Chillin' in OKC

After the 9+ hour drive last Friday from El Paso to Lawton, OK (home of Ft. Sill), I picked up Cam and we headed another 90 miles north to Oklahoma City. Along the way, it was fun to catch up on all that he had been doing for the last 3 weeks. Unfortunately, I didn't have much to share because I haven't been doing ANYTHING exciting...

After checking into the hotel, we went in search of dinner. An Army buddy of Cam's suggested we try Toby Keith's I Love This Bar in downtown OKC. After SEVERAL trips around the block, we finally located the restaurant and a parking lot. One of the features of this restaurant/bar is local live music (the band that night was really good and played several country and rock covers) and military personnel get a free dinner! We then strolled along the Riverwalk in the Bricktown area of the city and finally had to give up when we (read: Kristy only) were covered in sweat due to all the humidity!

Saturday was a super busy day for us! We started off the morning with a leisurely stroll along the deserted Riverwalk and admired many of the Land Rush Monuments that have been installed. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to take the River Taxi tour, but followed along beside one for a while. We learned that the only reason Oklahoma City became the capital of Oklahoma was because 2 people stole the "official" state seal from a neighboring town in the dead of night. These folks then drafted a letter stating the capital was Oklahoma City and stamped it with the official seal. Therefore, OKC became the capital in 1907.

We then headed to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum in honor of the Federal Building bombing in April 1995. See the post below for more details.

After getting baked in the sun all morning and afternoon, we took an air conditioned, self-guided tour of the Oklahoma state capital building. The building was full of white marble, amazing murals of the state's history, and crazy detailed plaster on the walls. I was quite surprised by the lack of people inside on a Saturday afternoon, especially given my childhood experience of visiting the Capitol Building in Olympia one summer with my family.

We ended the day by getting all dressed up and dining at a local restaurant suggested by online reviewers. Despite Cam's reservations, the food was delicious and the atmosphere charming. While we had grand plans of attending the Triple A OKC Redhawks game after dinner, after our busy day we ended up CRASHING as soon as we got back to the hotel.

Sunday was a much more relaxed day. We caught the very early showing of "Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince" movie. (It was one of the better of the series, but as always, the books are FAR BETTER!) We then had a leisurely lunch and headed back to Lawton and Ft. Sill just in time to check into my hotel. Cam showed me around Ft. Sill a little and we also found Geronimo's grave in the Apache graveyard on post. All of the grave stones were lined up by family and dated from 1901 to present day.

After a fun filled weekend, it was sad to say goodbye. The drive home Monday morning seemed to take much longer than the drive up. Could it be that I wasn't excited to get home to an empty house?

Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum

As stated above, we spent most of our afternoon at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. It was a very powerful experience, to say the least.

The memorial outside has several symbolic areas. The gates on either end of the memorial are labeled as 9:01AM (the minute before the blast went off) and 9:03AM (the minute after the blast). There is a reflecting pool between the gates that shimmered in the sun and reflected the 9 rows of empty chairs. There is a chair inscribed with each of the 168 victims' names, including 19 smaller chairs for each of the children that were killed. Parts of the structure around the memorial are made from portions of the Federal building's concrete foundation that were still standing after the blast. You could see the melted, twisted rebar still sticking out in places. The memorial also includes the "Survivor Tree", a 90-year old American Elm that withstood the blast and now grows in a place of honor.

One thing we learned during our tour was that several buildings in a five block radius were also damaged in the blast. This included the two very old churches on either corner, the county water district building directly across the street and an automotive shop 3 blocks away that collapsed several days after. Also, included in the 168 are five people in these neighboring buildings that did not survive.

While the outside memorial was certainly moving, the museum inside brought me to tears. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside. The museum is set up as a timeline, beginning before the blast. You are first escorted into a room that plays a tape of a water district hearing from across the street that captures the blast. From there you move into room after room after room of exhibits full of actual pieces of everyday material that was scattered over 10 city blocks. They found shoes, eye glasses, coffee pots, microwaves, filing cabinet drawers, and children's toys. There were rooms set up like offices full of debris that were recreated from photos. You also can watch video of detailed survivor and rescuer accounts.

