OKC

We’re staying at the Roadrunner RV Park, which was recommended by folks at Turkey Creek. Aside from the pump jack next to the entrance, it’s a very pristine park, with concrete pull-through sites (yeah – no dirt/dust), but sadly very few trees. The park is very convenient to OKS – just 10 minutes away, but feels a bit sterile after all nature we enjoyed at Turkey Creek. After settling in yesterday (Friday) we took Sadie with us to check out the happenings in Bricktown, a cool urban district, just east of Oklahoma City’s downtown business district. We parked at another Bass Pro Shop and walked along the Bricktown Canal. It was already dark and the area was lit up with streaming lights along the canal, along with Christmas lights and decorations (and bars and restaurants on both sides). There were boat tours of the canal and horse-drawn carriage rides thru the district. It was a pleasant evening (68 degrees) and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the canal and edges of the City Center district.

We seemed to have settled into a morning routine. Fester wakes up at some point early in the morning (like 3 or 4 am) and lifts Sadie onto the bed with me. He makes coffee then sits in the recliner while he surfs the net, catching up on news, stocks, weather, etc. I roll out of bed around 5:30ish and we sit around talking about our plans for the day, while I sip my coffee. Fester will usually eat a banana or some cereal and get sleepy, so he goes back to bed while I practice yoga. Finally, both Fester and Sadie roll out of bed and we start our day. Retirement is pretty sweet!

This morning, we had yet another discussion about what our short-term plans would be. We have been talking about heading to southern Utah to visit the National Parks, but made the decision this morning that we’ll take that trip next fall, since the parks are already experiencing cold temperatures. That said, we’re going to make a mad dash down to Texas! We decided to head south sooner than planned and will spend Thanksgiving Day somewhere south of Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Today was a brisk, windy 61 degrees, so we bundled up for a trip into town for lunch… at the infamous Cattlemen’s Steakhouse in Stockyard City – part of the Stockyard District. We had dinner there about 25 years ago while on an impromptu Jeep trek thru the Northwest, and we still remembered the great steaks after all this time. Even at 11am, the place was packed – they started serving breakfast at 6am! I opted to try their craft brew with dinner, not realizing it was a 22oz bottle! Our waitress, Liz, had a nice chuckle at our surprise and laughed when we joked “now this is a cowboy breakfast.” We both ordered a sirloin steak dinner, and while it was tasty, it fell short of our expectations. Of course we topped our meal off with a hot blackberry cobbler, a la mode ice cream. Yum!

After our early lunch, we returned to Bass Pro Shop to park, then walked to the nearby streetcar stop. Starting in November, thru January, you can ride the street cars on Saturdays and Sundays for free. While waiting for the streetcar, we met two retired gentlemen who served as OKC Ambassadors – they basically stroll the districts to help keep the streets safe and provide visitors with interesting information about the city. We enjoyed getting the inside scoop from them while we rode the streetcar into the business district. We wanted to check out the city’s architecture, a blend of classic and modern.

We visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, which was a somber, yet remarkable remembrance of the destruction Timothy McVeigh wrought on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in just one minute 26 years ago. From the Twin Gates that frame the moment of destruction, to the gently flowing reflection pool, to the 168 Chairs (including 19 children) which represent those who lost their lives in the April 19, 1995 bombing, to the Survivors Wall, listing 600 names, one can’t help but be moved and inspired by the community’s resilience and hope.