WEDNESDAY: Last day in Oklahoma today. Chelsea said goodbye as she was headed out the door for work, and shortly thereafter, I got up. I went out to the truck to put things back together, and found the weather delightfully tolerable. The storm from last night must have cooled things off significantly, but it still smelled like Northern California to me, mmm. I gathered my things and repacked stuff, stopped for a quick breakfast of shredded wheat and strawberries, and packed up the truck. After saying goodbye to a sleeping Kyle, hugging Lizzie and Joe, and brushing my teeth, I hit the road... to Ada. I had to get some postcards in the mail, and I needed stamps, too. THEN I was on my way northward.
Thanks to my mom's desire to travel vicariously through me, she re-routed me away from interstates and onto two-lane highways. With this routing, I had some interesting stops and scenic drives. My first stop? Langston, Oklahoma - home of Langston University, the first historically black university in Oklahoma. I stopped and took pictures of the post office and the football field at the university. It's pretty small, so I was back on the road shortly afterwards. I got into Kansas and quickly thereafter turned sharply to the west. Heading that way on US Rt. 160, I got to go through the Red Hills - gorgeous! Yet another very pleasant surprise on my journey. I continued listening to Life of Pi on my way towards Colorado... what a story. I stopped again in Dodge City, a town I recognized almost immediately once I saw the train depot. I'd been here before on the California Zephyr as a kid! I walked up and down front street and west towards Boot Hill. Lots of things were closed, which was a bummer, but it was fun to check out briefly. After filling up on gas and dinner, I got the heck out of Dodge.
I kept on heading westward US 50/400 and got to Garden City, Kansas, a town that supposedly has a bison refuge. By the time I was in town, I'm almost positive it was closed, but I just wanted to see where it was, but I saw no signs for it, then got lost all the way into the next town before I got back on the right route towards Colorado. Oh well, you can't see it all. From there, I kept on through the most western parts on Kansas right on into Colorado, finally stopping for the night in Lamar, Colorado at a Super 8. Grateful as I am to be able to see friends any way I can, it was nice to sleep in a bed again for one night. And now I'm in Mountain Time!
Oh yeah... roadkill count for today: 9 armadillos, 3-4 turtles (so sad!), lots of UDOs (unidentified dead objects)
Friday, August 12, 2011
ROAD TRIP! Solo Lolo: Day Three - August 9, 2011
TUESDAY: This morning was pretty slow, but by 11, we woke up Kyle and Chelsea and we got ready for our day to the big(ger) city (cities, really). We first went into town to pick up Chelsea's car from the shop, and I got a better view of the City of Ada. Nice big post office they have. After picking the car up, we headed back to the house to figure out the plan for the afternoon of adventure. We'd still be taking my truck, but we would also take Lizzie and Joe's truck, too, and split the five of us between the vehicles so no one would get carsick or just plain hot and uncomfortable. It was Liz and Chelsea in one truck and the boys and me in mine, and so we headed out.
Our first stop, at about 3, was Norman, Oklahoma where the University of Oklahoma is located. We headed straight for this vegetarian restaurant that Chelsea had been to before called The Earth Natural Cafe & Deli. Delicious! I had a scrumptious blueberry-peach-strawberry smoothie, a 'Moonmaiden' grilled cheese (with tomato, avocado, and sprouts), and a salad, too. So good, and so filling. We walked around a bit and checked out a shoe store and a little boutique called Antique Garden. They had a bunch of fun things, but also had Sorority hoo-hah all about the store too, like, 'Get your rush week dresses and attire here!' I bought some earrings, but most everything else was either too expensive or too tiny. I'm being a Goldilocks about it, but you know, I think the earrings were just right. Anyhow, after that we decided to try to go to a winery east of town, and just as I thought we were getting lost, we arrived... but it was closed, so we headed into Oklahoma City, or OKC as it's affectionately known.
