"I've Never Been To Heaven, But I've Been To Oklahoma"

Well, I've made a safe trip to and from Oklahoma, seen numerous family members, and driven much more than I really wanted to. A rundown of the trip:

Monday, August 14: Wendy and I take Clif to the Metro so he can get to National, then Wendy takes me to Dulles. Turns out, however, that I'm supposed to fly out of National myself. A rush back to National brings me to the airport about four hours too early. Manage to get to Tulsa, Oklahoma on time, where dad picks us up and drives us to his house. Spend the night in Grove with dad. Meet dad's girlfriend, Vivian, who bakes a mean double chocolate cookie.

Tuesday: Dad drives us to Shawnee, where we pick up Clif's truck and stay over with my dad's parents. We are fed. This will become something of a pattern wherever we go. Crash with grandparents.

Wednesday: Clif and I drive up to Witchita, Kansas by way of Ponca City. We stop in Ponca to say hi to mom's parents and grab a bite to eat. Manage to get lost between Ponca and Witchita, though not too bad. Make it to Witchita mid-afternoon, visit with mom and meet her new husband, Kevin. Kevin is loud and boisterous and charming. Also ex-military. Also a creampuff on the inside. They fix us a tasty dinner.

Thursday: We get up and mom takes Clif and I shopping. Clif finds new running shoes, I find a couple of new shirts for work. Everything is coming up Milhouse. More excellent food for dinner.

Friday: Clif heads off for Shawnee and I borrow mom's car and head to Norman. See Ev and go to hear my uncle's band play. Crash at Randy and Donna's house on their couch.

Saturday: Drive to Shawnee for big family dinner. Eat good food, hang out with all sorts of family members (both siblings, dad, Vivian, Randy & Donna, my cousin Chris and his daughter Bailey and Chris's girlfriend, my great-aunt Bev, and my grandparents), play some guitar with Clif, dad, and Randy. Head back to Norman to visit with Ev some more, then go hear my uncle's band play again. Get to get on stage and sing and play "Brown-Eyed Girl" with them using my uncle's Stratocaster. Totally makes my day. Crash at Randy and Donna's again, this time in a bed.

Sunday: Have lunch with Jessica and Dominic and their little son, Jack, at Tarahumara's in Norman (still my favorite Mexican restaurant), then drive back to Shawnee to visit with my grandparents. End up staying the night, getting to see dad again on his way back from taking Scott up to school. Clif also leaves for Austin on this day. Talk to a couple of friends on the phone that night, including Mary, a girl from church. Crash with grandparents again.

Monday: Get up and have donuts with Mary, whom I'd managed to con into waking up early to meet me for breakfast. Hard to believe she's grown up so much. I remember this girl and her sisters from when they came up to about my waist and spent most of their time kicking me in the shins and running away giggling. We chat for a couple of hours about various things, then I get on the road to go back to Witchita to give mom her car back. I stop in Ponca City so my grandparents can go up there with me (I have to get back somehow, after all). We get to mom's place, I give her the car back, and mom and grandma go shopping. My grandfather proceeds to wipe the floor with me in 9 out of 10 games of pool. The ladies return, the grandparents take me out for dinner, and we go back to Ponca.

Tuesday: Grandad and I go golfing. I play poorly, but it's been a good five years since my last round of golf, so I think I have an excuse. Towards the end I'd actually started remembering how to play. Had fun regardless. Spend the rest of the afternoon and evening just lounging around my grandparents' house.

Wednesday: We get up and hit the road for Tulsa, stopping in Cleveland, Oklahoma for lunch. Great little place there on Main Street called the Broadway Cafe. Then we continue on, arriving at the airport amidst a bit of a rain shower. It clears up by the time my flight leaves. First flight has no air conditioning, so there's the stench of lots of B.O. in the air. It's a full flight on one of those little puddle jumpers, so this kinda sucks. Second flight - from Memphis to DC - is fantastic. It's a bigger plane and only about half-full. I actually have room for my legs and there's no one in the seat next to me. I arrive early at the airport, and Michelle meets me. She's having an eye issue, so I end up driving us back to Fairfax, thus ending my vacation.

Anyway, it was a good time. I was glad I got to see so many of my relatives. I wish the trip had been either a lot longer or a lot shorter (longer so I could have had more time to visit with folks, or shorter so that I only had time to go one or two places). It's good to be back in one place, though, especially since I have to start back to school next week with preparatory work and all that.

My plans for of the rest of the week are quite simple: I'm gonna sit around and relax. I might re-organize (well, organize. Re-organize implies there was organization to begin with) the closet. That in itself is a major undertaking, but one I feel I have the time to tackle.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble, "Pride and Joy"