A crummy way to start our week. Phil realized yesterday while we were in OKC (that's how they abbreviate Oklahoma City here -- everybody does it!) that he left his wedding ring in the shower. He had a BBQ sandwich for lunch the day before and some of the sticky sauce was still under his ring, so he took it off in the shower -- he never takes that ring off!! When I got in, I saw something golden on the shampoo bottle, but thought it was foil or something on it - with no glasses on, I didn't think anything of it--he never takes his ring off!
When we returned, it was gone. Our hearts both sunk. We called the front desk and told them. They called the head housekeeper. She would talk to the person cleaning our room in the AM. Of course, the housekeeper denied even seeing the ring. The General Manager at the motel suggested we file a police report, which we did, but I'm afraid it is gone. The GM didn't even express an "I'm sorry" -- she was very defensive. The lady at the police department says they will notify the pawn shops -- it may show up there, and she says they have a really good relationship with all the shops in town. It will be easy to spot due to the inscription and date on the inside. She says it will probably get traded for drugs or cash for awhile, but will most likely turn up in a pawn shop. She also says "Gee, we haven't had a complaint from up there for awhile". .Makes me wonder what goes on there. It was a decent Quality Inn right off a freeway exit with other mid-priced motels.
Let's see, we've had a traffic accident, a medical emergency, and now a theft -- what else is left!
Having done everything we could, we headed for the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame. Another terrific attraction. OKC should be very proud of their facilities for visitors. This place is first class and covers everything about The West. Cowboys, Indians, Rodeos, Weapons, Living on the Trail, Frederick Remingtons, Charles Russells, western wear - old and new, a Western town, and just about anything else you can think of that is Western.
On our way out of town, we wanted to see an area called Bricktown. A small river attraction, lots of old buildings just begging to be lofts! Shops, restaurants, and an alive feeling. The downtown area has a very nice financial district, but we were unable to find a real commercial/retail area. I think OKC is trying to find its way to becoming a vibrant city.
Off to Norman and the University of Oklahoma Sooners. We seem to really like college towns. This campus is an interesting mix of old and new, but you can tell it is long on tradition. Phil got his stadium pic and we headed to a motel to watch a special on TV -- we are really getting to be couch potatos. Oh, but we did stop and get diet pills -- we BOTH need them -- starting tomorrow. We went to a healthy Mexican place for dinner -- off to a roaring start!
We are on our third Audio Book -- this one is "Into Thin Air" A fascinating recount of an assault on Mt. Everest that goes bad. The miles just fly by -- before we knew it today we were in Dallas -- we almost wanted to keep going just so we could keep listening!
Dallas is a happening place -- a huge city -- the 8th largest in the country and relatively easy to get around in. Stayed one night in the 'burbs just to avoid rush hour traffic and gather ourselves for what we wanted to do. The next morning we headed for right downtown to a Hampton Inn right in the heart of everything for less than $100 a night -- a real find in a big city like this! And right on their light rail line and next to the West end (like our old town) and all the JFK attractions.
Enjoyed the cloudy, but warm, breezy and humid day exploring the West End Marketplace area, the Dealy Plaza area where Kennedy was shot, the 6th Floor Museum where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots, the grassy knoll, and the Kennedy Memorial. It was quite eerie to see the place -- it is still essentially just like it was that day in 1963 -- and then go to the Book Depository building and see all the information about everything related to the tragedy. What struck me as odd (along with other people at the museum) is why he waited til Kennedy was in the location where he shot him -- Oswald had a much better opportunity (more straight on shot) before the motorcade turned the corner onto Elm St. It was almost like he waited til the last possible second before he was out of range. Why?
We took their light rail out to Greenville Avenue to go to friend, Jeff Iverson's restaurant, Humperdinks. Phil had been there in 1981 when Jeff first opened the restaurant, and wanted to check it out again. Very nice, they've added the Big Horn Brewery to it and is still and very popular place. Dinner was good -- ate lightly in keeping with our new diet!! Then walked back to the light rail -- about a mile roundtrip! After a day walking around town, we were pooped!
Still had more sightseeing to do the next day. Went over to the convention center -- wanted to see the park around it -- really a wonderful sculpture of a cattle drive down a hill -- several cowboys, and lots of cattle -- all life size -- very well done. Went to see their City Hall that was designed by a famous architect, I M Pei. A triangle sitting on its edge -- kind of. Very interesting.
Our final stop was Neiman-Marcus. An institution in Dallas. A beautiful old store with lots of fresh flowers everywhere, sculpture on each floor and clothes displayed like art. A real experience. We saw some handmade men's shirts made in Italy - $365 each. Absolutely beautiful.
Austin is our next stop. Frequently rated as one of the top 10 cities in the country, we were interested to see what this was all about. The Texas Hill Country. Finally trees with leaves -- and lots of them. Really nice area. Got there right at rush hour -- very nerve wracking in the RWH coupled with not knowing where we were going. Finally jumped off the crowded freeway near town and got a good look at downtown. We had left our AAA book at the last motel, so we had no guidebook about where to stay. Not finding what we were looking for downtown, we drove a little further south and fell into a decent La Quinta -- dead tired! We would find the AAA in the AM and get back on track!!