One of the more shocking displays involved a manager who was holding a morning meeting with her employees in a conference room. Suddenly her employees and the table they were sitting at fell away from view. This woman was unharmed, save for a few scratches and slight tears in her dress. Her secretary, in the office behind her, was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries. When all was said and done, the remaining portions of the secretary's clothing fit into a small ziplock bag. This bag was displayed next to the manager's slightly torn dress.

The rooms then transitioned from the recovery to the police search for the bombers to the bombers' trials and the aftermath of the event. Many new federal laws and protections are in place due to this one event. Finally, you leave the museum through a gallery of pictures and donated personal items from all 168 victims.

As a nerd alert aside, the most fascinating portion of the museum was the artifacts used and the stories behind the police investigation to catch the bombers. The actual truck parts that contained the VIN numbers and shopping list used by the bombers were on display. As a CSI fanatic, I just ate this stuff up!

I was an emotional mess when we finally finished. I cried happy tears for the human spirit of the survivors who became first responders and helped out the more critically injured. I cried sad tears for all the innocent lives lost ... for nothing. And I cried because it really opened my eyes to the fact that terrorism is still alive and well in our world ...

Road Trip to OK

This past weekend, I made the 9+ hour drive from El Paso to Lawton, OK to visit Cam. He's halfway through BOLC II training (Officers' Basic Training) at Ft. Sill and needed to get away for a while. We decided that we would head the 90 miles north to Oklahoma City for the weekend.

On my long drive, I noted a few interesting things...

1)El Paso and the surrounding areas are desolate and not very beautiful. However, drive 45 minutes to the east and you begin to see trees, crops, pecan fields, and green grass! I'm glad to know that all of west Texas is not as bad as El Paso. In fact, much of west Texas reminded me of eastern Washington minus the irrigation sprinklers and BIG rolling hills (Texas has very small hills - that are called mountains.)

2)Driving Habits: I now know why El Paso drivers are sooooooooooo terrible! It's the bad influence of the Mexican drivers! I passed 5 cars with Mexican plates on my drive ... all of them going AT LEAST 15 miles under the speed limit and in the left lane! Argh!

3)Mother Nature in Action: As I was driving along, I noticed some type of bird of prey swoop down along side the road and take off again with a snake in it's clutches. As it flew over the car, the snake was writhing around. Very cool to see in person!

4)More Local Wildlife: The only armadillo I saw was some road kill, but I'm going to count it as seeing a real-life armadillo.

5) Nerd Alert: How big of nerd am I that I was excited to see the fields and fields of oil rigs and was seriously tempted to stop at the Petroleum Museum in Odessa, TX and the meteor crater outside of Abilene, TX???

And now some photos of the drive:

I was most excited to see that in parts of Texas, the speed limit is 80 mph. Now, if only Washington would do this on many of its eastern highways! (I-90, Hwy 26, Hwy 395 ... to name a few!)

In the town of Anson, the highway curves around the city hall, planted right in the middle of town.

Do you think that Pecos Bill and his tornado are near by?

Nerd shot, but I had to as the car rolling over the 3000 mile point.

Long Time, No Blog...

Shame on me!!! It's been far TOO long since I've updated this blog and I have no real excuse for not doing so. It's not like I've been overly busy these last few weeks...

Cam has been away at Ft. Sill, OK for the last 2 1/2 weeks, participating in BOLC II (Basic Officers' Learning Course - AKA Officers' Basic Training). So far he's VERY unimpressed with Ft. Sill and Lawton, OK area and said, "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Ft. Bliss and El Paso!" (Guess the grass isn't always greener, huh?)

Compounding this new-found "homesickness", he's rather frustrated with the BOLC II training as it's all a repeat of stuff he did in Basic Training and OCS. It's mainly geared toward those soldiers coming out of ROTC and the Academy programs (who don't have to attend Basic Training OR OCS). He's also frustrated that he is one of the last classes that must complete this training as the Army is doing away with the course next year.

