Month: June 2016

“Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain…”

On By HanneIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

It’s been a busy, hot and sweaty few days in Oklahoma, but it sure has been a blast. Every year I meet and get to know more and more people who attend Mark Harmon’s event. FullSizeRender 4They event felt much more low-key this year. There were a few people who were a little too pushy and in his face, including one who pushed in on my photo and chit-chat time. I opted not to get anything signed, because after my photo there was a bit of conversation time and I didn’t want to be like some of the other people shoving a shit ton of memorabilia in his face. I mentioned wanting the bike in the silent auction (I was sitting on it at $240 until some asshole bid $400), and he asked if I was going to bike back to Seattle. I thanked him for another great season of NCIS and he thanked me for my time and money in supporting his event. What I like about him is that he’s so sincere – it’s not just a quick thanks, but he takes the time to look you in the eye, touch your shoulder and let you know that he really appreciates the support.

In the end, the NCIS set tour went for $15,000. My dream is to win the lotto and let the bidding go back and forth until someone thinks they’ve won it. And then stand up and double tIMG_8849he price. Bitch, please. That set tour is mine. Sadly, I’m not there yet. And I don’t play the lotto, so… but some day!
I wasn’t in bed until 1, but managed to roll back out at 8:00. I got ready for the day and then made the drive (40 min) back up north to Guthrie, OK. This little historic town is just the cutest! The houses are adorable, the people are friendly and the old brick buildings are beautiful! I stopped by the Oklahoma Territorial Museum first. It was two stories and had one floor about the land grab and the second floor about Oklahoma Statehood. It was good,  but small and the gift shop left much to be desired. From there I headed to Stacy’s Place for lunch. The food was great (fried green tomatoes are my favorite) and then walked up and down the street, popping into a few antique stIMG_8850ores. While it was cooler than the 103 on Wednesday when I came through, 98 wasn’t much better and there was only so long before I needed some AC. I drove back to OKC and hit a few little boutique shops along the way. OKC has so many little gems, but without a car, they’d be hard to hit for a tourist staying in/near Bricktown where you are pretty closed in.

It’s my last night in Oklahoma, and while I’m sad to leave the comfort of my swanky hotel room and a city I’ve become rather familiar with over the years, I will not miss this heavy and humid heat.

 

“Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.” Woody Guthrie

On By HanneIn Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hot.

When I have previously driven to OKC, I’ve able to slowly adjust to the heat – usually as I make my way through Wyoming, Colorado and into New Mexico. By the time I make it to Oklahoma City, I’m relatively adjust to the blistering heat of the summer. But when I fly in, there is always a huge shock when I step out from the climate controlled airport and into the furnace otherwise known as Oklahoma.

It’s like a level of hell, or walking into an oven or just… Of course I’m here just in time for an excessive heat warning. In Seattle we have ‘heat advisories’ for the low-90s, telling people to stay indoors, drink water, etc. Through Saturday we’re under an ‘Excessive Heat Warning’ with a heat index (temp/humidity) up to 115. Gross.

IMG_8769But since I didn’t drive down, I rented a car for my stay. The Colcord Hotel (home away from home) does have a shuttle for Downtown/Bricktown, but with a few days to explore, I’d rather have a car at my disposal.

I arrived around dinner time on Tuesday. I found a liquor store to buy a bottle of wine (because you can’t get wine in a grocery store – nor can you buy a wine opener where they sell wine, had to find one elsewhere), ordered room service and crashed out early. I was up and out the door by 9:30 yesterday. Since I didn’t get to road trip down, and I have unlimited miles on my rental, I decided to try and put a few miles on. From OKC I drove 110 miles up to Tulsa to visit the Woody Guthrie Center. It’s not a big place to explore, but it holds several interesting pieces from his collection as well as a ton of history surrounding his songs and art work.

WG
Lyrics to “This Land is Your Land”

From Tulsa I headed 115 miles west to Enid, OK for an ‘old time museum’ that was supposed to be open. Except it wasn’t and I wasted 2.5 hours driving there and then back toward I-35S. Oh well, it was a pretty drive. From Enid it was another 100 miles back toward OKC. I made a stop in Guthrie, OK to visit the Oklahoma Frontier Drugstore Museum – wow, they had a ton of stuff on display. And I love how pretty much everything was cured with morphine and alcohol. Established in 1887, Guthrie was the original capital of Oklahoma and it’s beautiful downtown is considered a National Historic Landmark. I wanted to spent more time exploring the city, but at 105F, it just wasn’t worth the misery of strolling the old streets. I might try and head back up on Saturday, but we’ll see.

Once I got back to the hotel, I met up with some friends who arrived from various corners of the US (and one from England). We walked down to the pub for a bite to eat and ended up playing Trivia. We were doing great, but fumbled in the last minute to come in 4th (I think?) out of six. For the majority of the game we were in second place. Boo.

This morning I was up and out the door around 9am (already 85F). I headed south to Moore, OK where a massive Tornado hit in 2013 just prior to my visit/tornado dance. Cait and I had explored one of the neighborhoods and I returned in 2014 to the same block for progress photos. This year it was almost unrecognizable. There was still one empty lot, but otherwise life goes on, right?

moore
Life not quite back to normal.

From there I drove down some backroads (only other traffic I saw was a tractor) to El Reno where the tornado that put me in a shelter, touched down. There is a memorial for the three members of the TWISTEX team that died. I have to say, it was a little nerve-wracking being out in those fields, so far from anything. There weren’t any storm clouds in the distance or anything (I would’ve chickened out), but still… It didn’t help that the radio had played an ad for storm shelters on the drive out.

Tomorrow a few more friend arrive in the morning, Harmon’s charity event tomorrow evening. Since I opted out of the Saturday golf event, I hope to spend the day exploring a bit more. Sunday will be lazy until it’s time to say goodbye for another year and head home. In an airplane. Zoom Zoom.