Five Years Married

Happy Anniversary to us.  Five Years!!!  Wow -- where has the time gone?  We have opted for just a short little jaunt this year.  A couple of days to ourselves.  What more do we really need?  Nothing, honest.

Mister is taking me to Oklahoma this weekend to visit where he went to college and see the area.  It's all new to me so let's get going.  He wants to take it casually so we get a VERY early start.  The moon is just setting and the sun has not yet shown it's beauty but we are on the road.  Ah, here comes the sunrise.




I was asked to find a few things on the way to do and so made a list.  The first stop is at the Lavendar Ridge Farms in Gainesville, TX.  It is really out of the way, but we make the trek there.  Upon our arrival, we discover that they don't open for several hours yet.  Dang, I sure thought I had checked the website better.  Well, no use waiting that long.

However, right outside the entrance is this oil pump.  Yep, it's working and we watch the oil spurt out for awhile before turning the car around.

Oh, and we are being watched as well.

Okay, what's next?  I have written down Tucker Tower on Lake Murray.  There is a nature center there that is supposed to be quite nice.  Shall we go give it a try or will I strike out twice?

As we approach and find a parking spot, the views are gorgeous of the lake itself.

Mister finds a great spot and out comes the camera.

Perhaps a little closer through the woods - better reflections.

A tower?  Where is the tower?  Oh there -- I spot the tip of it behind this other building.

I go to check and see if it is open yet and nope.  We have about 10 minutes to wait is all though so I wander back down to the docks.

Mister hollers for me to stay put.  Done.

The Nature Center building is interesting for sure and has a great sculpture outside of it.

As we wander around, there is a ton to see without even entering the building.  What a great place and I love that it's been here for such a long time.

Okay it's open now and as we enter, the first thing I see are three-toed turtles.  Oh fun.  They are in a plastic swimming pool filled with leaves, but the attendant takes one out for me to enjoy.  Isn't he cool?

We decide to go straight to the tower and check out the visitor center after.

Now, I really should say that the tower is a museum.  It is filled with displays, artifacts, and lots, lots, lots, of information.  As we wander through the levels of it, I am trying to take myself back in time and think of what it would have been like to live here in the 30's.  The history behind the tower is that it was originally going to be a "Governor's Retreat" for Oklahoma governors but that never became a reality.

There is a mastodon skull hanging over the main living space.  Crazy cool huh?

We continue the climb, stopping partway to visit with a member of the staff.  I treasure these moments when you get a chance to hear something that others may not.  As we go out onto the observation deck, wow.  Talk about a view.  It is a 360 degree view as you can walk completely around the tower.  Lake Murray is peaceful and VERY quiet.  I can understand why a retreat here would be desired.  Too bad they never occurred.

Upon our descent down into the nature center, we stop and check out all the exhibits and information available.  This is truly a beautiful space.  I think we could spend all day here if time allowed.

Unfortunately, it doesn't.  Even though this is a casual trip up, we still DO have to keep moving in order to get there before dark.  After all, it is October and doesn't stay light out quite as late as it did a few months ago.

The first town after the tower is Ardmore, OK and our tummies are starting to do the rumble thing.  Google gives me a quick location on a coffee shop and soon we are parking in front of Main Street Coffee.  Oh, the paint color on the walls here reminds me of the den in my house back in Montana.  Loved pumpkin on the walls then, still do now.

I really need to add some color to our house but Mister is a white wall person.  Ugh.

Once back on the road, our next stop is Wynnewood where we spot a flea market.  Oh man, it is AWFUL but at least we were able to stretch our legs a bit.

As we get close to Mister spots an antique shop and pulls in.  Yay.  Treasure hunting.  We wander around for a little while and I do spot some treats in a case.  Two items are coming home with me and I also have a phone number for a man in Norman who is selling a lot of his sewing machine collection and it includes accessories.  We give him a call and arrange to meet up with him at his home.  It is a jam packed house and yes, he is selling, but he is not really ready to sell.  The prices are way too high.  I would, however, LOVE to dig through their room of parts for a few hours.  I am sure there are some super cool things in there.  We do, however, manage to pick up a new card table for Allison at a good price.   It will hold her 301 and I already have one.

Goodness, that took time.  Okay -- let's get over to Oklahoma University and some trekking down memory lane for my sweet Mister.  I have to admit that when I see the campus, I am a bit jealous.  I took a different path in life and missed out on this experience all together.  Yes, I am college educated, but that came later and with a family.  Not quite the same.

The infamous dorms with all the fun stories that go with them.  Life in the late 70's. The world was a totally different place.

