Chapter 105: O-oklahoma!

A couple of weeks ago, I packed my stuff and headed for Oklahoma City to visit my parents. All-in-all, the flights were pretty uneventful and that's about all you can hope for these days when it comes to flying.

After 6 1/2 hours, I arrived in Oklahoma. Besides my parents, this is the sight that greeted me, and from the sound of it, I should be grateful that's all the hotter it was. Also, check out the interesting landscape. Nothing, then more of nothing.

 We went out for lunch at Flat Tire Burgers. Here's Dad checking out their muffler mail box.

Dad, Mom, and me after a juicy Flat Tire Burger.

 Oklahoma City is short on tourist attractions. The Oklahoma City National Memorial Monument and Museum is one of the few attractions available to see but well worth the visit.

This is a piece of the original fence that surrounded the building after the bombing. People continue to add to the original items that were left on the original site.

The memorial is a beautiful place. How unfortunate it even has to exist.

This is the Survivor Tree. It barely survived the bombing and then was almost cut completely down so thousands of pieces of evidence could be removed. Now the seedlings from the survivor tree are planted in locations in need of hope, including the site of 9-11.

Here is what the Survivor Tree looked like after the bombing.

This is the Field of Empty Chairs. There is one chair for every casualty including smaller chairs for the chldren. They are arranged by the floor the person was on when the bombing occurred.

Chris met us and went through the Memorial with us. Here's Chris and my dad.

Dad had some of the granite stone from the Murrah building aftermath so he sent a piece home with me. It's very beautiful granite. Too bad it's not still part of the building.

That evening we went to their friends, Don and Becky's for dinner. Don makes a killer hanging tenderloin and the dinner and company was fantastic. This is Chris and Dad by their pool.

 

The thermometer pegged out at 102 degrees by 10 a.m.

I crossed Historic Route 66 on my way to the Walmart Neighborhood Grocery Store. Yes, it's actually just a freestanding grocery store with out all the rest of the trappings of our Walmarts.

After a wonderful visit, I head to Las Vegas and home. I had an extended layover in Las Vegas due to weather in Denver so you get pictures of Las Vegas as well. Look, a hill. I hadn't seen a hill in a week! 

 And this...this we could do without! It turned everything a horrible, disorienting blue. Even though I was on the moving sidewalk, I couldn't walk fast enough to get out of here.

 After I got home, we headed for the cabin for the International Kite Festival. Stay tuned.