Another Lovely, Long Weekend

Happy Memorial Day, indeed! Had a wonderful visit with my darling husband Michael, this time in his home and hometown.

The flight ended up getting to Denver with time for me to get a personal pan supreme pizza at Pizza Hut, and still get to the next terminal via the train in time for boarding. This flight was one of the most fun I've had in a while. Sat next to an Army PFC (E-3) and an Air Force Master Sergeant (E-7)... and between us, we talked the entire hour-or-so flight into Oklahoma City about our respective experiences. Derek, the PFC, worked on communications antennas out in the field, had been in the Army for a couple years, been deployed to Afghanistan, and had been missing his family for over a year and a half! He was on his way to see them! He mentioned how hard it was getting to stay in. In both their branches they called it "chaptering" a person when they get administratively separated. Caleb, the Master Sergeant looked about ten years younger that he actually was, so we were both shocked to learn that he was an E-7. He works with radar, and talked a lot about leadership. Very fun conversations!

It was so good to see Michael again! Even if it only was three weeks since we were together last. He had a chocolate shake for me from Brahms, waiting in the car. We stopped to pick up dinner at Jimmy Johns at Campus Corner in Norman, then went home and relaxed together.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at Jimmy Egg... couldn't decide between pancakes and an omelet, but I ended up not needing too since small pancakes came with the omelet I ordered! :) Good as ever! We had gone there after coming back from the honeymoon in September.

Continued on to the Fred Jones Museum of Art on campus, especially to see their private collection of Disney animation cells, many of them autographed. Interestingly, they used my very favorite in advertising it... Aurora in the forest with the animals. But there were a couple other galleries that we hadn't seen before, so the trip was definitely worth it. Mike recognized "Spring in the Steppe" from a poster in the law school, and we both admired our favorite by Daniel Ridgway Knight, "Early Morning on the Ozie".

Managed another trip to the Duck Pond, east of campus behind the football stadium. What gets me every time is how this was where the Husky Band ate lunch, that first time I came to Norman, in 2006 (two years before I knew Mike!). We were quickly deprived of the loaf of bread we brought, predominately from the goslings and the very pushy geese. There was also a mommy mallard with 13 babies! They got a good share too. In order to catch the last planetarium show at the science center (by the zoo) we got take out from La Baguette for lunch and hurried the half-hour north to make it just in time for the 4pm show. It was geared for kids, but we enjoyed it too... the last one I had seen was at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago last January.
Since we were there, we saw the Zoo for a little while too. Loved how the bears were active on the Oklahoma Trail exhibit... the pair of them were swimming when we walked up and they got out, shook and and rubbed themselves on trees... and we loved the badger, the prairie dogs, the river otters, the bison, the eagles, the bats, the owls, etc. :)

Back in Norman we stopped at Homeland for some very fresh Salmon and corn-on-the-cob for dinner, and while we ate, we watched Crocodile Dundee for some laughs. Late at night we took the dog for a romp around the North Oval on campus.

Sunday was great! Church in the morning, great to visit again, then Interurban for brunch. Gathered ourselves together then drove the hour-plus down to Lawton to visit Mike's friend Kay (who also loves aquariums) and then Judy & Dickie and then drive with them to meet Connie at Salas, a local Mexican restaurant. Stayed a while longer at Judy's afterwords and had a long, leisurely conversation. Back at home we took the dog out again... it was very late by the time we fell asleep.

We had two old reliables for meals on Monday. Cracker Barrel for brunch, and Red Lobster for dinner, just before we had to head to the airport around 7. Right after brunch we headed north to the historic town of Guthrie, just to see the old buildings from the state's first capital and look around. We poked our heads in an interesting antiques store (finding some Donald Duck & Rocky and Bullwinkle comics) and just browsed. Stopped in a chocolate shop as well and enjoyed a few home-made treats! The town's Carnegie Library building was being used for the Frontier Museum, but it was closed Mondays & Holidays. Stopped in a little restaurant for some lemonade and to shield ourselves from the blistering hot weather. Then we drove back to Norman for dinner. Listened to a Burns & Allen episode about Jack Benny on the way to the airport, so we really didn't think about parting until we got there. What a wonderful time we had together!

My plane was delayed for about a quarter-hour on the runway due to a massive thunderstorm that popped up just as we were getting ready to go. It pelted down rain and we could see quite a bit of lighting in the distance. When we finally took off, I could see the massive cloud bank to our right... flashes of lighting and even bolts sometimes going off like crazy. Amazed how smooth the ride was... we even could take off our belts as we leveled out... with the huge cloud not far away. Abruptly, we passed the edge of it, heading out into the completely serene west with the sunset ahead of us. Mike told me that he had loads of rain and hail by the time he got home too. What a time to fly! Flew straight to LAX, reading all the comics, finishing God Without Religion and starting An Illustrated History of Anti Submarine Warfare. :)

Jw