(Pictures lost in numerous blog transfers)
I call this last leg of the trip the homestretch even though it was over two days. I woke up in Oklahoma on Wednesday, October 1st and decided to see the coolest thing I could find in Oklahoma City. I considered a bookstore and a couple other places but they wouldn't be open that early in the morning. When I found Bricktown and the water taxis, I was sold. I gathered my things from my hotel, got caught in a tiny bit of morning traffic and then found my way to a part of town that sleeps in. It might be obvious by now, but maybe not, I really, really enjoy places when they are lacking crowds, in fact, it's even better when they are devoid of other people. I like the pictures I can take, I like the quiet, I just really like exploring a place without having to maneuver around other bodies.
This part of Oklahoma City didn't have many people walking around so it made for an awesome morning.
After Bricktown I got back on yet another highway, something I still wasn't tired of at this point, and drove through more of Oklahoma. I headed to Tulsa with one specific neighborhood in mind to see.
I fell a little in love with the Blue Dome District. It reminded me of Portland and of something else though I'm not sure what. There were old and abandoned looking buildings that were in between bars and restaurants, there were murals, and really cool shops. I stopped for lunch at Dilly Deli which I highly recommend. Not just because the sandwich was good, but because this restaurant is so dang cute, and my waitress was so friendly and informative. I asked her about life in Tulsa, what I should see with only like 15 minutes to explore, and what happens when there are tornados. I'm slightly obsessed with this whole inclement weather thing because I've never had to deal with it before. She shrugged the tornados off like San Diegans shrug off earthquakes though and told me that should I see people getting out their cameras on their front porch then it's time to hit the basement (or the downstairs bathroom). Good to know as tornados are not that likely (at all) in my part of Tennessee, but are possible.
I was a bit sad I didn't have more time to explore Tulsa, but I had place to go and one more thing to see before Missouri!
My last stop before civilization was a totem pole found through roadtrippers. Believe me when I say this thing was weird, and I'm not sure quite worth it. It was interesting and I found some bugs I've never seen before in my life. Should you go through Oklahoma I feel like you could skip it and be okay. Take more time in Tulsa.
Back to the bug thing though, the trees were buzzing with noise, it was incredibly humid and as I'm walking by one of the totems I see this long, black thing that I thought was one thousandth (hundred thousandth?) of the noise coming from the trees. I looked him up later though, after someone suggestion he (she) was a cicada and it turns out it was not a cicada, but this was a cicada wasp (also known as a ground digger wasp). It was gross but I let it go as I know that my life outside of San Diego will definitely be filled with more bugs.
After leaving the cicada killer wasp to it's totem pole (and day job) I continued on my way to Springfield, Missouri to meet up with Haley from Mushaboom. I'm going to take a quick second to talk about how awesome the internet, blogging, and instagram CAN be. Yes I definitely need to stop looking at Instagram so much, and yes, society as a whole can definitely benefit from re-learning how to talk to each other in person, BUT, there are still awesome, wonderful and amazing benefits to this thing called social media.
Okay, so, get to meeting with Haley, we chat it up until Mr. Tucker gets home and then they take me out for some food. I'm going to stop again, just to say, these two are so very generous and kind and awesome. I was a little worried that I would feel awkward because I had been alone with my thoughts for the past three and a half days but I had absolutely nothing to worry about. We talked and laughed about different cliques within the music scene, we at pizza, perused an awesome bookstore and I ate myself a delicious cupcake. The night was wonderful and their place is so well decorated. Wood floors, open kitchen, just a whole load of cuteness that I couldn't get over. And their cat Walt, we were buddies in minutes.
The next morning I woke early so I could get on my way to Nashville and hopefully beat out some of the thunderstorms that were suppose to be coming to every city/town I would be passing through. The drive started out looking pretty ominous but it was nothing short of an incredible view. I did manage to miss the worst of the storms the whole day. I drove through rain on my way from The Tucker's house to Starbucks and then on a little more in Missouri, but less than an hour later and I was looking at no rain... and some people in horse drawn carriages along the road. No, seriously, horse drawn carriages, don't worry there were signs for it.
I didn't want to stop too much but I did want to make sure I got out of the car in Kentucky so I headed to The Rose of the Lake for a view. I got a little lost once I reached the town, decided against eating at Patti and Bill's Restaurant, but did manage to find this little lighthouse on a lake. It was a perfect last stop.
I made it into Nashville with a good amount of sunlight to spare. I stopped at Target (surprisingly it was the one I had been to a year before) got myself an airbed and some other necessities and the continued on to my new apartment.
I don't have any pretty words to wrap up this trip. It was so many different things at once. There was nostalgia, euphoria, wonder, awe, amazement and so many other emotions that I felt and probably didn't fully process those five days (and still haven't now, 16 days later). I'm so grateful I was in a position to be able to do this and have a family that supports me so much. The two words that kept coming up were gratitude and grace. All I know is that this trip was everything I hoped it to be and more. Which is what I can also say for Nashville thus far.
xoxo
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