Had one of those unexpected great dinners tonight. The front desk recommended The Texas Land and Cattle Co. -- a chain, I think. They recommended (see we were too tired to think for ourselves!) their house special -- a peppercorn grilled sirloin, then sliced. Fabulous -- add a salad and some mushrooms, and we had a healthy dinner -- followed by early to bed.
Our day exploring Austin started with lunch! Always food! Stumbled into a little strip mall restaurant near the AAA office, the Alligator Grill. Turns out this where the restaurant scenes in "Office Space" were filmed. Remember Jennifer Anniston was always in trouble for not enough "flair". This is it. The restaurant actually serves a cajun sort of menu -- ordered lightly -- no fried alligator!
Off to see the state capital and UT-Austin. I think we are getting jaded -- yet another grand capitol building and a very pretty, large campus. The thing Phil wanted to see besides the stadium, was the Texas Tower where some nut case opened fire on students back in the 50's or early 60's. I didn't remember this at all, but he certainly picked a great perch, overlooking the entire campus.
Austin is a very pretty town, lots of parks, a nice, alive downtown, and suburbs that are growing too fast. Everyone we talked to agreed this is a wonderful place to live. The weather was uncharacteristically windy, hot, and humid, but you could feel the energy and pride in their city.
Our last stop was the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Garden. A little expensive for what it was, but the wildflowers were everywhere and in full bloom. This weekend is their Wildflower Festival. Enjoyed talking to yet another former Oregonian in the gift shop. We seem to find someone every few days who has connections to Oregon. This will be our only LBJ connection. Phil hates LBJ for his ego and actions during the Vietnam War. Even though we will go right through Johnson City, we will not stop!
As we headed south from the garden, we found ourselves on some backroads -- we had lots of time, so just enjoyed the beautiful scenery and abundant wildflowers along the road -- bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, buttercups, and various other blooms in radiant spring colors. Eventually we worked our way through the farms of the hill country into San Marcos.
We have discovered that something went wrong with our last roll of film, and upon development, we find we lost all our pictures in Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Phil lost his stadium pictures, and several other things. Fortunately, we have digital pictures of many of the attractions. I had a photo repair shop look at the camera, and it seems to be working perfectly, neither of us can explain why the film quit winding, yet kept acting like it was winding. It must have been something in the way I attached it to the spool.
Today we took more backroads to a small German town called Fredericksburg via Luckenbach -- of Willie Nelson fame. What a trip back in time that was. Not really a town at all, but a wide spot on a side road that is totally funky. A real Willie kind of place -- you can just imagine the craziness that goes on in their largest of 5 buildings, the dance hall. A small store, an outhouse building, a house, and another unidentified building make up the rest of "town" nestled under a canopy of comforting oak trees where "everybody's somebody in Luckenbach". A visit by a bevy of Harley riders while we were there added to the ambiance.
When we arrived in Fredericksburg, we discovered that most of our motel was filled with more middle aged Harley riders! Not like the Harley groups of yore. Quiet, well behaved, busy keeping those bikes shiny clean. Some even brought their bikes to town in trailers being pulled by Volvo's and BMW's!
As we were walking around town, we came upon a jewelry boutique for Jeep Collins, who made much of the jewelry that I enjoy, thanks to Phil. Stars, hearts, in a combination of brass and sterling silver make up his designs. Turns out, this is where he lives and creates the jewelry!! Enjoyed talking to the ladies running the store, and looking at most of his collection displayed in this Company store. Since Geri Miner, Ltd. went out of business, they no longer have an outlet in Oregon. Had to buy just one more piece for my collection.
Since Phil has a cold and not feeling very well, we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon just poking around the town and watching The Masters on TV in the evening.
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PHIL-OSOPHIES
Haven't had one of these for some time. First, Florida is NOT, I repeat, NOT part of the South. It is a place and culture all of its own! Having now passed through The Real South, I can look back and see that this is a very special place with a rich history and culture not seen in any other part of our country. The people have a way about them that is more genuine, less protective of self. More willing to laugh both at themselves and situations, but also more sure of their opinions and experiences. Almost a melodramatic or flamboyant air about their delivery, but in a positive way. Yet, there is a softness and acceptance that isn't seen in other places. The pretensions of the North and West seem absent from their way. I enjoyed the South and its people greatly.
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There is something about Fredericksburg that is endearing. People are all enjoying themselves, and the shops are busy on this Spring Saturday. Lots of interesting stores with furniture of all types -- antique, cowboy, iron, stone, and sophisticated influences. Could have spent alot of money here for a desert house!
As we headed out of town, bound for Ft. Stockton on our way to Big Bend NP, the scenery began to change. First the lovely trees started shrinking in size into stocky, bushy formations. The Bluebonnets were still stumbling along the roadways, hanging over the rocks, and mixing with other spring wildflowers to make a varigated carpet as we drove along. Somewhere west of Sonora, even the bushy tress left us, begin replaced by classic desert plants. Yuccas, heavy with their white stalky blooms, cactus of various types, and pinons that made a contorted image along the road. The bluebonnets were gone, but fields of brilliant yellow replaced them, and occassional outcroppings of other lovely wildflowers, unidentifiable as we zoomed along.
With traffic as sparse as the landscape, we were in Ft. Stockton, 260 miles later in no time. Yesterday had brought them a terrible windstorm -- even closing parts of the highway at times, and the thick dust from that storm still clung to the air, blocking all views of the mountains in the distance.
Another week behind us.