A WEEK IN THE CITY

Monday, March 14, 2016
Happy Pi Day! Literally, our RS President is having a Pi Open House at her place today. She's making lots of pies, people are brining pies, and everyone is having a pi-licious evening!  Funny.

For the record, I make my own laundry soap. Yes, it saves some money. But that's not why I do it. I do it because I am terribly allergic to most laundry detergent, especially the really scented ones (I will not name names). We tried one recently...Ken really liked it's scent. But I broke out in an awful, itchy rash in uncomfortable places. And this brand claims to keep the scent for two weeks!  Ay-ay-ay! So I made a new batch of my soap today (Borax, Washing Soda, Fels-naptha, and an oxi booster) to use immediately. Mind you, it will take a few washings to get that other stuff out and until then I will suffer.

Apparently, I did not explain enough about our OKC trip this week. Ken has been training with Taco Bell in the City (that's what we all call it 'round here) all this month. Analiese and I are joining him this week. While he's working, we'll be playing the tourists. We have plans to visit a couple of museums (Science & Osteology), the Myriad Gardens and Bricktown, and do a little window shopping at the Penn Square Mall and the Oklahoma Outlets. Our schedule is cram-packed full! I will try to elaborate each day on our activities and accompany them with pictures.

I worked for four and a half hours today between Walgreens and Wal-mart (yes, it is easy to confuse the two). I came home tired and hungry...and glitter-covered. Yes, working for Hallmark makes me sparkle! (Ha-ha) Still, I had stuff to finish to get us ready for our trip tomorrow. Oh, I'm so tired!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Ken, Analiese & I were out of the house by 9:00 a.m. (Jonathan will go to work this afternoon and from work go to our friends, the Doshers). First stop: Wichita Wildlife Reserve just outside of Lawton. I had hoped to see baby buffalo, after all, it's that time of year. No luck, I was very disappointed. It was pretty windy, too, threatening to carry Analiese away! We did, however, see lots of longhorn cattle

and prairie dogs who chirped either threats at us or warnings to their neighbors. They waddle as they run, and their tails wag behind them!

Ken had received a gift card to Carl's Jr., so we had lunch in Lawton there before heading to the City. Our next stop was the OKC Outlet Mall.

I wanted to see it...and I had a list of things I needed - or wanted. Some things of a personal, feminine nature, some things for my kitchen (like a replacement for my broken beater w/scraper for my Kitchenaide). Plus a little bit of fun (Ken likes Yankee Candle and I like Vera Bradley). Two good walks today, so far.

In town, near the hotel we're staying at (thanks to Ken's work), we did a little Wal-mart shopping for lunch stuff shopping so we can take food with us and not eat out so much (expensive and usually not too good for you). I brought some Bountiful Basket apples and tangerines with us, too, so we're set to be comfy and taken care of this week.

Dinner tonight was at a place called Swadleys. Now, we've had a bit of barbecue and smoked meats since our arrival in OK, but Ken had been to this place before and said it was really good. After eating dinner, Analiese agreed, she loved her pulled pork sandwich and homestyle tots (not the stuff you get in the store!). I had a smokehouse club sandwich wich onion strings and Ken had a huge potato topped with pulled pork. They have a number of barbecue sauces, and we all chose "the Grumpy," which was a smoky sauce with molasses. I liked it, not too sweet and with depth. The funny thing was, on the way out, we saw at least a dozen Corvettes in the parking lot. It must have been the Corvette Club dining at Swadleys tonight. Too bad Jonathan wasn't there to see it!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Our outing for the day was the Science Museum, located next door to the OKC Zoo. Because we got there right when it opened, we had a great parking spot. It did get busy though, we're not the only ones on Spring Break!

I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked because my camera isn't holding a charge well. But here are some:

 A light sensitive floor.

 Analiese trying her Jedi powers

 A bed of nails is not as uncomfortable as you might think!

 Fun water feature that we floated toy boats on.

 The water moves in time to the music.

 Analiese trying to figure out where we are (staged, of course).

 On our whirlwind tour on the "Orient Express." (Not really, it's an American car, but we've recently read the book, so we wanted to say we did)

 Planes of all types and ages (for Jonathan, who couldn't come with us).

Science Super Heroes!

We took a little quiz to see who our "Science Sidekicks" would be. Analiese got Jacques Cousteau and I got Thomas Edison!

Ken had to be to work by 2 p.m., so we grabbed some Chipotle burritos for lunch and headed back to the hotel. Our afternoon was a lazy one, relaxing, going to the pool, etc.

Thursday, March 17, 2016
Today is a beautiful day! Let's go outside!

I knew it was St. Patrick's Day, but I didn't think it would have an effect on our day. But as we got near the Myriad Gardens in the heart of the city, we saw tons of people dressed in green, some weirdly. Parking was a nightmare, too, because something was going to happen at the nearby Cox Center (sports) as well.  After driving round the block three times, figuring it may have been a loss today, we finally found a spot right by the gardens.

 The Spring flowers are out! I'm in love!

 Anyone for a little Irish bagpipes?

 And Irish dancing?

 The Conservatory bridges the two parts of the Gardens

The Gardens sit in the middle of the city.

Inside the Conservatory, everything is lush and green.

Analiese is on top of the world at one end of the Conservatory.

