Exploring Altus

Our week started out on an exciting note...tornadoes!  The very thing that made Analiese nervous about our move had come to Oklahoma.  I didn't even know about them until later, which means, obviously, they weren't on top of us!   Instead, they were closer to OKC and some very sad things happened (including elementary schools being hit).  In the meantime, though, everyone not in OK were calling, texting, emailing, etc.  Finally, I had to post on FB..."The Boltons are okay in OK!"

The kids succumbed to allergies this week and Analiese has yet to get over her cough.  Still, we did well enough to begin actually exploring our new town.  What else did we have to do?

Tuesday and Wednesday were highlights for Jonathan, going to the AFB.  A family in our ward is being transferred and they needed help moving and cleaning their base housing.  Ken & Jonathan went Tuesday evening and the kids went with  me Monday.  We had to wait in a visitors area after having my ID checked & double checked and then we had to be escorted by either the brother or sister to their home.  The kids never complained for a moment about having to help (though, really, Analiese just played with the dog - the sister said the dog was feeling neglected and confused, so it was a good thing) and we got to see some cool planes taking off.  At one point, Jonathan cleaning a window in the master bedroom, he called me to look at something.  It was a jackrabbit, hopping around the grass, long ears alertly up.  The AFB is surrounded by a wooded area, so it wasn't surprising to see wildlife.

Thursday was the clincher...this our new home town.  We went to the library!  And a good thing, too!  It is small, not nearly as nice as the big one in Corona, but the librarians were over-the-top friendly & helpful.  They found me a map of the town (I wanted one for the fun of marking things on it), gave me fliers for upcoming events, and were just as nice and chatty as can be.  Now, it may be small, but I did find books by favorite authors that I hadn't read.  They have weekly crafts and activities for kids, even some for teens.  They even have an art class Analiese can take the week Jonathan is at Scout Camp (blessing!).  And while I can't check out books yet (no local utility bill), they said we could reserve them or even just come over and read.

I've been doing my laundry at a laundromat just steps from our new home (the motel laundry is just awful and I've already ruined a favorite shirt there).  While I hate going twice a week (but we only have so many clothes - what we packed), it has become an interested place for people-watching and catching up on gossip.  It is also next door to the United Supermarket, so I've been comparing their prices to the Great Big Blue Monster (aka Walmart).  A little here, a little there.  Oh well.

Here's my hand-drawn map of the area (just the two blocks).  Our home is the red box, United is the big brown U and the laundromat is the small brown L.  Every time I go, I have to drive past the house. 😃 I just want to see it!

We are still attempting to figure out 4-H.  The GPS Saturday was absolutely stumped and couldn't locate the address (somewhere between the college and our credit union??).  I'll have to call them next week.  The kids really want to a) participate and b) have something to do.

Maybe next week I'll describe the tiny apartment we're staying in now.  It's interesting trying to maneuver around each other or cook decent meals in the kitchen with only a small pot and skillet.  But, the pool is open and that makes Analiese happy...at least, when I take her there!

LIFE IN A SMALL TOWN

(Part 1 of ?)

Yep, it's small.  Yesterday we ran errands all around town.  There are four main streets to deal with: Main (duh), Broadway, Park Lane (Somebody liked Monopoly?), and Tamarack. That's it.  There's lots of little streets, though and the Air Force Base (in the future to be known as AFB), which I have no clue about.

Drove past our soon-to-be house.  Still looks cute, though the pathway & sidewalk need redoing.  Eventually.  It's not on my urgent timeline.  Not only is United Grocery across the road from it, a laundromat is next to the store.  So, in the meantime, places to shop & clean clothing.  And our storage unit is just down the road.

From the motel where we're currently staying, the Wal-mart is just a few minutes walk, as is the bank, our mailbox, and other stores.  We're off Main Street (see paragraph One), so everything is here and convenient.

We cruised around the reservoir yesterday.  It is surrounded by grass and parks and I guess is the place to walk and picnic and play.  We didn't do anything of that sort, though, because after the rain of the day before, it was more like swampland than parkland.  Still, we saw some interesting waterbirds and lots of Canadian geese.  Apparently they like it here.

And we've met the ward...some of them...well, probably most of them.  Last night the Young Men had a fundraising luau dinner for Scout Camp (In June...Jonathan made it in time!).  Analiese, true to form, was off like a shot making friends.  A gal in the ward (it is going to take me a while to learn & remember names), said that there are seven girls in Activity Days and they are all nice and friendly.  Good, so is she!

It wasn't a huge group, like we're used to, but those who were there participated well.  Because of the AFB, there are lots of young families, so they have many little children.  They even put up a kiddie table for ward events!  They had plenty of games for the kids, tossing, coconut rolling, limbo, etc. and the Scouts and their leaders put on a condensed modernized version of Johnny Lingo (it was quite funny).  Then they had a pie auction...not to eat, but to throw at the Scouts.  The Scoutmaster earned $45 on himself alone!  

They also partied long and hard.  It started at 6:30 and we finally left after 9:15.  I don't know how much they earned, but they worked hard at it.  They offered dinner, virgin pina coladas, dessert, and pie tossing.  But they seem a friendly lot (the RS president gave me a tour around the building) and, given time, we will fit in.  Because they have so much turnover, they're not unfriendly to strangers.

THE PUSH

Other than one picture of the clouds that the kids took, there will be no other pictures of yesterday.  That's because the day was not about sightseeing, but about getting to Oklahoma...and Ken/Dad.

We left Albuquerque at 8:00 a.m. for a straight shot to Amarillo.  Other than bathroom & stretch breaks, we did not stop. My back had about had it with the days of never-ending driving and I was so tired.  I was looking forward to stopping...permanently!

We had lunch at Taco Bell in Amarillo.  Because we had to wait for Ken to get off work  so he could meet us in Memphis, TX (an hour and half from Amarillo), we spent some time walking around a park with a pond.  I think I burned the top of my head a little (I'm so bad about that!).

By then, the kids were chomping at the bit to get to Dad.  Outside of Amarillo was pretty much...nothing.  Fields and roads and roads and fields.  We kept at a pretty good pace, considering that we had to slow down as we went through towns (smallest population 365, largest 3K).

Finally we slowed to stop at a Travelodge in the itty-bitty burg of Memphis.  Ken was there waiting (I guess he sped from work to get there before us).  I can't say it was a super-emotional reunion, mainly because I was too exhausted to do anything but collapse in his arms.

But the driving wasn't done yet.  There was still another hour to go until Altus.  More of the roads, flatland, small towns.  I looked at my clock when we passed the OK border, 5:06 p.m. (that's 3:06 California time).  The kids abandoned me for Ken, leaving me with the music I wanted (now you know who 

It didn't look much different.  These tiny towns looked pretty dilapidated.  Faded and falling apart, homes and "main street" businesses looked very sad.  I started having misgivings.  What if Altus was like this?

Treelined creeks and signs of wildlife began to emerge.  Why did the turtle and the wild turkey cross the road?  Maybe they had death wishes?  Still, it was fun to see.

Finally, Altus loomed...well, as much as a small town can.  It was larger than the other places we'd been through and, while some of the places on the far end of town looked fairly beat up, eventually we began to see nice neighborhoods and the signs of "normal" civilization.  Not California, to be sure, but at least it was big enough to have what we need.

More to come on the new life in Altus...