Oklahoma City

August 7, 2006





We rolled into OKC to spend the better part of the weekend and after checking into our hotel, we headed out to Bricktown. Bricktown is the renovated, rejuvenated area of downtown that has such things as ball parks, nightclubs, restaurants, art galleries and such. Most of the cities we have been in have a similar area, but I must say that OKC’s is quite nice. We had a choice to go to an OKC Redhawks minor league game or to see a movie. We opted for the movie due to the heat, close to 100 degrees, I think we made the wrong choice…or more likely we just picked the wrong movie. Do not under any circumstances go see, “Talladega Nights, the Ballad of Ricky Bobby”. It has to be one of the worst films ever. After the movie, we had dinner at a place called the Spaghetti Warehouse, violating Kathy’s rule about not eating anyplace with the words “Factory” or “Warehouse” in the name. It wasn’t so awful.

It seems that every city we go to, no matter the size, has large fiberglass animals that have been painted by local artists and placed around the city. The trend started I think with Cows in Chicago, but it has spread to every burg in the nation. We have seen bears, cows, horses, ducks, beavers and just about every other variety of animals. In OKC they have buffalos, lots of ‘em. We even went by a place that had an entire herd.



We spent most of the day on Sunday at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Built on the site of the tragic terror attack on April 19, 1995, the former site of the Murrah Federal Building, the memorial is awe inspiring. They have transformed an area of extreme tragedy into a beautiful scene of reflection and remembrance. The site where the actual building sat now has a grassy field with 168 empty chairs representing each of the victims who perished. The former children’s playground has been transformed into a memorial for the many children who died. It is a touching place that is bolstered by the magnificent museum that is there. The exhibits take you on a chronological experience of the day of the tragedy and the aftermath, focusing on the way the community responded and the heroic efforts of rescuers rather than on the act itself. It is tremendous and we both suggest that anyone who has an opportunity should visit this incredible place that has been transformed from a site of terror into a vision of hope and recovery.





We left Oklahoma following the classic Route 66, headed to Texas and beyond. Route 66 is sort of a sad fading drive where one gets a sense of its quirky glory days, but also a sense of loss, since much of it passes through desolate towns and empty former popular hotels and roadside attractions. Every one in a while there is something quirky and alive that brings it back though and we still enjoyed traveling along one of America’s favorite roads.



Oklahoma City National Memorial