Week 2

Hello!

I'm sitting in our Tulsa, OK Hampton Inn tonight. It's been a very relaxing day of napping, working out, taking a bath, cooking dinner (chili), talking on the phone with friends, and writing out our February itinerary.

Here's a look at our past week:

We got this great book for Christmas called "1000 places to see before you die"...I know it sounds a bit morbid, but it's a cool resource for off the beaten path things to see in small towns and large cities.

Our first excursion was to the Stockyard Exchange in Oklahoma City, known for the world's largest cattle auction. When we first got to the address, we couldn't find where it was taking place, so I went into a building on the property to ask for directions...and I also asked him if it was something people watch...and if it's even worth watching. All I got was, "You've never been to a cattle exchange before?" I took that as, it's definitely something I had to see!



Ryan walking the "cow walk"...


The auction building...


And...the auction! It wasn't as big as I had expected for being "the world's largest"...but the auctioneer was definitely a faster talker than I had ever imagined! At first we thought the cows were going for really low prices...everything we saw was sold between $10(poor homely little cow)-$100...but later we learned that was per pound...which, is a lot for an animal that generally weighs between $800-$1500 pounds!


The show that night was at Cameron University in Lawton, OK. The student activities board promoted the show by wearing ties they had puffy painted the show info on, and bedazzled! I so wish I could've been a part of that craft hour! :)


One of the students after the show asked Ryan and Cameron to sign his guitar...a big honor in the world of music!


We made a spaghetti dinner on our off night in the beautiful hotel we were staying at..


Our next show was at UT Tyler...they did a wonderful job putting on an afternoon show in their student union/ food court area.


Ryan and Cameron then flew to Walla Walla, WA to play a show at Whitman College, while Melissa flew to meet me in OK for a weekend ladies' roadtrip! The first stop of our roadtrip was in Wichita Falls, TX where we stayed with my friend Jen (whom I know from living in Boston) and her husband Andrew. It was Andrew's birthday, so we had a nice dinner with yummy homemade carrot cake!




Melissa and I then drove to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge (another of the 1000 places to see before dying).
We were greeted right away by a Texas Longhorn!


We also saw a herd of buffalo grazing, and 14 deer ran across the street right in front of us. It was a really beautiful location with wildlife surrounding us.
Also on the refuge is the "tallest mountain in oklahoma"...which, took us about 7-10 minutes to drive to the top of. :)


We were tipped off about a great hole in the wall restaurant to stop at after the Refuge....Meers....a shack-like restaurant that had been added onto a couple of times. It was a fun find...we ended up spending hours inside eating and chatting.


Next, we were back in Oklahoma City and went to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and Museum. It's not in the 1000 places to see book, but I'd put it in there...it's beautifully done and very informative.
The reflection pool where the federal building once stood..


That night we treated ourselves to Braum's ice cream! It's an Oklahoman specialty...each dairy (they sell dairy products as well as ice cream) is within 15 miles of the actual farm!


This morning Melissa flew back to AZ to spend time with her husband Chris, before he leaves on his tour with the band Luca.

And, Ryan and Cameron flew back to Oklahoma!
The show they flew out to play at Whitman College went REALLY well! But unfortunately, they had a run-in with a deer while driving to the Spokane Airport at 5:30am...they are completely fine...just a few aches and pains at first, but totally back to 100% now, but the deer didn't make it and the car was totaled. :(


Bedtime for now! We're driving to Kansas in the morning! :)

Thanks for your comments...if you're an anonymous poster...please write your name...I love knowing who is saying what! :)