We loaded up and headed to Oklahoma City for our Labor Day trip. We have a goal to visit every state as a family, so we were excited to mark off another state. Thank goodness for a larger vehicle this time, because I do not think the Camry would have been able to hold all the strollers!
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| Wyatt grinning and ready to pick up his sister from school |
We left the school car line and rushed with excitement to pick up Daddy from work. We stopped in Conway at Market Place for a quick dinner and a game of checkers. Caroline has gotten pretty good at checkers...she puts up a pretty good competition.
We stayed at Clarksville Thursday night. The luggage rack has been one of Caroline's favorites from day one; she always wants to push or ride. Looking at the picture below I am reminded of when just the two of us would go to visit Matt in Alabama almost every weekend. It would be just the two of us so I would load Caroline and the luggage on the rack and she would ride to our room each weekend and we would wait on Daddy to arrive.
Our first stop in the morning was in Tahlequah, Oklahoma to visit the Cherokee Heritage Center. This particular weekend was National Cherokee Weekend, so we had extra fun with all the sale tables and vendor trucks. The Cherokee Heritage Center is a non-profit historical society and museum campus that seeks to preserve the historical and cultural artifacts, language, and traditional crafts of the Cherokee.
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| Wyatt had to take a snooze at the end of the morning |
This next picture is a little out of order...but a huge deal for me! I do not enjoy rides, they make my stomach turn just standing in line, and that is why I stand behind the camera....but guess what?!?! I rode the Steel Lasso with Caroline! Yes, we waited in line double to have the front row seats! Thanks Daddy for getting a picture of this special moment! More about Frontier City in a moment.
Caroline had the entire playground to herself at Muskogee! We stopped to stretch our legs, eat a snack, and play. I guess most kids were still in school...rebels that we were!
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| Caroline, Wyatt, and Mommy feeding the ducks |
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| MY FAVORITE PICTURE |
We then hit the road again to check out the famous Blue Whale on Route 66. The Blue Whale is a restored, historic roadside attraction that is a former water park. It is now closed to swimming, but open for visiting. Caroline enjoyed pretending to be Jonah.
We also stopped to visit Pops, which is a modern convenience store and gas station. It has a signature sign with a 66 foot tall LED soda bottle out front. It showcases more than 8,000 glass soda pop bottles from all over the world. We each chose two different drinks to sample, and enjoyed sipping of each choice.
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| not what she thought it would be... |
Next up on our list in Arcadia was the Round Barn. It is another Route 66 icon, which was restored in 1898. It is the only round wooden barn in Oklahoma. A must stop and see if you are in Oklahoma!
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| Before restoration |
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| Inside ceiling-beautiful! |
Next up was my top pick to visit if you are anywhere near Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma City Memorial. The Memorial is a place to remember those who were killed, those who survived, and those whose lives were changed forever from the bombing. We did not hide anything from Caroline, we wanted her to realize the impact of violence. The Memorial Museum is chronological tour through the story of April 19, 1995. If you are ANYWHERE in Oklahoma this is a MUST!
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| Chairs for those that lost their life |
We left downtown and headed to see the Oklahoma Stockyards and see the original Cattleman's Steakhouse.
Now for the rest of Frontier City (Caroline's favorite part of the trip). We had a blast at the amusement park! We always try to have one down day of nothing but junk food and play, splashing, and straight up amusement fun! Caroline and Daddy usually ride all the rides, but this time I tried to jump in on a few myself.
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| Caroline and Daddy on the Log Ride |
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| They made it:) |
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| Wyatt fell asleep while waiting |
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| Look closely for Caroline and Matt (hint: Matt is holding on tight) |
We had a little extra time one evening so we decided to visit a few more Route 66 stops. First up on the list was the Golden Driller which is a 76 foot tall, 43,500 pound statue of an oil worker in Tulsa. It is the fifth tallest free standing statue in the United States.
Next we went to the Blue Dome District on Route 66 for dinner.
We had loads of laughs and fun on our trip. I always enjoy seeing new things on vacations, and if you know me then you know I do not like to go to the same place twice, but there is usually one memory that will stand out to me for each trip that was not expected. This trip was the 90s music on the xm radio. We had a blast cranking up music from the 90s! It was so much fun to sing and laugh to music from our childhood. Caroline even learned a few songs that stuck with her...whoomp there it is:)
Time to start planning the next trip...
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