Gettin' Our Kicks!

In October of 2009 we set out on an adventure with our friends Jim and Darla Waldrop from Laverne Oklahoma. They own a beautiful 1959 Ford Retractable. The weather was cool so the top stayed up this day.

Along for the day our friends Carl and Pat Collins from Woodward. Carl built his Ford truck himself and he's a crazy as the plum color! 

John and I took our 1958 Ford for the day on the road. 

Robert and Misty Burdette owned this pretty little red Ford at the time. They are also from Woodward. 

Our destination for the day was the Route 66 museum in Clinton Oklahoma. Old route 66 made its way from one end of Oklahoma to the other and Clinton is just about in the middle of the route. 

Our gang (minus me the picture taker) getting ready to explore the museum. 

 Memorabilia abounded in the museum like these old gas pumps and John spent a lot of time checking out the relics in the Garage!

This map on the wall shows the route from one end to the other.

The dust bowl days on Route 66 had a great story to tell. 

There was a mock diner inside and Jim, Darla and John were quick to grab a booth were the burgers were. Carl opted for the cake!

Misty checking out the menu at the diner!

remember the flying red horse? don't see many of these any more. 

my favorite display was this old juke box! Oh, the memories this brings!

all four FORDS parked in front of the museum.

Back inside Carl and Pat found a comfy seat in the back of a caddy! Not like when they were kids; Carl wants to nap instead of neck!

Jim took a short rest here. we found a lot of interesting things to see at this museum, everything was nicely arranged, clean and easy to get around. It was a fun time with good friends. 

HOOKER! the Place to be!

Hooker holds its annual Classic Car Show this year on Saturday September 10. They will be turning lose of this great handmade quilt depicting cars, cars, and more cars!

you'll find memories of past car shows in this patchwork display. I saw Alva's Big Cruise & Car Show among the blocks.

And who could live in a town named HOOKER without having a signature t-shirt? This is just a sample of the many unique designs that promote life in Hooker.

Inside the Rexall Pharmacy you will find a wonderful surprise! Some great food! The fountain and grill serve up some great sandwiches and they have a very nice salad bar too.

The decor will keep you wandering around just looking at some of the nostalgic items on display. 

complete on the outside with a nice handicap ramp, this is a must see when going through Hooker. Take a minute, leave the highway and enjoy HOOKER!!

Guymon Gourmet

I went to Guymon last week on a business trip and stopped to visit with a lady I had worked with briefly a year ago when she and her husband first decided to open a coffee shop. One of Susan Barias's goals was to not only serve good coffee drinks (they told me they are both addicted to coffee) but to provide a healthy place to eat and a comfortable place for people of all ages to gather and connect. The result of that dream is Urban Bru, a coffee house that serves scrumptious frappe's  and out of this world smoothies like the Mocha frappe and the strawberry smoothie that Laura and I had for lunch. 

And speaking of lunch, Laura enjoyed this fabulous Strawberry Fields salad made with spinach and fresh strawberries and laced with nuts and cheese! She ate every bite!

 My choice was this Southwestern sandwich, filled with chicken and a spicy southwest sauce. It was HUGE, the bread was awesome and I sure did enjoy it!

 Melyn Johnson joined us for lunch and she enjoyed this Mandarin Salad along with a croissant filled with a cranberry chicken salad. (I went back that night and tried this sandwich and it was also wonderful!)

My friends Laura Girty and Melyn Johnson as we prepared to enjoy a leisurely lunch.

 Melyn's final touch to her meal is this Mocha Locha, and doesn't it look wonderful!

 Did I mention dessert? Looks good enough to eat, doesn't it?

Urban Bru is located at 418 NW 21st St in Guymon. Stop in and check out the delights when you are there. Everything they serve is made fresh right there in their kitchen every day! Stop in, sit and relax, you may see some customers engaged in a lively game of Monopoly or Scrabble, or a quiet corner may be the preferred spot for the checker game. Young, old and in between all seem to enjoy the hospitality at Urban Bru!

Meers OK home of the Meersburger

Meers is just north of the Wichita Mountains right at a bend in the road. This tourist attraction has been in business with the current owners since the 80's and has been a continuous business since the 40's or 50's depending. They are famous for a unique dining experience. The line waiting outside to get in the door is almost always there. We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and we were outside about 20 minutes. One interesting side note is that beside the building in a shaded area there are a number of small wire kennels. They ask folks to NOT leave pets in a hot car, and they go the extra mile to help those folks who travel with pets to see to their safety.