In Oklahoma City, we headed for Bricktown, a revitalized part of town that has the Bricktown Brewery (our first destination), a canal, the American Banjo Museum, and lots of other attractions. Since Oklahoma's centennial was in 2007, there were lots of awesome murals around the city and a bunch of buffalo, too. Not the real kind, but the fiberglass-decorated-by-artists kind. There was one that I found particularly clever: a buffalo nickel, sponsored by BankOne. (Pictures to come shortly.) Bricktown Brewery seemed pretty busy, but we got our beer and drank it, and as I looked around, I found it very strange that at a local brewery people would dare order Bud Light, but there it was. Crazy, in my mind. After we left the brewery, we headed for the canal and walked around. We stopped in to Put a Cork in It Winery for free wine samples, bought OK postcards, got frozen yogurt at Peachwave, wandered around the Red Dirt Emporium (where I got a cool ring made from a spoon), and then took a water taxi ride. The water taxi ride was actually quite informative. We heard about what the Bricktown area used to be like (abandoned warehouses, criminal activity, lots of homeless people), but we also learned about OKC history and history of the land rush as well. It made me want to read up on it a bit more. It still blows my mind that Oklahoma was the 46th state. We live in a pretty young country as far as our government is concerned.
After the water taxi ride, Chelsea and Kyle headed homeward since Che had to work in the morning, and Liz, Joe, and I walked around some more. We saw awesome mosaic murals by the new ballpark, took pictures with Flaming Lips Alley (who knew the were from OKC?), and generally wandered for a while. We headed home a bit later, getting back to Ada around 1 and hitting the hay HARD. Oh yeah, and I fell asleep to a thunderstorm. A big and bright one, and it was a lovely lullaby.
Our first stop, at about 3, was Norman, Oklahoma where the University of Oklahoma is located. We headed straight for this vegetarian restaurant that Chelsea had been to before called The Earth Natural Cafe & Deli. Delicious! I had a scrumptious blueberry-peach-strawberry smoothie, a 'Moonmaiden' grilled cheese (with tomato, avocado, and sprouts), and a salad, too. So good, and so filling. We walked around a bit and checked out a shoe store and a little boutique called Antique Garden. They had a bunch of fun things, but also had Sorority hoo-hah all about the store too, like, 'Get your rush week dresses and attire here!' I bought some earrings, but most everything else was either too expensive or too tiny. I'm being a Goldilocks about it, but you know, I think the earrings were just right. Anyhow, after that we decided to try to go to a winery east of town, and just as I thought we were getting lost, we arrived... but it was closed, so we headed into Oklahoma City, or OKC as it's affectionately known.
In Oklahoma City, we headed for Bricktown, a revitalized part of town that has the Bricktown Brewery (our first destination), a canal, the American Banjo Museum, and lots of other attractions. Since Oklahoma's centennial was in 2007, there were lots of awesome murals around the city and a bunch of buffalo, too. Not the real kind, but the fiberglass-decorated-by-artists kind. There was one that I found particularly clever: a buffalo nickel, sponsored by BankOne. (Pictures to come shortly.) Bricktown Brewery seemed pretty busy, but we got our beer and drank it, and as I looked around, I found it very strange that at a local brewery people would dare order Bud Light, but there it was. Crazy, in my mind. After we left the brewery, we headed for the canal and walked around. We stopped in to Put a Cork in It Winery for free wine samples, bought OK postcards, got frozen yogurt at Peachwave, wandered around the Red Dirt Emporium (where I got a cool ring made from a spoon), and then took a water taxi ride. The water taxi ride was actually quite informative. We heard about what the Bricktown area used to be like (abandoned warehouses, criminal activity, lots of homeless people), but we also learned about OKC history and history of the land rush as well. It made me want to read up on it a bit more. It still blows my mind that Oklahoma was the 46th state. We live in a pretty young country as far as our government is concerned.
