Oklahoma

This past week I was a tourist in my own town. I hosted a fly-in retreat for the executive officers of a national organization and learned that this can be a bit….tiresome, exhausting, energizing, inspiring all at the same time.

These women, yes they were all women, flew in from Portland, Houston, Salt Lake, Bismarck and Atlanta… all different airlines, all different times. Just trying to arrange airport shuttles for that crazy schedule made my head hurt. Thank goodness only one lady had a connecting flight in Dallas because she ended up being diverted to Shreveport, Louisiana. I suppose there was a thunderstorm hovering over DFW and they closed the airport. She missed her connection and spent the night at a Holiday Inn some twenty miles away. Bummer. You always hear about people having bad luck at the DFW airport and now I know this to be true. Avoid it at all possible costs!

On the other hand, our Oklahoma weather preformed miracles, or rather they brought a couple of cold fronts in with them. In fact, a past National Young Mother of the Year who happens to be from Georgia remarked how she was having humidity withdrawls. We like her.

While their time in Oklahoma was mostly spent in meetings, we did manage to tootle (is that a word?) around town. Bricktown, which is a renovated and fun area just to the east of our downtown was all a buzz. They all took note of the horse drawn carriage rides, the river walk, the restaurant scene and the crowds of people randomly walking around on a Tuesday evening.

I decided that the Iguana Lounge would be a good spot for dinner because it is a hip and trendy joint and it was Mexican food. Guess what? They don’t have Mexican food in Bismarck, North Dakota. BIG hit! A big, hip and trendy hit!

After dinner amongst the hip and trendy ( yes, I am intentionally redundant here) these ladies wanted to see the Bombing Memorial. I suppose that is what we are most notable for nationwide, the bombing memorial. So, with just a little time left to spare, we strolled over there after dinner and ….

…walked in silence.

It is such a peaceful, pretty place. My guests were consumed with the story of how it all came to be, how we caught the individuals who did this to our city, the gifts and notes that are still being placed on the chain link fence, and the tree, the survivors tree that still stands in its place.

The sun was setting in the west and the night time lights popped on at the site. It was breathtaking really. Even though the museum part of the memorial was closed, dusk is definitely the time to visit.