Home on the Range

I have been in a slump or a funk or whatever and have not been motivated to post anything on my blog. Very sad. I haven't been inspired to write the last installment on our recent trip to Wisconsin and the harrowing trip home. I wouldn't even have to think much about it because the grisly details are still fresh in my head. No, just been feeling vaguely mopey-ish.

But today, something happened that catapulted my motivation into action. Jessica and I got in the van to run an errand. I usually go north out of our neighborhood and hang a left on the first street, which is right on the edge of town. So, fairly rural. Today, on a whim, I decided to take the twisty route south through our residential area for a change. I turned a corner and saw something interesting. It actually took a few seconds for it to register and go wait, what? That's just not right. I wasn't the only one, as traffic was stopped up and down the street. Of course, I had to grab the camera and take some pics for the blog.



I don't know if they were just out for some exercise, maybe wanted to play a little basketball or take a dip in the lake. I don't even know where they came from. But it is, after all, Oklahoma. Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain. And the cattle go strolling through the lawns.

The Okies in the Dell

Our son's girlfriend thought it would be nice to celebrate his birthday in the Wisconsin Dells, and graciously asked if we would like to accompany them. This made for a lot of driving because we went straight north from college orientation in Oklahoma. But it was his birthday, after all. The Dells is a real touristy town with tons of things to do. "See the loveli lakes, the wonderful telephone system, and many interesting furry animals, including the majestik moose . . ." Sorry. Anyway, the main attraction to the Dells are the resorts and water parks, many indoor (because of the winters, doncha know). These things are popular because they drive you through the woods and then take you down streams and onto lakes.

We arrived at our waterpark resort late in the afternoon with just enough time to hang out at the pool and sip fruity little drinks with umbrellas. We only had one whole day there, so everyone had to decide how they wanted to fill it. Next morning, the girls went in one direction, went horseback riding, shopping at the outlet mall, made a stop at the deer petting farm, and headed back to the hotel for more water fun. The boys and I headed to a sweet little golf course I had located online. Let me tell you, we are not used to trees on our golf course. Let's just say they were problematic. On the way out, I saw my next vehicle.

We all met up and went to a funky little restaurant for the birthday dinner. Of course, we had to ask the waitress if they had any kind of birthday ritual, which they did. She said it was "borderline embarrassing," so it was a done deal. After she left, my son decided he just HAD to make a visit to the little boy's room. While he was gone, the waitstaff showed up with a huge sundae and a couple of other little things and were dismayed to find him gone. They left the sundae and told us they would be lurking about waiting for his return. He came back, saw the sundae, and got all cocky that he had managed to elude them. Suddenly, someone crept up behind him and placed something on his head. The look on face says it all.
When I shot this, the staff was clapping and singing a very loud birthday song. Fun times.

We only had half a day left, so the next morning, we headed into town to behave like complete tourists, check out the shops and buy some t-shirts. Downtown Dells is an interesting place. This certainly caught my eye.
The sign above the door reads "have a swig with Nig." I wanted to go in and see what was up, but apparently, it was too early in the day for such an establishment to be open.

So, we had lunch and went our separate ways. Which will be the subject of the next post. Dunh, dunh dunh! The Ride Home. Hint: there has been recent flooding.

Mynd you, moose bites kan be pretti nasti. I'm just saying.

Slip Slidin' Away

For the first time in two years, we actually went away for a few days of fun. I know, we work too hard. We started out Monday morning driving to Stillwater for our daughter's OSU orientation. That was a day and a half of some good information infused with some total BS. I think we ultimately came out okay, but I have to confess I fell asleep in a couple of the parent sessions.

For those of you not from these parts, this guy is a local icon. "He" started out as a bar, evolved into a burger joint and now has a Mexican and an Italian branch. We ate at the Italian. My first Eskimo Joe dining experience. I highly recommend it.
From Stillwater, we headed east toward Tulsa. These roads are good, but take you through a lot of small Oklahoma towns with some really neat things to photograph.

Now this is just plain cool. I would wager that the folks who worship here are some good people. I'll bet if you needed anything, they would totally have your back.

We ended up getting onto I-44 in Tulsa, which is on the old Route 66, which, if you've read previous posts, you know I love. There are still so many of the old-timey restaurants and kitschy sights to see. Classic cars, a big pink elephant, not sure why, but it was fun. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the road. And we were in a hurry.

We spent the night in a small town in Missouri, got up early and had so much fun in St. Louis. Not. Coming into town, we were informed that the route we wanted was closed due to an overturned semi on the Poplar St. Bridge. We reverted to Plan B via hubby's atlas and daughter's GPS. Ended up in the ghetto. Where I attempted to enter the left turn lane only to find a pimp mobile was trying to pass in that lane, he had to take evasive action to roar around on the right and continue straight while giving me what has to be the longest flip-off in the free world. That's okay, at least he didn't stop and open fire. We got back on track and drove for many eons until we reached our destination. But that is a post for tomorrow . . .