There were hundreds of these butterflies flitting all over inside the Conservatory. We watched them sip nectar from the flowers.

 This is a bridge high up in the Conservatory where you can look down into all the trees. It's a neat view!

Analiese beside a refreshing waterfall.

 This is in the Children's Garden. Analiese really is enjoying herself, but didn't like the sun that was in her face.

Next stop, Bricktown!












Nice mural

Resting by the canal under a beautiful Redbud tree (Oklahoma State Tree).

The canal in Bricktown with Sonic HQ in the background.











Friday, March 18, 2016
The only real fly in our ointment for this trip is the hotel. The closest one to the Taco Bell Ken is training at is the Holiday Inn. Ken hasn't been too happy about it before, but this week it was just plain awful!

It started with them not giving us the right room - one with a refrigerator in it. We had been expecting it and had perishables to put into it (picnic lunch stuff). We ended up having to buy a cheap cooler, an expense we didn't want to make.

Then, the room was dirty. The dust ruffle had some red gross food thing on it, that had extended to the carpet. And getting people to come clean the room was impossible! We told them about the stains on Tuesday, they didn't come. Wednesday, they didn't come. Thursday, they came by a little bit before we left for the day, but said they'd come back later to clean. They didn't. TODAY, we left early in the morning before anyone came by to clean and didn't get back until 3 in the afternoon. The room STILL WASN'T CLEAN!!!

The pool is murky, the jacuzzi doesn't work. The ice machine on the third floor (our floor) doesn't work. There's a huge pothole in the driveway to the hotel. The front desk people are often downright unfriendly. I've told Ken to tell his corporate boss that they should discontinue using this hotel. I've worked in hotels and I specialized in corporate reservations. Corporate guests should be given top priority, because they are solid repeat customers. These people do not understand this.

On a happier note, today Analiese and I visited the one and only Museum of Osteology in the United States, here in OKC.

They are connected to their business, Skulls, Inc., that clean and display bones of all kinds (Yes, including humans. We could have bought a human finger bone, but decided that was a little creepy.) The show Dirty Jobs has visited them before (they were playing that episode on a tv there).  It was a fascinating museum!

This is a human skeleton with extreme dwarfism. It may not be easy to see, but it looked terribly painful!

 This was a favorite of Analiese's - a cheetah!

 This is a sea otter. Reminded me of California.

 This is their signature rhinoceros skeleton. The horns are fake, however, because they are in such demand on the black market that people try to steal them...even from this museum!

 Have to have a shot with a buffalo. Even if all that's left is bones!

 Oh, the inhumanity! Analiese and the alligator bemoan their fates.

 I was intrigued by the giraffe skeleton.

 Analiese with her beloved sharks.

Analiese later remarked that she was surprised how much more interesting it was than she previously thought it would be.

Saturday, March 19, 2016
Our last day here. I took Ken to work at 6 a.m. and went back to the hotel...to go to bed! After a couple more hours of sleep, Analiese and I got up, breakfasted, and set out for our final plans.

We first headed to the mall. Now, it may not seem a big deal to you, but there is no mall in Altus, and a smallish one in Lawton, so this was a treat. We're not really shoppers, but we do like to see things (I window shop excellently). We sampled gourmet gummy bears, toffee, and honeycomb chocolate at an old-timey candy store. Godiva had us sampling creme brulee Belgian chocolate (ooh-la-la), and, of course, we had See's samples. Now, it wasn't all just eating yummy chocolate. I got an oversensory headache at Bath and Body Works (too many and too strong scents do that to me), we played around with gadgets at Brookstone, and found some cute earrings and a bunny watch for Analiese at Claire's.

After our romp through the mall, we headed to the Route 66 Park for a nice lunch.

Unfortunately, we had freezing temperatures last night (Ken had to scrape ice off his windshield this morning), so the day, though bright, was cold and breezy. We strolled through the sunshine eating our sandwiches and only stopped to throw breadcrumbs (saved the ends of the loaf) to the geese and ducks.

 We haven't done that in a while - it was fun.

The park celebrates Route 66, of which the majority of the remaining road exists in Oklahoma.

Our hotel and the Taco Bell Ken was at this week were both on Route 66. If you want to know, it originally went from Southern California

to Chicago, Illinois.

Our pleasant surprise for the day was a farm at the entrance to the lake area (before you get to the park). At first, I thought the field housed horses. But on closer inspection we saw...alapacas!

They run funny, by the way.

We picked up Ken at 2 p.m. and headed home, with a short stop in Lawton for a few needed things at Sam's Club.

We have had a lovely trip and got to do everything we planned, but I was glad to be home. I wanted to see my son, who got off work at 8:30 p.m. I was tired and wanted to sleep in my own bed, too.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

I slept like a rock! I so missed my bed! Too bad I can't take it with me wherever I go.

I played the organ in Sacrament meeting today. I got a call this morning from the organist's wife saying he was sick and would I play. I should have just sat at the piano, because I didn't have enough time to think about the music and what sounds I should use. I felt terrible during the sacrament hymn, because it just didn't sound reverent enough!  I had a couple people comment on how talented I was and I could only think "But I was so awful today!"

More headaches today. Maybe there's something in the Altus air? Or maybe the headaches I attributed to fatigue in OKC were just the same thing - pollen?