October 15, 2015 Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

We drove into Oklahoma City today, about 20ish miles west, and went to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.  I don't have the words to tell you how impactful this place is and how much we were moved by it.   It is a very powerful place.  The museum documents the events of April 19, 1995.      On that day, at 9:02AM, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed and 168 lives were lost.  The outdoor memorial area is stunning.  There are 168 chairs placed across a field of green.  Each chair for each life lost, smaller chairs for the children.  The chairs are bronze and stone resting on a glass base etched with the name of the victim. At night the bases are illuminated.  They are placed in nine rows, which represented the nine floors of the building.    It sits on the site where the building stood.  There is a reflecting pool in front of the chairs and at each end of the pool are granite "gates" with the time of 9:01AM at the East Gate and 9:03AM at the West Gate.   In this area is also a 90 plus year old American Elm tree that survived the bombing and which is carefully cared for.  

The museum takes you through that horrible day.  There are a lot of video displays and stories told by survivors, first responders and families of the victims.     There were 19 children killed that day - have to tell you that really got to me.   I cried listening to their families talking about that awful day and the moment they realized there was no chance their child survived.   Unimaginable horror, pain and suffering for all.   

It's so hard to understand that kind of evil.  The suspect and his two accomplices are evil personified to me.   They were Army buddies.  You have to wonder, what went wrong?  How did they become so evil as to plot the killing of innocent people?  How does that ever happen?  

I have to say, if any of you are ever in the area, it is a must see.  It's hard to see, but everyone should see it and say a prayer for those poor souls lost that day, the families they left behind and the evil doers responsible.      

Skyline of Oklahoma City

The Survivor Tree

Gallery honoring victims

Survivor Tree

 

October 14, 2015 - It's my BIRTHDAY!! Choctaw, Oklahoma

Happy Birthday to me!   I got the sweetest gift ever - my lil C singing in his sweet little voice Happy Birthday!   I cry every time I watch it and I can't stop watching it.   He is truly the love of my life!

Well today was a travel day.  It was a safe one so I'm always grateful when we have an "uneventful" travel day.  We are now in Choctaw, Oklahoma - just about 20 or 30 miles outside of Oklahoma City.   Tomorrow the plan is to go into the city and see the Murrah Memorial.   I understand it is a very moving experience.
It's a the site of the federal building that was bombed in 1995 and 168 people lost their lives.   Not exactly uplifting but important I think.

Now back to yesterday and the bathhouses in Hot Springs.   They reminded me of the state hospital where I used to work in some ways.   The equipment they used looked like tools for torture and the sterile tiled walls and white porcelain and marble everywhere. 
But I digress the bathhouses were prescribed for some people back in the day who had a variety of ailments.    It was also a place for self indulgent wealthy people to avail themselves to massages, exercise and fresh air.   The bathhouse that is now the National Park Visitor Center is open for self guided tours.   There were separate areas for each gender, and included changing rooms, cooling rooms, even staterooms where the patrons could stay.  A beauty salon and large gym with the earliest forms of exercise equipment. 
There were small rooms with individual large procelain soaking tubs and then cold "needle" showers which were really just multi- head showers of cold water.

I have to say there were a string of people coming and going from the one bathhouse we saw that was open for business.   I stuck my arm in the public fountain, it was wonderfully warm.

This former bathhouse is the Visitor Center

Scary elevator we rode in

Massage room - scary pieces of equipment

This beautiful mosiac tile floor was in the "parlor" where ladies and gents spent evenings

Beautiful skylight made up of over 800 pieces of glass.

Beauty salon

Massage room

Gym

Tub for the immobile

Yes I did stick my arm in this yucky fountain

This is the bathhouse where people were coming and going

Cooling room

October 13, 2015 Hot Springs Arkansas

Today we travelled about 50ish miles to Hot Springs.  Quaint little city where the first ever national park was named.   The "park" is not the traditional "park" but rather an urban area that was designated as a national park to preserve the hot springs.   Central Avenue houses several bathhouses and the national park visitor center is a former bathhouse you can tour.   But more on that later.

We first travelled up to the National Park's Mountain Tower.   Gorgeous drive up and up to the tower and then up to the top of the 216' tower for views that seemed to go on forever.  Gorgeous and I'm so glad we went up.  I'm not a fan of heights and with a bit of vertigo lately I was nervous to say the least.  But no issues, except when we entered the bottom of the tower I immediately noticed all the signs posted warning "Beware of the Wasps" - hmmmm?  So sure enough there are two observation levels and the open air one is plaqued with what they call wasps but I call hornets.   I had Gary snap a pic.  So needlessly to say we spent most of our time on the enclosed deck, with no wasps/hornets.  A gentleman working there told me that the wasps are really bad after noon, luckily we were there before that.  Yuck!

I will post more tomorrow on the bathhouses.    And no we didn't take a bath but I stuck my arm in and it was wonderfully hot.

October 12, 2015 - Catching up - North LIttle Rock Arkansas

I'm such a slacker at this blogging thing.   I just can't seem to make myself sit down and blog every day.  So any-whoooo here I am and I will catch up a bit.

We spent Saturday, 10-10-15, in Branson.   We spent the majority of the day planning our return to California.  We needed to map things out and make some reservations.   It can really take quite a bit of time to do.    Then Saturday afternoon we saw Legends in Concert at the Dick Clark Theater.   I'd rate it just ok.   They had Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, the Blues Brothers and the best by far was Aretha Franklin.   Saturday night we found a 5 star restaurant on Yelp and it did not disappoint.   It is a very typical small bar and grill appearing place but they serve you your protein on a rock that they tell you is heated to a very hot 650 degrees!   Hot, hot, hot.  So they encouraged us to cut our steak (Gary )and chicken for me into smaller pieces so it would cook faster but they tell you it takes about 15 minutes for it to cook.  You get to pick out 3 sauces to use on your protein after it's cooked and we tried 6 different kinds between the two of us.     Very, very good.  We really enjoyed it.
Coulee's Diner - if you are ever in Branson - check it out.

Sunday was a travel day for us.  We got on the road about 8:45 and arrived in North Little Rock Arkansas about 1:30.  So it was a short travel day for us.   We have a site that faces the Arkansas River and we spent the evening sitting and watching the sunset and the boats on the river.  Beautiful weather, gorgeous sunset - very relaxing.

A little bit of Arkansas

Today, October 12, 2015, we woke up a little late.   I had some vertigo, which is unusual for me.   Gary was feeling a little off the night before.  So we took our time getting our showers and getting ready to get out for the day.   It's hot here, about 90 this afternoon.  But we got out and went to the Clinton Library and had a really nice lunch there.  The building is beautiful but I have to say there isn't a lot of "substance".   After touring the Eisenhower Library, I was a little disappointed at the lack of displays related to his life and his first lady's.   Maybe they are holding back in case Hillary is voted in as  President!   Bonus was today admission was free!   

We then had to do a bit of shopping to restore the larder!  I think tomorrow we are going to get up early and head out to Hot Springs, which is just an hour away.   There is a national park there.

Sat outside again tonight and enjoyed the sunset.  There are storms in the area so the clouds blocked the sun, but I love the clouds.  

Special dinosaur exhibit at Clinton

Beautiful Chihuly - gifted to Clinton