Room Upgrades

Hello! I have missed y'all!
Yes, I know, usage of the term "y'all" automatically drops my perceived IQ score to 70 and below.
But it's one of my favorite words.
I have had some road tripping.
I saw some snow.
I stayed at a hotel where the upgraded rooms came with beer bottle openers.

That handy little accessory was on the front of the sink cabinet.

Oh, and it also had a phone in the W.C. (toilet/shower room), and that place was so nice, it came with its own soap dispenser.
Bleh!

From Roamin' Jen,
thanks for stoppin' by!

Good evening! It has been so long! Now I work out of town so when I get back to my hotel room, I feel wiped out and go straight to bed. But on this trip, I learned a few things in this medium sized city (47,000 souls, it has a Wal-Mart AND a Target!).

7) Watching the patrons at the local library will provide hours of entertainment.
6) According to some locals, Vick's is a local trashy bar. On Thursday nights, they have booty shaking contests. I took their word for it.
5) In this town, pedestrians play real-life Frogger. Seriously, the first day we were here, there was a fatality car-bicycle accident, the next day was a seriously injured pedestrian-car accident, and a few years back, one of the elected officials was hit by an uninsured motorist while inside a dollar store. The motorist thought the front door was a drive-through, apparently.
4) If you do the speed limit on a two-lane road with a turning lane, these fools think you are going to slow and will pass you on the sidewalk.
3) Handling the deed books will ruin them. Not really, the register was griping about how the books are old and everything is all on one of the 5 computers that were in use at the time. She gripes alot!
2) If you are looking for something in Book numbered 255 on page 634, it is not in said Book numbered 255, it is actually in the front of Book numbered 256. Nobody knows why, but page 634 has 200 friends from 255 to keep her company in 256.
1) It takes 1.5 minutes to go from the lobby of this courthouse to the 4th floor, via the stairs, where they keep information on deceased people.

That's pretty much it.
I am going to bed.
Thanks for Stoppin' By!
Jen

Traveling In Oklahoma

On one of the forums I stalk, a question about traveling in the Midwest was posed. The question was: 

I'll be taking a solo road trip this summer from Shreveport, LA to Denver, CO. I'd love to stop a whole bunch along the way and take some great photographs, but I just don't know what there is to see and photograph along my way. I don't have a definite route in mind yet, so if there is something really spectacular a little out of the way, I wouldn't mind taking a detour. I've also considered taking a different route on the return trip, but I just don't know what is out there!

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Apparently a local answered with the Travel Oklahoma Website and a few stops around the state: Turner Falls Park, Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Scott, Black Mesa, and a few stops along our portion of Route 66. 

One of my favorite places to stop is Red Rock Canyon, it is small, quiet, and very peaceful in the wintertime. 

So, any suggestions about your favorite local hideaways? 

Thanks for Stoppin' By!

Jen

Dad's Pictures and Blasts from the PAST

A couple of months ago, my dad gave me two big boxes of old family pictures.


Here is one of the boxes.

These two pictures were on top.

I think my Dad was probably 16-18 in this picture.
I am pretty sure it is pre-Viet Nam, because I looked at a few of his post-Viet Nam pics and I think he left all of the scissors in Chu Lai.

This family picture was probably taken about 1986, judging from the age of us three kids and the lack of grey in my dad's hair. Oh, and the candle on the birthday cake. So we were probably in Arkansas City, Kansas, when this rockin' Polaroid was snapped.

I am still laughing at the mustache.

Thanks for Stoppin' By!


Jen

Wednesday Night

It's Wednesday night in the Big Town!
Yup, DH is out riding with his boys, me, I am at home still fighting with Quickbooks. I guess I am going to have to cry "Uncle!" and turn it over to a professional computer geek.
So, after having taken a small ride, I am back and playing with the new computer and trying to update this Quickbooks. Basically, I am re inputting the last month's receipts, invoices, and bills into the program.
This weekend, I am going to have to bite the bullet and start inputting all of last year's stuff into our personal side so we can go get our taxes done by the accountant.
About that ride, I rode down to Best Buy to find a keyboard for the laptop.
I am not a huge fan of laptop keyboards, my hands don't curve correctly to use them very well.
Back to that ride, I waited until after round 4 of trying to re-install/de-install Quickbooks, DH had left for Wednesday ride night, then he came back to get the PikePass, left again, and I was ready.
I hit that door running!
Helmet, coat, backpack, keys.
Turn the bike on, back out, and awaaaay we gooo!
I took the scenic route to OK-74/ Lake Hefner Parkway. I am glad I did, because when I got onto the Lake Hefner Parkway portion of the highway, the wind kicked up something fierce.
I have to admit, I was a touch concerned. A gust of wind made me and the bike wiggle.
Whew! I was so glad to get to Best Buy and off the highway.
I ran in, purchased the keyboard, and walked back out.
I was in NO hurry to get back on the highway. Also, the sun had gone down. Bikers really have to pay attention to their surroundings during the day, but it is twice as bad at night.
During the day, a biker has a fifty/fifty chance that the other drivers are actually seeing her.
At night, not only are the other drivers texting, talking on the phone, but most are coming back from dinner, so they have had "one or two" drinks.
And it is dark.
And they don't see you.
It is scary sometimes.
I got over myself and got back on the bike.
The traffic is pretty heavy on the intersection at May and 63rd in Oklahoma City, so I turned right to head south on May so I wouldn't have to play "Frogger" to get back accross the road. I next turned right on Independence, then back left on 63rd to get back on the highway. I know, I took the long way, give me a break, I was trying to minimize the risk of me getting squished.
I am riding on the highway; fighting the wind all the way home.
I finally make it back to the house, try round 5 on Quickbooks, then sit down with you.
I think I am exhausted now.
Thanks for stoppin' by!
Jen

