating at Local Burger. The place is well done also because it doesn't feel like your typical vegan place- and you know what I mean. You can get a glimpse from the photo below that I snapped as we were waiting for our food.We took some time to read in the afternoon at Java Break, a 24-hour cafe that is like a series of converted basements trailing off every which way. You want to sit at a booth? They've got it. Comfy, worn-in sofas, armchairs, or leopard-print stools that look they've been stolen from Austin Power's love den? Yep, yep, and yep. They've got dark corners in which to huddle with a fellow-conspirator or long group-friendly tables. I'm sure the crowd gets more interesting as the night progresses, but since we were there at the tame hours between 4 and 6, things were pretty chill.
After returning to the hotel to feed Mobi and play a couple of rounds of mini-golf, we attended the play "The Maids," by Jean Genet. It was an intense show, but done really well. We topped the night off at the Free State Brewery, which I will post about later. I think I've written more than enough for now.