After the water taxi ride, Chelsea and Kyle headed homeward since Che had to work in the morning, and Liz, Joe, and I walked around some more. We saw awesome mosaic murals by the new ballpark, took pictures with Flaming Lips Alley (who knew the were from OKC?), and generally wandered for a while. We headed home a bit later, getting back to Ada around 1 and hitting the hay HARD. Oh yeah, and I fell asleep to a thunderstorm. A big and bright one, and it was a lovely lullaby.
ROAD TRIP! Solo Lolo: Day Two - August 8, 2011
MONDAY: Slept on the couch last night, and woke up when my friend Chelsea had to get up for work and her dog Lilli (short for Lilliput) started investigating my face until I covered it with a sheet. She settled into a little dog-ball in between my legs and I got up later, around 9. After breakfast and messing around on the internet editing the Ada, Oklahoma Wikipedia page and such, we (Liz, Joe, Kyle, and I) went out to Wintersmith Park. The park seems to be the one place in town that has a natural water source. It's a nice big pond-lake, but clearly has been lacking the extra water that usually overflows from the lake and fills the little creeks in the other parts of the park. Anyhow, we walked around the park, seeing the amphitheatre which was built during the Great Depression by members of the CCC, the llamas and deer in the animal enclosure, an old monkey cage that was abandoned years ago, and some wildlife, like a turtle and its baby and of course, geese.
After we left the park, (OH! I should mention we were in my truck, the four of us. Keep this in mind...) we went to pick up Chelsea from work. We got there and got a tour of the library (Linscheid Library is the official name) from Chelsea, and she introduced us to the student workers and her co-workers. After we left, we all (now 5 of us) crammed into the truck. There are five seatbelts, but I think the front middle seat is meant for a very small child and we are five fully grown adults. Anyhow, we managed it, blasting the A/C as it was about 1 o'clock, and it had hit 100 degrees but felt like 104. We stopped at La Fiesta Mexican restaurant for lunch and promptly ordered a pitcher of strawberry margaritas. Lunch was quite filling, and Chelsea's morning of work and our walk around the park made us realize we all needed a nap, so we went home and slept for about two hours.
When we got moving again, we talked about going to Oklahoma City or Norman for the evening, but decided to make that a trip for Tuesday. Instead, we played You Don't Know Jack (a Wii trivia game), made/drank mojitos, and played Trivial Pursuit (the new, more complicated edition). Around 9:30, we figured we should eat something, so we made lasagna, I made some salad, and we dined and talked and had a good time. After dinner we watched some George Carlin stand-up and then ate angel food cake with strawberries and ice cream, and apparently, I fell asleep on the recliner. End of Day Two!
As mentioned before, pictures coming soon...
After we left the park, (OH! I should mention we were in my truck, the four of us. Keep this in mind...) we went to pick up Chelsea from work. We got there and got a tour of the library (Linscheid Library is the official name) from Chelsea, and she introduced us to the student workers and her co-workers. After we left, we all (now 5 of us) crammed into the truck. There are five seatbelts, but I think the front middle seat is meant for a very small child and we are five fully grown adults. Anyhow, we managed it, blasting the A/C as it was about 1 o'clock, and it had hit 100 degrees but felt like 104. We stopped at La Fiesta Mexican restaurant for lunch and promptly ordered a pitcher of strawberry margaritas. Lunch was quite filling, and Chelsea's morning of work and our walk around the park made us realize we all needed a nap, so we went home and slept for about two hours.
When we got moving again, we talked about going to Oklahoma City or Norman for the evening, but decided to make that a trip for Tuesday. Instead, we played You Don't Know Jack (a Wii trivia game), made/drank mojitos, and played Trivial Pursuit (the new, more complicated edition). Around 9:30, we figured we should eat something, so we made lasagna, I made some salad, and we dined and talked and had a good time. After dinner we watched some George Carlin stand-up and then ate angel food cake with strawberries and ice cream, and apparently, I fell asleep on the recliner. End of Day Two!
As mentioned before, pictures coming soon...
