Oklahoma Spring Break

Last year we spent spring break in the windy city of Chicago.  We had a wonderful time there.  As spring break drew near this year, I worried that my kids would be disappointed as we had no plans and I couldn't seem to muster any enthusiasm for "vacationing" at home.  When my sister-in-law, Patricia, invited us to spend spring break with her and my brother, Guy, in Oklahoma, I jumped at the chance.  And then I started to worry . . . it's a 10-hour drive . . . they are empty-nesters now and we're a loud group . . . would the weather be okay since March is typically the snowiest month for Minnesota . . . and what are we going to do there????  Lots of unwarranted worries.  We went, we enjoyed, and we returned home much too soon.  Here are the highlights from our trip:

We left at noon on Wednesday and indeed drove 700 miles to Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  I had in my mind it would take 10 hours until I pulled up directions on google maps and it said 11 hours 19 minutes.  Okay, so how bad can the last 1 hour and 19 minutes be?  It can be bad :).  David and I learned on this trip that we are definitely day drivers.  Things went really well until it got dark - really dark - at 8:30 p.m.  We were still three hours away from our destination so driving through deer country made the last bit of our trip not the best.  But we made it and it was worth it.

The most hilarious moment on the whole trip happened on the way to Oklahoma, right before total darkness fell.  We were driving along when one of the girls piped up, "I've got to go to the bathroom NOW!!!!!"  David actually asked her if she could wait 60 miles until the next big town.  Her little voice only went up a pitch or two higher as she emphasized her immediate need for a bathroom.  I, as her mother and a female myself, believed her and began to look for a place to stop.  We happened to be driving by a tiny Kansas town at this time.  Strangely enough, we could see the town on our right, but couldn't find a way to actually enter it without off-roading.  So we slowed and kept a look out for a street.  As we neared the edge of town, a road appeared and we quickly veered off the highway.  We drove through the town looking for a main road.  I assured David that all little towns have a main road and on that main road there are gas stations.  Guess what - Greeley, Kansas does not have a main road (or at least we couldn't find it) and we learned a short time later that they are also short on gas stations.  Thankfully, we saw a woman walking on the road so I asked my husband to pull over so I could ask her for directions to a gas station.  You would have thought she was a member of Hell's Angels or something - he did NOT want to ask that lady for help.  I muttered to myself, "You'd think you thought she was going to murder us or something," and I heard him mutter right back, "The murder rates are much higher in little towns."  I prevailed, however, and David pulled over so I could talk to her.  The nice lady told us that there wasn't a gas station open at 8:15 p.m., but we could go to the cafe which was the only public place open at that time of night.  We pulled up to the cafe and I proceeded to take my three girls into a BAR!  Fortunately, the people in the bar were very friendly and sympathetic to our need.  As if David hadn't had enough at this point (he firmly believed the only reason the girls needed the bathroom was because I allowed them to drink on the trip) - he flatly refused to go into the bar with us.  As I was getting out of the van, I heard Jacob say, "I have to go too."  "OH GREAT," was David's reply as my husband and son followed us into the bar to the restrooms.  I had to suppress my laughter.  Of course it took the girls and I longer, so I returned to find the bartender (a woman) chatting with my reluctant husband by our van.  It took all of my self control not to say 'I told you so' - small towns are awesome and the people in them one of a kind - the good kind!

After a good night's rest, we were ready to take on Oklahoma.  Thursday found us at the Oklahoma Aquarium.  I think the pictures tell the story much better than I could.  We read, we watched, we touched, we laughed - it was very fun!  After the aquarium we had lunch at Incredible Pizza.  And it was incredible.  Pizza buffet with bowling, mini-golf, arcade, bumper cars, and go-karts.  We were happy and tired by the end of the day.

  
                                                    

On Friday we visited Woolaroc which contains a Native American heritage center, petting zoo, and nature trails.  I thought we'd blow through the heritage center and spend most of our time on the nature trails.  I was pleasantly surprised by how Jacob and Charlotte really enjoyed the heritage center.  They took their time looking at all of the pieces and carefully read the information.  Wow!  Maybe all those trips to the art museum here in the cities and the hours spent doing art adventure at the school and the trips we take as a family visiting museum's and educational places have paid off.  Or maybe they're just good kids.  I must say it was a great moment for me and I felt very proud of my kids and their behavior.

After the heritage center, we visited the petting zoo.  The kind woman there let the kids hold and pet everything she had and they loved every minute of it.  Finally, after several hours, we hit the trails.  The picture below really doesn't do the landscape justice.  Although we had warmer than normal temperatures in Minnesota during March, I hadn't let myself accept that spring had arrived.  I think I spent the whole month of March holding my breathe and anticipating the snow that never came.  But in Oklahoma, spring had arrived in all her glory.  There were gorgeous, blossoming trees EVERYWHERE with white or purple flowers.  You'd walk out of the house and you could smell the earth which I absolutely loved.  We went everywhere in short sleeves.  About five minutes after we arrived, I took all of the hoodies and jackets out of our bags and put them into the car.  While packing, I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that we wouldn't need them so I packed one sweatshirt and one jacket for everyone.  We didn't pull them out until we hit Iowa on the way home :).

 



Of course the warmth of our trip didn't just come from the sun.  Guy and Patricia were so welcoming, kind, and generous.  Patricia truly went above and beyond - what an amazing hostess!  She made amazing food, let the kids color Easter eggs, planned an Easter egg hunt, helped us decorate bunny houses, shared her dog Kayzan with my four kids, and came up with our fun-filled itinerary.  The Easter Bunny even found us so far from home.  And Guy supported her in everything.  We were also able to visit with my niece, Kyla and her great husband, Brian.    Family is truly a beautiful thing and our time with them is so precious.  I only wish we all lived a little closer.  Typical for me, the adjustment to our reality has taken a few days.  Although we don't have flowering trees here, spring has arrived and I am grateful for our modern blessings of email and blogs and phones that keep me close to the people I love the most.