The past few days have been quite a whirlwind, hence I am a little behind in my blogging. But let me start where I left off at the last post. After completing Gateway on Saturday, my friends (and fellow Gateway participants) Jamie and Kelly and I drove the five or so hours up to Oklahoma City and there I met up with Dan and Lisa Bartol. Lisa was on the ship last year and is a really good friend. So I've been here in Midwest City, Oklahoma, for the past few days.
Sunday I went with Dan and Lisa to their church in Edmond and then in the afternoon we met up with another ship friend, Vandi, and her mom in Oklahoma City and walked the streets of downtown with them. We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and then moved onto the Olahoma City National Memorial and Museum - where the OKC bombing occurred in 1995 - and that was an interesting, sobering experience. Fro
m there we walked across to Bricktown and caught a movie at Harkins Theatres. We watched "Ice Age 3" and in so doing I accomplished three "firsts". First time I'd been to a movie theatre in the USA, first time I'd watched a movie in 3D, and the first time I'd eaten a giant pretzel! We then took a leisurely stroll back to the Sheraton and said bye to Vandi and her mom. It's always different seeing someone from the ship in a different context! But it was lovely to catch up again!
Monday was a very chilled day. Dan and I relaxed here and then in the late afternoon we went and got hot wings (first time I've had hot wings) for supper and they were really good! In the evening all three of us played Mario Party on Wii and then watched a movie. It was a great day! Tuesday was also pretty relaxing and then in the late afternoon Jamie's dad, Paul, picked me up and we headed over to Jamie's parent's house in Edmond, Oklahoma. I spent Tuesday night there and also enjoyed meeting Jamie's family.
Wednesday I went to the Farmers Market and then for lunch we all headed to Pops on Route 66. Pops is a famous landmark - with its soda bottle upfront and the soda bottles decorating the restaurant. We then visited the historic Round Barn in Arcadia and then headed to Guthrie, Oklahoma's first capital. This is a quaint little town which is chock-a-block full of antique stores and is soaked in history. Here we looked in the State Capital Publishing Museum and also browsed through some antique stores.
Last night Jamie dropped me back here at Dan and Lisa's place and then this afternoon I head back down to Dallas for a couple days before flying out from Dallas Fort Worth on Sunday. I will blog once more before then. Until then, farewell from Oklahoma City!
The past few days have been quite a whirlwind, hence I am a little behind in my blogging. But let me start where I left off at the last post. After completing Gateway on Saturday, my friends (and fellow Gateway participants) Jamie and Kelly and I drove the five or so hours up to Oklahoma City and there I met up with Dan and Lisa Bartol. Lisa was on the ship last year and is a really good friend. So I've been here in Midwest City, Oklahoma, for the past few days.
Sunday I went with Dan and Lisa to their church in Edmond and then in the afternoon we met up with another ship friend, Vandi, and her mom in Oklahoma City and walked the streets of downtown with them. We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and then moved onto the Olahoma City National Memorial and Museum - where the OKC bombing occurred in 1995 - and that was an interesting, sobering experience. Fro
m there we walked across to Bricktown and caught a movie at Harkins Theatres. We watched "Ice Age 3" and in so doing I accomplished three "firsts". First time I'd been to a movie theatre in the USA, first time I'd watched a movie in 3D, and the first time I'd eaten a giant pretzel! We then took a leisurely stroll back to the Sheraton and said bye to Vandi and her mom. It's always different seeing someone from the ship in a different context! But it was lovely to catch up again!
Monday was a very chilled day. Dan and I relaxed here and then in the late afternoon we went and got hot wings (first time I've had hot wings) for supper and they were really good! In the evening all three of us played Mario Party on Wii and then watched a movie. It was a great day! Tuesday was also pretty relaxing and then in the late afternoon Jamie's dad, Paul, picked me up and we headed over to Jamie's parent's house in Edmond, Oklahoma. I spent Tuesday night there and also enjoyed meeting Jamie's family. 
Wednesday I went to the Farmers Market and then for lunch we all headed to Pops on Route 66. Pops is a famous landmark - with its soda bottle upfront and the soda bottles decorating the restaurant. We then visited the historic Round Barn in Arcadia and then headed to Guthrie, Oklahoma's first capital. This is a quaint little town which is chock-a-block full of antique stores and is soaked in history. Here we looked in the State Capital Publishing Museum and also browsed through some antique stores.
Last night Jamie dropped me back here at Dan and Lisa's place and then this afternoon I head back down to Dallas for a couple days before flying out from Dallas Fort Worth on Sunday. I will blog once more before then. Until then, farewell from Oklahoma City!