ROAD TRIP! Solo Lolo: Day One - August 7, 2011
I think the SpanishDict Word of the Day example from Sunday sums up day one of my trip quite succinctly: "Fue una larga jornada. - It was a long day's journey."
I've been daydreaming about a road trip this summer since the early spring, and having spent much of Saturday prepping to get on the road early on Sunday - picking up road food, washing the truck, cleaning the inside of the truck, picking up audio books (AKA 'tapes on CD'), and finally packing my bags - the reality of the trip finally hit me. I would be driving from little old Asheville, NC to even littler (but less old) Ada, OK in one day. I'd thought I'd perhaps split the drive into two days, but since I was meeting up with my friends from St. Louis, Lizzie and Joe, at our friend Chelsea's place in Ada, and Chelsea had only Monday and Tuesday off work, it was imperative that I get there ASAP. Fortunately I had worked out the timing of things so that the drive would fit within the hours of the day that I'm usually awake. Google estimated that it was a 15.5 hour drive, so if I left at 8 AM from Asheville, thanks to the time change from eastern to central time, I would arrive in Ada around midnight or so.
Point A: Asheville, NC
SUNDAY: I got up earlier than usual (6:45... oof) to finish the packing of the truck, smooched the boyfriend, and got going a little after 8, stopping to grab a coffee and breakfast bagel from Bruegger's before I left town. Leaving Asheville by 8:35ish, I was rolling westward on I-40. I primarily listened to Weekend Edition Sunday until the signal went to crap, then listened to my new Adele CD for a bit until I could pick up radio signal once again. NPR is so good for road trips, especially solo ones. The content they choose to talk about in all their programming is so stimulating, fascinating, and fun at times, too. Of course it's great to start conversations, too, but I'm driving alone, so that's not really an option, unless I call someone to talk. And I did call folks, since that also helped with mental stimulation. Driving long distances get me into a zone that is not far off from sleeping, it seems, so the phone calls helped to beat that feeling back. I know it's not great to talk on the phone and drive (and in some states is illegal), but when it's that over being asleep at the wheel, I'll choose the former. Singing along to music works that way a bit, too... except isn't illegal.
Aside from stopping for gas or bathroom breaks, which I did my best to coincide, I was cruising down 40. The book (on CD) I chose to start with was Yann Martel's Life of Pi, a book I've been meaning to read for years. I had to break up the first few hours of listening since it was in the exposition (see plot diagram below) and not a great deal of action was happening, which kind of contributed to the zoned-out driving I mentioned earlier. Anyhow, I got some great quotes from the start of the book, though: "The more you look, the more you see you are in zootown." Also, "Life goes on and you don't touch tigers." Good life advice, don't you think? By the end of my drive though, I was well into the rising action and I was on the edge of my seat, figuratively speaking, and very much awake and aware of my driving surroundings and those of Pi Patel, the main character in Life of Pi.
Speaking of driving surroundings, here are some highlights. I'll start with the Hummer 3 I saw just inside the Tennessee border. Its license plate made me laugh out loud: 4 SALE. Clearly it's so unappealing as a vehicle that the desire to sell it is as permanent as the likelihood of someone wanting to buy it off the current owner. Also, roadkill counts were intriguing, and sad at times, too. Of course, there was plenty of unidentified bits of animals, but there were also a few cats, a small dog, and lots of armadillos. At first, the first armadillo I saw looked like a fetus and an alien, but then I saw another and I was more certain of its animalian place on earth, though not near the highway. Who knew there were armadillos in Tennessee? Not me.
Oh yeah! I discovered a pleasant surprise about Oklahoma... it smells like parts of Northern California, which was super comforting. I think it might be because of the severe dryness and fire hazards, though.
Pictures to come soon!
