Road Trip

The first day of our road trip took us to Little Rock and the place where nine students desegregated Little Rock Central High School. They have preserved the gas station across the street because this was where the press gathered when they descended on the city.

The press stationed themselves here because it was the only place that had a telephone. I'll bet there was a lot of tension among them to get to the phone to call in their reports.

The school is magnificent. It was built in 1928. We got to tour the inside. The building materials have withstood the test of time. Even today, this is considered the finest high school in Arkansas for academic excellence.

We went to a little garden so Butch could hunt for a geo-cache. The garden was a sad little thing and not maintained at all. This was the most interesting plant--celosia. The flower is about 8" in diameter.

We had the best dinner overlooking the Arkansas River and downtown Little Rock. We had a mushroom tart that was highly recommended on Trip Advisor by previous diners. Butch ordered the trout stuffed with spinach and crabmeat. I had the scallops with a roasted red pepper, buerre blanc sauce. It was divine! I love scallops---another reason Butch picked this restaurant.

The next day we stopped at the Douglas MacArthur Home and Museum.

It was a self-guieded tour. We weren't all that impressed. But we also want to do everything of interest in any city we're in. Most likely, this will be our one and only time in Little Rock.

We hit the road to meet up with Walter and Chris in Tulsa. We stayed at a hotel nearer to Jenks where Uncle Pat lives.

We stayed across the street from Oral Roberts University. The sculpture is pretty spectacular.

We went to Uncle Pat's and Aunt Jean's for a visit. We took them to their favorite place for dinner. The food was really good, but very unusual. You ordered regular stuff---steaks or seafood, but then it came with the most unusual sides---and I mean ALL of these: tabeuley, tossed salad, rib, bologna, Texas toast, and baked potato. It was a lot of food!

Besides our visit to Uncle Pat's, our goal on this trip was to take a cruise down Route 66 while hitting some of Oklahoma's highlights.

This totem pole took 25 years to carve working 7 days a week by Ed Galloway. We plan to stop at every iconic sight along Route 66. They are kitschy, but unusual at the same time.

 Visiting Will Roger's home and museum was the main attraction today.

 We were greeted by this beauty when we arrived.

 The Golden Driller---another icon along the route.

 The Blue Whale is actually a swim park now.

 We toured the Will Roger's Museum and Memorial.

 The gardens out by the tomb were spectacular. Of course I have to take flower pictures. I'm only posting one:

The color and texture combinations were fabulous! I have no idea what the plant on the right is, but I love it. The one on the left is called "purple heart." I have that in my fronts beds at home.

Will Rogers was quite the character. He is known for his quotes (and cowboy rope tricks). His most famous quote is: "I never met a man I didn't like!"

After our all day outing, we went back to Uncle Pat's and Aunt Jean's. They took us to their favorite pizza place. And I have to admit, I wasn't excited about pizza as I'm not a lover---unless it's St. Louis pizza. But, it was really delicious. Since we'd had a big lunch--even though Butch and I shared--it was still big---we ordered a small pizza. I was plenty.

I was happy to hear a few more family stories over dinner. We'll be meeting up with them again on Wednesday on our way back through.

Today we are off along Route 66 to Oklahoma City and the bombing memorial.
More to come...