Most of the area is the same but there are a few new spots.  We stop in one for a quick libation.  As we sit and talk, Mister remembers a spot he used to eat at all the time.  Let's go.  It's time for some food in these bellies anyway.

Othello's is still there.  He is super stoke and says it always had the best Minestrone anywhere.  Yep, that's my sweetheart.  He remembers Minestrone.  A specific food never comes to mind for me when I remember restaurants.  Experiences, yes -- food, no.  There's the big difference in a foodie and me.  We have a perfectly delightful meal and while there we look up a brewery in Oklahoma City that is having an event today.  Let's go check it out as that is where we plan to stay tonight.

After driving around for quite awhile and locating the address for Mustang Brewing, we cannot find any activity.  I look on Facebook and find a different address.  We drive across town and check it out too -- nope.  Finally, I send a message to the brewery and they respond that they cancelled this month's event.  Seriously?  But you DON'T put that on the event site.  Well sorry Mustang Brewing, but we won't be writing anything good about you - ever.  So what now?

Mister tells me about Bricktown.  I am totally on board for that and we go to check it out.

Oh, oh, oh.  It is like the Riverwalk in San Antonio only much, much bigger and totally man made.  However, it is super enchanting and we wander down one side and then up the other and around the loop.  It's really a long way around and there's no way we are going to find the end so we turn around and return to the main section.

I'm so glad we are here at night, for the lights make it very magical and on an anniversary night, that is pretty cool indeed.

Too fun.

Wow.  I truly do love it down here.  We need to come back and spend more time here just checking out all the places and fun.  I keep thinking -- Jen needs to bring the family here.  What a great vacation weekend.

Our hotel is just down the road so we stop in at a local brewery - which is totally PACKED -- and manage to find a couple seats at the bar.  We have dinner and a drink before determining that it's time to check into our hotel and get some sleep.  We did start dang early, remember?

Ah - time to relax.  It's been a great day and we still have tomorrow together as well.  Night.

Good morning!  It's a lovely day and we are up and ready to explore.  We are leaving down on the east side for a slightly different route back to Dallas and, after another dismal flea market, spot the All American Diner in Midwest City.  This looks to be right up our alley.  We take a spot at the counter and sit back for the show.  You do know that diners like this always provide a show with your meal right?

Check out the sock monkey hat on the chef!

The counter in front of us is laden with cakes and pies.  If it wasn't breakfast, we would likely indulge.

It's basic diner fare and I'm thrilled.  Perfect.  While we enjoy our repast, we have to look at each other and laugh every now and then.  The manager behind the counter has had someone call in sick and the comments made under her breath are hysterical.  She is frantically calling around for some help and her opinion of her fellow man has diminished greatly in the last 1/2 hour.


Pointing the car south, we just drive and enjoy the view.  It's not the best, but we check things out along the way.  Upon reaching Stratford, OK we drive through town to discover a town square that has indeed died.  Look at this magnificent old building, though.  Wonderful.

Small town make my heart warm.  I wish I had the type of money it would take to bring them back to life but perhaps I'm living in a dreamland and it wouldn't happen with all the money in the world.  As we travel on, I'm getting ready to stretch my legs a bit and we come to Pilot Point, TX.  We decide to take the loop through town instead of bypassing it and as we do, we spot a fair of some type going on.  Never being shy, we stop to check it out.  It is a festival for the St. Thomas Aquinas Parish BUT they do have a few things for sale so we stop and browse.

One of the things worth a picture is this old dentist chair.  I'm betting Trent and Amanda would get a huge kick out of it.  That's about it though -- time to move on as we really are not part of this community and don't want to intrude too much on their party.

We arrive at the town square and although flags are flying everywhere.  There is no movement at all.  It looks as though it should just be filled with locals, but nope.  Well, it is Sunday, after all and that is likely the reason.  We do find one little antique shop open and peek in for awhile but he is pretty high priced.

There is another place on the corner in a cool old building.  Oh yeah, it's open too.

I spot a cute little machine in a window, a crazy wood tooth, and also find the original vault doors from when this was a bank.  Now THAT's fun.

Don't you want to just imagine this place back then?

This place is set up more like a museum than an antique shop although the latter is true.

Just down the road, we spot a local bar, Lowbrows Beer and Wine Garden, that is open and peek in.  Hey --- how strange is this?  We stop for a drink before the last leg home.  This place has some funky atmosphere for sure.  I think perhaps we'll return sometime when passing through.  I see potential here.

Well, that's it.  We are now back in the city and that means a straight line home.  It's been a great weekend together and I do love these little getaways.  They are not only educational, but "just us two" time that is so important in this hustle and bustle we call life.

Thanks for coming along.  See ya later.