Then you get inside and see how long the line is there as well! This is our first time and while we waited we got the good news that the food would be well worth the wait from a young Wichita Falls Texas couple behind us who visit as often as they can.

Robert and Misty waiting for food as we all took the time to read the informative menu with some interesting bits of information. For instance, the Meersburgers are prepared with their own beef, fresh from longhorn steers. No frozen patties here! They come with mustard, pickles, red onion, lettuce and tomato. You can order it your way, but be warned, the cooks consider mayonnaise is for SISSIES, ketchup belongs on fries, not hamburger and several other interesting comments. They have their own brand of beer, Meers Beer, brewed by the folks that brew Choc in Krebs Oklahoma and it comes in a 22 ounce bottle. 

I can verify that the homemade ice cream and cherry cobbler on the menu are out of this world. Misty and Robert tried the peach and declared it outstanding.

the decor in the building keeps your mind busy and even though the wait for the food is about as long as the wait to get in, you don't notice it so much with all the interesting things to see!

drinks like this iced tea are served in Mason jars, and they keep them full for you. 

and then came the food! The Meersburger is served in a metal pie tin, cut in fourths to make it easier to eat (we shared this burger) and you can see the Fries and onion rings (they are beer batter dipped) were plentiful as well. 

It's standing room only in this great little restaurant. Oh, and did I mention that Meers has been recognized in places like the New York Times and the Food Channel and is widely known as one of the top 10 places in the whole United States of America to get a great  hamburger! and, when we left, our tummy full, the line was still long outside the building. 

Home Town Pride

Most of the time I think I have to travel somewhere to find interesting and cool things to see. This time I stayed right at home in Waynoka and watched a community really come together to get ready for company.

Every five years Waynoka hosts an all school alumni reunion. 2010 is the year everyone comes home. Our local chamber took a look around and tried to see the town through the eyes of a visitor. We needed some pizzaz! All of the light poles in the downtown area were in sad need of some paint, so we started with a paint the pole party. No theme, no assigned design or even pole, though downtown businesses were given the opportunity to adopt the pole nearest their business. We thought we would have a hard time getting the downtown square done before the reunion on Labor Day weekend. Artists came from everywhere to share their talents, some didn't even live "in town" but in the larger farming community we share. NO two poles are alike, everyone brought their own ideas to the pole.

What an awesome sight, Tuesday night when I locked up the liquor store to go home at 9 p.m. there were people everywhere still painting on their poles! We ran out of downtown poles to adopt, so we are reaching further out in the community. I got some pictures of the poles and in a few instances the people painting.

Our little town will have something new and creative to see, both for the returning alumni and for our tourists who will be starting the fall season at Little Sahara.

GOOD JOB WAYNOKA!

Gate, OK

As we travel through Oklahoma on a business trip, we were able to stop in Gate, OK. We found some very interesting pictures and museum. They have a store that is run by the museum at this time, although they were looking for someone to run it for them. Had a nice big glass of tea at the small cafe. The stories that we were told of a town taking over and running the bad guys out of the terrority were very interesting. The bank vault still stands today, they have made a small park area out of it. It was a fun town to visit.

Cruise to Great Salt Plains

Picture January and a day that feels like April or early May, good friends and classic cars. It's a day that screams ROAD TRIP! Friends from nearby Woodward OK joined us and one other local couple and we headed east.

First stop was for food, (remember early on I told you to never pass up food!) and we found the Nifty Fifties restaurant in Carmen Oklahoma the perfect place to cruise into for a tasty hamburger and fries while we enjoyed the retro decor of the small building. Black & white tiled floor, posters of rock n' roll stars of the past and most important, music to fit the era kept us entertained while we ate. Lots of story telling time while we enjoyed ice cream cones as well.

Then we were on the road again, further east to the Great Salt Plains Lake. We stopped at several of the landing places along the road around the lake to check out the water level and the many varieties of birds hanging out around the lake. The scenic area around the lake begged for camera use and we all took our share of memory shots.

Of course, most people will tell you that summer is the time to go to the lake, but I can tell you that this group of classic car lovers enjoyed a day at the lake as much as anyone who goes in July!

Fishing season has started now and the park is packed with boaters and campers and those who just enjoy a weekend away from home. Check out the Great Salt Plains and remember the crystal digging area (see April post on Crystal Digging) is now open again!