On a happier note, I'm going to OK to visit Cam this upcoming weekend! We've got a full schedule of things to do and see while we visit Oklahoma City and I'll post pictures as soon as I'm back. I've never been to OK, so I'm also excited to get it crossed off my list of visited states!

As for me, I've been keeping myself busy in El Paso by searching for a new job (STILL!). However, I'm finding that I like the freedom and free time I have as a housewife! I've almost completed my next Project Linus quilt and am eager to start on the next! I've also found that there are several activities that I would like to participate in, including a weekly Army wives Bible study on base and a "Sit & Sew" group that meets at a local fabric store! Plus, if I continue my daily work-out routine, I just might find that I have NO TIME whatsoever to waste on a job! Ha!

My make-shift sewing table in the middle of the living room

Boy Project Linus Quilt - Stage#1

4th of July Visit to Washington

For the week around 4th of July, I headed north back to Washington to visit with family and friends. I spent the days leading up to the 4th couch-hopping from friend to friend in the Puget Sound area. I spent a few days with old college friends Jen, Jake and their 2 girls. It was soooo fun to get a little baby-time as well as be reminded how many questions an almost 5-year old asks! I then had a wonderful dinner out with Sabrina and her new beau, Brian where Sabrina and I were "devastated" when we weren't carded while ordering adult beverages. Too bad our MUCH-YOUNGER waiter heard us grumbling and proceeded to tease us about it all night.

The next morning, I was off to see some old Shipyard friends for breakfast, lunch and a night out at the Clearwater Creek Casino. I really enjoyed catching up with everyone and hearing all the gossip I'd missed in the last 2 months. Too bad I walked away from the casino with nothing but the stinky smoke smell in my clothes. Maybe I'll hit the jackpot next time?

After the friend- and fun-filled days, I was super excited to get on the road to Ocean Shores, WA where I was going to meet up with my parents, BOTH brothers and a few of the extended family for a rockin' 4th out on the beach. Due to several hours of HORRIBLE traffic, I was forced to hit up the Indian Reservation myself (without the help of my pyro brother) to pick up a stash of illegal fireworks. I ended up with a box of goodies that weighed 70+ pounds and therefore badgered the guy at the booth into carrying it to my car for me! (Am I a big *girl* or what?) We all finally made it to the hotel in Aberdeen and I was able to visit with my immediate family, grandmother, two uncles, an aunt and 5 cousins!

On the actual 4th, my parents, brothers and I watched 2 of my cousins compete in the Firecracker Duathlon @ Elma, WA for the 2nd year in a row. Ben did a fabulous job! Unfortunately, Jake's back tire blew out at the start of the biking leg and he was forced to run, not only the remaining portion of the biking leg, but also the last running leg. We figured out later than he probably biked 2 miles and ran a total of 14 miles!

The entire clan then headed out to the beach where we set up camp, a fire and the loveliest potty tent you've ever seen! We all dinked around waiting for darkness to fall. Unfortunately, the thick fog didn't allow us to see very far up and down the beach and therefore, the show wasn't nearly as impressive as it was last year. We still had fun watching my pyro brother blow up our stash and see the idiots around us going to town!

I headed "home" to the Tri-Cities with my parents the following day and spent most of Monday hanging out with my brothers before I had to drive back to Seattle for the night. I spent my last night in WA chatting into the wee hours with my good friend, Heather.

Thank you to everyone whose couch I crashed on!!! The week was so much fun and I'm looking forward to visiting everyone again soon! The weather was amazing and I got my fill of green trees, sparkling blue water and snow-capped mountains. However, what was waiting for me in El Paso when I returned home? 100+ degree temperatures that have not gone away YET! Oh well, at least I have a very pronounced flip-flop tan on my feet...

Ben & Jake leading the pack at the start of the Firecracker Duathlon 2009

Cousins in the sand

Grandma & Tim

My tugboat in Aberdeen