Last Full Day

The plan was to meet after ten and go back to La Baguette for breakfast pastries. Except we slept in a little past that :) It was eleven-thirty by the time we got going... so our breakfast was more of a brunch. I tried an apple strudel and a ham & cheese croissant, very good of course. Meg wanted to take a look in the used book store next door in the little strip mall. So we went in and poked around. I found a big book of Bill Mauldin "Willie and Joe" comics, including a bunch not included in "Up Front".

Mike and I spent most of the day to ourselves again. After checking on Charlie and Patty, we went to the zoo, like last year, to see some of the things we missed. The petting zoo was completed, where there was a small parrot house. Moments after walking in, Mike had one sitting on his shoulder before it jumped on his head :) ...even though we didn't buy the little cups of nectar they sell to entice them to do so. Also got to see the gorillas this year, and they were very close up to the glass. Very cool. The zebras and giraffes were missed last year as well, due to their lack of any kind of shade. :) The weather was much cooler than it had been and it even sprinkled a bit, causing me to wear Mike's other ball hat instead of my straw hat; and thankfully he had an umbrella. Very pleasant, even though I was wearing a Yankees hat. :)

On the way back we meant to stop by the pond by the botanical gardens in OKC like last year, but sadly they had torn everything out in order to make "improvements" (I am skeptical). So while we were there in Bricktown, we thought it would be nice to try a new restaurant. Decided on the fondu place across the street from the spaghetti place. Wow! It was fancy! We had Swiss cheese and the waiter prepared it in front of us in the pot on the stove built into our table. The experience was completely unlike anything else I've ever done. And it was exactly what we wanted. Always wanted to try one and it was light enough to suit us. Dipped bread, apples and veggies in the pot with long poker forks. So cool!

On the way back we drove scenically through Moore and saw his first apartment and the little building where the newspaper was that he worked at. Back in Norman, we went shopping for dinner at Homeland and for some essentials at Walmart (I found a Sooners shirt).

Once Meg and Jason came over we boiled some water for *lots* of corn-on-the-cob, and Mike grilled a fillet of salmon for the four of us to share while we watched "The Thin Man Goes Home", our 2nd favorite Thin Man movie. And after that (and while Meg & Jason went back to the motel) we walked Charlie around the neighborhood for a nice long while, talking and deciding not to be sad yet about leaving the next day. The whole evening was simply perfect and I think I'll remember it, like this trip, forever.

Jp