Kansas

I just got back from my workshop a few hours ago. I'm sitting in the Watermark Cafe in Wichita organizing all of the pictures I've taken over the past week. The pictures fall into three categories: family, workshop, and pool. Since last weekend, pool has definitely been put on the back burner. All week I've been working with high school photographers, explaining exposure, editing their photographs, helping them with their captions, etc. On Wednesday a few buildings on the K-State campus (including Kedzie Hall, which is where the workshop takes place) lost power and it became the big "breaking news" story of the week. So it was a hectic week to say the least. So now that I'm back in Wichita I'm ready to sit back and relax and try to take on some of the locals in pool.

I did play with my father a lot last weekend (above) and I enjoyed that a great deal. We played mostly eight ball, bank the eight, any pocket. Yvonne and I headed out a couple nights and I just snapped a few pictures here and there. Two really solid bars that are more or less next to one another along Wichita's main drag of Douglas are Blue Lounge (right) and Boulevard Bar (below). Both have two tables. I prefer Blue Lounge because it's much less cramped around the pool table. I'll probably start there tonight.

On Saturday, after Yvonne was headed back to NYC, I went to Billiards Sports Plaza and got in some three-cushion practice. I did okay, 11 points in the hour that I played. May go back there tomorrow, but unlikely. Prices are so cheap. I practiced for an hour and it was only $2.50 or something absurd. In Kansas you can still smoke inside pool halls, bars, etc. And so the drawback of playing at BSP is the smokey air mixed with the cold air conditioning. It just starts to get nasty after a while.

Fox & Hound Pub and Grille is a place that I had been to a couple years ago with friends when I was back for Christmas. It's a sweet place, very classy. I wish New York had a place like that. I sense it's a lot like Elbow Room. They have five real nice Diamond tables all covered in a nice cloth I hadn't seen. It was coarsely woven and I could get a ton of draw on my shots. Oh, and the house cues are very nice two-piece cues (couldn't see a brand). See three of the five tables below. I think I'll have some dinner there tonight.
Finally, a look at Rusty's Last Chance, which is a huge bar in the Aggieville neighborhood of Manhattan, KS. It's where a lot of the workshop faculty went each night to unwind. It's a huge bar, it's more like four bars rolled into one. I'm thinking, total, they have about six or so tables. As I said, I didn't play at all in Manhattan. Too much on my mind, too many people to catch up with, too much good conversation. But last night, with all the work done, I did keep an eye on this table below. Had it opened up I might have taken on one of my fellow instructors. As I said, pool is huge in Kansas. I am going to enjoy myself looking around this weekend before I fly back to NYC on Sunday.