|
Deb hair flies in the wind by the OKC water taxi |
Oklahoma City
For the past few days, we kept hearing the locals talk about the “bad weather that’s comin’” … when we got to OKC we got to experience it. It became obvious that a large front was going to pass over us. We figured it would be best to be still, rather than moving through it. We decided to carry on with our plans but to stay in touch with weather warnings through apps on our phones, the TV and radio.
After setting up camp at a nice KOA, we headed into the city and decided the Art museum would be our first stop. OKC has the largest collection of Chihulys in the world. The museum was built to hold a 3 story tower of his art and they have dedicated almost a whole floor to their permanent collection. We truly enjoyed the exhibits and as we were leaving we heard rumbling thunder unlike any we had ever heard and it started raining. A quick look at the radar on Dave’s handy/dandy accu-weather app told us we should stay put. We enjoyed the museum for another hour and then got a short reprieve from the storm, long enough to find a brew pub! After stretching the beer, appetizers and supper for over an hour, the rain had stopped and we walked around Bricktown (think SouthEnd with a canal running through it). Most everyone was walking toward a coliseum, and we discovered that there was a Thunder basketball game that night. The prospect of going back to the RV and waiting out the storms was not attractive, so we joined the throng, got $10 nose bleed tickets, and settled in to enjoy the game! We felt like we were back in an old Hornets game, but maybe plopped into a foreign country. We were so far up in the nose bleed section that the speakers were below us and the microphone sounded like it was stuffed in marshmallows and we could barely understand a word. The mascot looked like Hugo but with a buffalo head and it was obvious the town was in that we-go-a-franchise- honeymoon phase and the enthusiasm was infectious. The difference between the Thunder and the Bobcats: they beat Sacramento by 25+ and they are on their way to the playoffs!! We got back to the campsite about 10:30 and the weather was ominous. I’ve never seen so much red on a weather map! We heard about a tornado touching down in Norman, but figured that was about 20 miles east of us heading east. The weather was not that bad where we were so we went to bed, leaving the TV on. About 2:45 in the morning, Deb woke up Dave to the sound of a siren. We knew there was a siren at Tinker AFB which was close by. We walked up to the bathhouse, and as we got up there, the siren stopped. Deb has been wanting to (in Abbie’s words) “meet peoples”, but meeting a likewise scared RV’er from Niagara Falls at 3 am in the morning was not what she had in mind! After about a half hour we went back to the camper and watched the weather for a few minutes. It all appeared to be north and east of us, so we finally went back to sleep.
|
Deb under the Chihuly ceiling |
|
Chihuly Boat |
|
Art on the Water Taxi Canal - Entitled Land Grab 38 sculptures!! |
The next day dawned overcast with a prediction of increasing sunshine but high winds. We went back into OKC and were able to enjoy the water taxi on the canal in Bricktown and got out our Segways to explore the city. The Memorial at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing was humbling and awesome. The field of empty chairs with small chairs for the children was heart rending. As we were rolling around the city, the wind really picked up and at times we almost had to “tack” to go in the proper direction! We were now parched, but found great relief at the Tap Werks back in Bricktown. Think The Flying Saucer with over 100 taps and food like RiRa’s. It was awesome! From there we drove to a neighborhood called The Paseo which was an arts district with numerous galleries. Similar to NoDa, we found the art more affordable. Though tempted on a few pieces, we came away with just a plate from a working pottery shop. Back at the campsite we settled into a movie from the camp library and beef stew made from Dave’s canning efforts back in Charlotte. During the night we were once again awakened by a storm, complete with thunder, lightening, and pounding rain, but no sirens. Again the line of tornados was significantly east and north of us and we remained safe, but sleepless in OKC.
|
Dave at Tap Werks |
|
Rolling in OKC - Kissing Buffalos! |
|
Empty Chairs at the Memorial |
|
Children from all over made tiles for the memorial |
|
Daily, children are invited to add chalk messages |
No comments:
Post a Comment