I've been daydreaming about a road trip this summer since the early spring, and having spent much of Saturday prepping to get on the road early on Sunday - picking up road food, washing the truck, cleaning the inside of the truck, picking up audio books (AKA 'tapes on CD'), and finally packing my bags - the reality of the trip finally hit me. I would be driving from little old Asheville, NC to even littler (but less old) Ada, OK in one day. I'd thought I'd perhaps split the drive into two days, but since I was meeting up with my friends from St. Louis, Lizzie and Joe, at our friend Chelsea's place in Ada, and Chelsea had only Monday and Tuesday off work, it was imperative that I get there ASAP. Fortunately I had worked out the timing of things so that the drive would fit within the hours of the day that I'm usually awake. Google estimated that it was a 15.5 hour drive, so if I left at 8 AM from Asheville, thanks to the time change from eastern to central time, I would arrive in Ada around midnight or so.
Point A: Asheville, NC
SUNDAY: I got up earlier than usual (6:45... oof) to finish the packing of the truck, smooched the boyfriend, and got going a little after 8, stopping to grab a coffee and breakfast bagel from Bruegger's before I left town. Leaving Asheville by 8:35ish, I was rolling westward on I-40. I primarily listened to Weekend Edition Sunday until the signal went to crap, then listened to my new Adele CD for a bit until I could pick up radio signal once again. NPR is so good for road trips, especially solo ones. The content they choose to talk about in all their programming is so stimulating, fascinating, and fun at times, too. Of course it's great to start conversations, too, but I'm driving alone, so that's not really an option, unless I call someone to talk. And I did call folks, since that also helped with mental stimulation. Driving long distances get me into a zone that is not far off from sleeping, it seems, so the phone calls helped to beat that feeling back. I know it's not great to talk on the phone and drive (and in some states is illegal), but when it's that over being asleep at the wheel, I'll choose the former. Singing along to music works that way a bit, too... except isn't illegal. Aside from stopping for gas or bathroom breaks, which I did my best to coincide, I was cruising down 40. The book (on CD) I chose to start with was Yann Martel's Life of Pi, a book I've been meaning to read for years. I had to break up the first few hours of listening since it was in the exposition (see plot diagram below) and not a great deal of action was happening, which kind of contributed to the zoned-out driving I mentioned earlier. Anyhow, I got some great quotes from the start of the book, though: "The more you look, the more you see you are in zootown." Also, "Life goes on and you don't touch tigers." Good life advice, don't you think? By the end of my drive though, I was well into the rising action and I was on the edge of my seat, figuratively speaking, and very much awake and aware of my driving surroundings and those of Pi Patel, the main character in Life of Pi.
Speaking of driving surroundings, here are some highlights. I'll start with the Hummer 3 I saw just inside the Tennessee border. Its license plate made me laugh out loud: 4 SALE. Clearly it's so unappealing as a vehicle that the desire to sell it is as permanent as the likelihood of someone wanting to buy it off the current owner. Also, roadkill counts were intriguing, and sad at times, too. Of course, there was plenty of unidentified bits of animals, but there were also a few cats, a small dog, and lots of armadillos. At first, the first armadillo I saw looked like a fetus and an alien, but then I saw another and I was more certain of its animalian place on earth, though not near the highway. Who knew there were armadillos in Tennessee? Not me.
Anyhow, the drive continued westward and I finally made it to Memphis, roughly half-way, and a heaved a sigh of relief. It was only mid-afternoon! Wahoo. But then it hit me, half-way. Oof. However, by the time I made it to Little Rock, Arkansas (where I got a little turned around because I was talking on the phone) I was in I've-got-ten-hours-of-driving-under-my-belt...I'm-invincible! mode. Anyhow, the rest of the drive went just fine, though I did get a little sleepy on the state routes getting into Ada. But I made it! And after stretching, hugging friends, and watching a little Wii being played, I hit the hay.
Point B: Ada, Oklahoma
Oh yeah! I discovered a pleasant surprise about Oklahoma... it smells like parts of Northern California, which was super comforting. I think it might be because of the severe dryness and fire hazards, though.Pictures to come soon!
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