Econo Lodge Topeka

MMMMM....If you like BBQ ribs,...

by Silenthunder

MMMMM....If you like BBQ ribs, steak, really great food..you have to eat at the Amarilo Grill. There isn't alot of activities, unless you enjoy just relaxing at the moving theatre or camping at the lake. The Fourth of July is really nice in Topeka. It is the time of the year, when everyone gets together and it is like there is a peace in the whole city. They have fire works at Shawnee and Perry lake, with food booths and games.

Tony's Place

by AcornMan about Tony's Place

I went to Tony's Place because it advertises itself as having Swiss food with a German influence. However, there are only three things on the menu even remotely Swiss. Everything else is run of the mill chicken fried steak-stype stuff. I had the brat (which was decent and reasonably authentic), while my wife had the salmon (which was dry and not very good). There's a kind of nasty looking salad bar in the middle of the place with nothing special on it. Overall this place is catered toward people with an unadventurous palate. Making matters worse, the prices are actually quite high considering the relative low quality of the food. I was rather diappointed with Tony's Place and I'm not likely to go back unless I go for the cheese fondue (something you have to call ahead 24 hours in advance to get). Basically what I'm saying is that I would not recommend this place.

~ Topeka & Colby, Kansas ~

by noidiotsplease

"When does the monotony end?"

I traveled through Kansas in 1993 with my parents and brother as part of a family road trip to Colorado. Believe it or not, this photo captures one of the most interesting sights on the entire stretch of I-70 that runs through the length of Kansas. This is the small skyline of the state's capital city of Topeka. To the passing motorist, Kansas appears to be a super-sized wheat field occasionally punctuated by tiny farming towns, grain elevators, cows, or the occasional tree. The easternmost quarter of the state, however, boasts a few gently rollling hills, the more developed cities of Topeka and Lawrence, and the western suburbs of the Kansas City metropolitan area. If you're heading west, the small skyline of Topeka offers the last bit of visual interest for about 500 miles or so -- when the skyline and Rocky Mountain backdrop of Denver, Colorado finally comes into view.

As far as what to do, well... I remember picking up a low-budget brochure somewhere advertising a "zoo" featuring a five-legged deer, or something like that. There is also the Museum of Independent Telephony in Abilene. I know this from another brochure. I'm sure Kansas has better offerings. I just didn't see them -- or much of anything else.

We spent the night at a roadside chain motel in the town of Colby, about 50 or so miles from the Colorado border. It had an indoor pool that we enjoyed. For the record there was also a Wal-Mart nearby. The next morning, when we set out for Colorado, all you could see was gray fog except for a stip of yellowish-brown grain near the ground. I don't think we missed much out the window though.

Kidding aside, I am thankful to have a state with such expanses of farmland where dedicated, hard-working Americans make it their duty to ensure we have food to put on our plates.

Visit my KANSAS page.