Neighbor kids

I love my neighbor's kids.
They are adorable.
I came home from the grocery store to see her two little boys setting up an ambush.
What are they ambushing?
Well, let me tell you, they hid behind the large bush accross the street and laid in wait for cars to come through the intersection. Well, when the cars would stop at the stop sign, the kids would jump out and just pelt the cars with snowballs. I laughed so hard.
It reminded me of my brother and sister when they were kids and doing the exact same thing.
Of course, I did let the neighbor know what her kids were doing.
I know, total loss of cool points.
I would have been mad if it had been my cars.
But they weren't, so it was funny.
Thanks for stoppin' by!
Jen

Happy Valentine's Day!

So Friday night was my Valentine's Day gift from DH.
You already know about the note he left me on Friday telling me to pack my bags.
If you don't, you can see it again here: Surprises
Well, I survived. He had Carlos the limo driver pick me up and take me downtown to the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.
It is amazing.
This hotel was established in the early 1900's and just underwent a major remodel.

So, anyways, Carlos drops me off and I go to the front desk to get my room key.

The nice lady at the front desk hands me my key and tells me my room number and that it is on the sixth floor.

Ok, not too hard, so I get on the elevator and get off at the sixth floor.

I am really excited at this point.

So excited, that I forgot what room was ours.

I thought she said 606. So I went to 606. Yeah, I couldn't get in. So I am nervous and think well, maybe she said 612. So I go to 612. No luck.

Yes, I feel like a crazy person at this point. I am so glad nobody opened the doors to their rooms and asked me what I thought I was doing. That could have been really weird.

I head to the elevator. I can't take it if I try again and someone who is not my DH opens the door.

I am really dreading asking the girl at the front desk, "So, what room am in, again? "

Yeah, not wanting to do that. I get my cell phone and call DH,

"Hello?"

"Uh, Babe?"

"Yes?" he asks.

"So, you are not going to believe this, but I feel really stupid and you can't make fun of me and I don't want to go back downstairs and ask the girl at the front desk, but, uh, what room are we in?" I ramble out. Remember, this is a surprise.

Crickets on the other end, then he bursts out laughing and tells me our room number.

No, I never would have tried that number, not in a million years.

UGH!

DH picked the flower arrangement. These flowers do not come with the room.

I love this bathroom.

I get ready for dinner and text him and Carlos to let them know I am ready.

They pull into the front and we get back in the limo and head to our dinner reservations at: 

Drum Roll, please, The Mantle.

It's a pretty good restaurant down in Bricktown. We had the second ever most amazing 14 oz bone in fillet. Yes, we split the entree. It was 14 ounces of the most delicious and tender fillet we have had in a while. The only downer was that our server did not like his job nor did he like Valentine's so he was in a crummy mood. His service was the worst service we have had in the last three times we have been to the Mantle. But that is okay, we had a great meal and I did not have to do the dishes.

Next stop is at Rooster's Chicken and Beer in Bricktown. It is a bar and chicken joint in the Old Wells Fargo building.

Digression: One thing about living here, you can give directions through Oklahoma City and Guthrie, Oklahoma by using landmarks like, The Old Wells Fargo building. Or Just south of the Old Pizza Hut in Guthrie. (There is a Mexican Food Joint in the Old Pizza Hut Building and our favorite Italian joint is Romas, which is south of the Old Pizza Hut).

Our friend, Chris is the general manager and our other buddy, L.V., waits tables and is the owner's son.

We finish the night at Rooster's and then head back to the hotel for champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and the softest sheets ever.

I slept so well, I got up the next morning and used a search engine to see if I could track down where to get these sheets.

This is DH waiting for the valet to bring our car around.
This lobby is amazing.
I love him, he made a wonderful surprise.


Have a Happy Valentine's Day!
Jen