This month's local is Jayme Grange

My husband Matt and I are both from El Dorado.  We lived in Lawrence, Kansas City and Wichita before coming back to live in El Dorado.  What I discovered after living outside of El Dorado and returning to live here is how wonderful of a city it is!  I love that we have an amazing downtown and that my office is on Main Street.  We are so lucky that almost everything is within biking or walking distance and it really is a great city with so many amenities.  I must admit that one of my favorite things is that I can be at my parents or in-laws houses in less than five minutes.

The sense of community in El Dorado is what makes it stand out to me- being involved in the Chamber and in El Dorado Main Street is such a treat since I really start to realize how many treasures we have in our town…so~  where do I start?

El Dorado Lake is the best around

The lake is an unbelievable resource!  I practically grew up on it- (in fact I have fuzzy memories of when it was made- or flooded- I can’t really remember).  I do remember spending the majority of my childhood out boating on it.

I love that nature is just a few minutes away from my house- I run the lake roads, we boat and kayak on the lake and I will drive out there just to relax and watch the sunset.  My husband and I try to bike out to it via the bike path a couple of times a week. 

Matt and I used to travel around Kansas camping at different lakes.  Usually they are quite some distance from town.  El Dorado lake is so great because it is so close to everything you need and yet you feel so far removed when you are out there! 

I see so many people walking on the bike trails and so many of them have stopped us asking where the paths end.  I always want to tell them to follow the paths all the way in to El Dorado and they won’t be disappointed!  When we travel, I always try to find what the locals suggest in terms of where to eat and what to do so I decided to try to write for someone who was coming in for the weekend at the lake-

Advice to the lake visitor...

Here is what I would tell them- make sure you follow the path all the way to El Dorado and these are a few of my favorite things:

I would get a day pass at the YMCA just to take an evening yoga classes at the YMCA!  It is one of my favorite treats- I’m not sure if I would have loved yoga as much as I do if I hadn’t been lucky enough to take classes from Jan!!

If it is a Saturday night, I would tell them to head to the Iron Horse for live music.  We are so lucky to have live music available almost every weekend.  There is also the El Dorado municipal band on Thursday nights- what a treat.  Speaking of treats…My favorite spot for an after dinner treat has to be Dairy Queen for the peanut buster parfait!  It is close to the movie theater (if it’s raining at your campsite) and also the baseball diamond- if you are a baseball fan!

We also love the parks- Charlie (our two and a half year old son) is so lucky to have splash parks, swing parks and parks with live ducks!   

I can only imagine how the visitors to our city feel when they come into town.  We love exploring other towns and I would tell them to:

• Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at one of the amazing restaurants we have in town- Willies, Fiesta Mexicana or Playa Azul, Double D’s, Susie’s Chili Parlor, Jacob’s Well, Prairie Trails.  Each one of them has one of my “favorites” on their menu.  One of my close friends from childhood was just back in town and couldn’t wait to get a veal sandwich at Job Lunch.
• Walk Main Street and check out all of the shops- there seem to be new ones all of the time!
• Make sure to also check on the stores on Central- Lynette at Silver Hill always seems to have the perfect gift even when I don’t know what I’m looking for!  A hidden shopping treasure is also the gift shop at the hospital!
• Hit all of the parks to play!  You would be amazed that it would take most of your day to play at all of them.
• The ladies should take some time some time to treat themselves with a massage and/or a pedicure.  We have so many wonderful places to relax and get pampered.  Two of my other favorite places go hand in hand with relaxing- The Book Grinder and Bradford Memorial Library
• Take the short drive up to Walter’s Pumpkin Patch during the fall season.  It should be a yearly family tradition with a stop in Burns and at Hudson Gardens.  It’s a great day trip.

Something for everyone

What I love most is that El Dorado has something for everyone.  I know that my interests right now are heavily influenced by Charlie, but there are still so many things that are here that I can’t wait to do- art classes, yearly events and festivals, antique stores and other things I find out about along the way!!