A Visit to OKC

We have been hanging around the north Dallas area as I said in my last post, getting our annual medical and dental stuff done and visiting with family. We are the type of fulltimer that needs to meander. It is difficult for us to set in one place for very long. For us, a week is "very long!"

So we decided to visit Oklahoma City and be our normal "touristy" self, play a bit, see the city, eat some good food, and have a good time. Hey, it's what we do. We left Texas and came up to OKC planning to spend 4-5-6 days but with no agenda—we are not big on agendas.

I am retired military and, therefore, have the ID card privileges. One of those privileges is the use of the military FamCamps. These military-run RV parks, while not on every base, are scattered around nationwide. Like the private campgrounds, some are wonderful, pristine, and resort-like and others are the pits. For the most part, they are cheap. And, just like the base exchange and commissary, there are profit centers and do not use tax dollars.

We found a FamCamp on Tinker AFB in the edge of OKC and luckily, this is one that falls in the category of "wonderful, pristine, and resort-like." Plus, they have killer-speed WiFi here. Out our front window is a small lake and the sunrises are spectacular (as told to me by Sandy). Located 9 miles from the middle of OKC, we have access to everything.

It had been years since I had visited Bricktown, an entertainment district just east of downtown. Bricktown is full of shops, restaurants, pubs, and clubs, plus a baseball stadium. You can go to dinner here from cheap to expensive. We ate at the Bricktown Brewery (a local microbrewery) and another night had dinner at "Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill" (yes, that is the name of the place). One night we went to the Cattleman's Restaurant (not in Bricktown but next door in Stockyards City). This restaurant is one of the oldest around, has been featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and serves a great steak for not much money. I recommend it. I recommend all of them.

The first thing we toured was the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and it was very well done, quite large, and enjoyable. From the cowboys in the movies to western art (including numerous works by Remington and Russell) to rodeo fame, you can meander the halls, rooms, and galleries for several hours. We did.

In the edge of Bricktown, we visited the American Banjo Museum. The museum contains more than 300 instruments including replicas of early banjos developed by African slaves in the Old South, Minstrel Age instruments, post WWII instruments used in bluegrass, folk, and world music, and an array of ornately decorated banjos made in America during the Jazz Age of the 1920’s and 30's. On Saturday afternoons, they offer free entertainment on the 2nd floor and you can come and go as you want. The banjo player was excellent. I don't play an instrument but have always been fascinated by the banjo. This was fun.

The 45th Infantry Division Museum was also well done. The Division was formed in 1920 and disbanded in 1969. The 45th Infantry Division served with General George S. Patton’s U.S. 7th Army during the WWII Sicilian campaign, and when the fighting was done, the commander had this to say about the division, “Your division is one of the best, if not the best division in the history of American arms.” 

 
The 45th Infantry Division was primarily in Italy, parts of France, and into Germany nearing the conclusion of the war. The 45th  was also the Division that was first into Dachau—one of the more "famous" concentration camps. 


The Museum houses a large collection of cartoons produced by Bill Mauldin, famous for his depiction of the lowly GI slogging his way through the war. His two most famous characters, Willy and Joe, were outspoken on any subject related to the war. Mauldinwas a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from the United States.


This museum also displays one of the largest collections of memorabilia owned an used by Adolf Hitler. It was a fascinating display. The museum has a few acres of larger military equipment displayed outside ranging from helicopters to tanks to various vehicles. This was thoroughly enjoyable and free. 

The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum was definitely on my list as I had never seen this. Like most of us, I remember that morning's news very well. On April 19, 1995, this country changed. At 9:02 AM, Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed with an explosion of an estimated 4,200 lbs. of homemade explosive. Ultimately, 168 men, women, and children were killed.

The Museum is excellent and presents this gut-wrenching story in a professional manner. One important note here… their website says that the "average visit lasts an hour and a half." That may be true but I would allow about 2.5 hours. We did not make it completely through in our two-hour effort. Do this. Take an extra handkerchief.

Thinking About RVing…
Canadians commonly use two coins that have replaced certain denominations of their paper money. The two coins are commonly called the “loonie.” and “toonie.” There is no paper money equivalent.

The $1.00 coin has a picture of a loon on it and became known as the “loonie.” The loonie is one color— brass/copper colored—sort of like our penny. The $2.00 coin was nicknamed “toonie”—short for “two loonies.” The toonie has a silver outer ring and a penny-sized brass insert in the center (the coin is two colors).

Keep the “T’s” together—Toonie and Two colors = TWO dollars—and you will keep them straight. 

If you use a laundromat in Canada, it will typically take loonies.  

Every time you hand someone a bill ($5.00 is the smallest denomination of paper money) and get change back, these coins will accumulate and they can weigh quite a bit—enough to start to pull your pants down or to make a purse very heavy. Spend them.

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