Sunday, May 29, 2016

Last Day in OKC and on to Wichita KS…

OKC and Wichita KS 050

We did end up adding another day (Friday of Memorial Day Weekend) to our stay at the  Cleveland County Fairgrounds. We had thought about moving a bit north to the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds but we ended up making the right choice as severe thunderstorms went through there and dropped quite a bit of hail.

OKC and Wichita KS 001OKC and Wichita KS 010

We used our extra day to drive into the town of Oklahoma City. Our first stop was at the Oklahoma State Capitol building. This is another domed capitol building but interestingly even though they had planned to build a dome on it originally it didn’t have one. The dome was added later.

OKC and Wichita KS 005OKC and Wichita KS 012

We stopped in at the visitor's center and picked up a self guided tour brochure as I prefer the self guided tours to guided ones because we can proceed at our own pace and if we aren’t interested in something we have the ability to move on. We found a lot of art to enjoy in the Capitol and visited an art gallery on the main floor. We certainly enjoyed touring this capitol.

OKC and Wichita KS 020OKC and Wichita KS 021

I had a bought a Groupon some time ago for lunch in Oklahoma City so we stopped in at the 809 Sports Grill. Lunch was really good but I wouldn’t have thought so at their normal prices but with the Groupon it was great. After lunch we drove into town and parked at a meter across from the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

OKC and Wichita KS 028OKC and Wichita KS 032

The Memorial is a tribute to the memory of those who were killed, those who survived and those whose lives were changed forever after the 1995 bombing. A lunatic had parked a Ryder rental truck filled with explosives in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and when the truck exploded there were 168 people dead and the building was destroyed

OKC and Wichita KS 034OKC and Wichita KS 036

Walking into the memorial and seeing The Field of Empty Chairs beside the Reflecting Pool makes for a solemn occasion. Especially heart wrenching was walking the 9 rows of chairs (one for each floor) while reading the names of those killed etched on the front of each chair. The front row has smaller chairs for the children killed on that fateful day. 

OKC and Wichita KS 029OKC and Wichita KS 038

The site is located on about 3 acres and is capped by the Gates of Time (Monumental twin bronze gates). Each gate bears the inscription “We come here to remember Those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.” Quite moving…

OKC and Wichita KS 042OKC and Wichita KS 040

After the memorial we took a stroll toward the tall glass Devon Energy Center building which dominates the city skyline. We simply had to stroll into it and when we went through it we discovered the Myriad Botanical Gardens. This accidental find was fantastic as the architecture of the green house made for a striking contrast to the modern skyscrapers of the city. What a beautiful oasis in the center of town not far from the National Memorial. It would have been nice to enjoy music in the beautiful concert space but we thoroughly enjoyed walking all around the park.

imageOKC and Wichita KS 046image

We returned to the car with just minutes left on our meter and drove over to Anthem Brewery. Oklahoma has some archaic alcohol laws prohibiting the purchase of full strength beer at a brewery allowing only for the purchase of less than 4% beer. The really odd thing is that you can sample the full strength product but just can’t buy it at the brewery (you can at a liquor store).

I emailed Anthem Brewery and these laws were explained in the response while also informing me that the law allows Anthem to give customers three 4 ounce samples of full strength product at no charge. After our tastes we decided they have a pretty good ESB and Scotch Ale (the stout and IPA were not that great). We purchased a pilsner after our samples but really even a pilsner watered down to be a 3.2 beer wasn’t very good. While there we struck up a conversation with two orthopedic student doctors who graduated from Texas A&M and were in town for a professional conference.  It was the final touch on our really fun day.

OKC and Wichita KS 043OKC and Wichita KS 044

We arrived back home and made plans for our next stop in Kansas, another new state in our RV travels…

5 comments:

  1. The OKC Memorial was so moving. I had no idea the extent that each piece and position meant for the day of the blast. So very glad we made the trip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You'll love Kansas. Make a stop in Hutchinson and tour the salt mine and space museum. The Araba Steamboat museum in KC is so worth seeing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If your at all interested in aerospace museums, I'll second the recommendation for Cosmosphere in Hutchinson it's quite good. And most major exists will have an OZ museum of some sort. Looking forward to the stops you choose to make. Your eye for the photo and the descriptions make all your choices great to follow.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The above advice about Kansas is great! Unfortunately, you are going to find the same unfortunate alcohol rules here. It's the Bible Belt I guess. We've come a long way from how it used to be tho!

    ReplyDelete
  5. There is the Sternberg Museum in Hays, Kansas...no relation.

    ReplyDelete