Saturday, May 18, 2013

Getting to Oklahoma in 2 Days

As I sit here reminiscing about my recent trip to Norman, Oklahoma, the first thing that comes to mind is the lack of good coffee across the western part of US, along the I40, both in hotels and in quick stop stores/truck-stops, etc.

We have voted unanimously that the Circle K's overall and +Circle K Arizona  had the best consistent coffee's on this trip.

It seems a mundane or even a nit picky thing to talk about considering the exciting adventures that befell us, but it was one of the disappointing things that I really hope will improve before my next trip.  I suppose I could bring my own travel size coffee maker/beans/roaster/grinder, etc. and just make my own, though what is the fun of packing heavy when you want spontaneous spur of the moment travel?

It would be wonderful to have access to fresh-roasted, healthy bean, no additive coffee everywhere you travel. Is it too much to ask?  Am I too picky?  Sadly, even the traditional coffee houses do not meet my expectations.
Number 1:They are too expensive.  Good coffee doesn't have to be so expensive.
Number 2:The flavor of the coffee is not good.
Number 3:Is there a number 3?  Yes, and a number 4 and so on and so on.

I say true coffee lovers of the world unite and try to get some decent, fresh, strong, great-tasting coffee in our hotels, restaurants, fast food, quick stop stores and truck stops.

Okay enough ranting about coffee.  Though I was disappointed about the coffee situation, we still had such a wonderful time that it is really difficult to pick a point to start telling you about.  I could start from my fave to the worst, or I could pick most popular places to the worst, or I could just start at the beginning and end at the end.

Hmmmm....decisions, decisions.  Probably the easiest for me (but not necessarily the easiest for you) would to just talk about what I am remembering at the moment. I will tell you that we started out in Southern California, drove to Norman, Oklahoma, stayed 3 weeks and then drove back home.

It is hard to pick a highlight for the trip.  The main attractions we stopped at on the way were less than on the way back, due to the fact that we left on a Friday afternoon and had to be in Oklahoma by Sunday, early evening.  Now for some people that would be no problem, but we were traveling with old-folks (myself included) and "unseasoned road-weary travelers".

One of the secrets of traveling cheaply is to get a hotel/motel discount coupon book from truck-stops/travel centers and quick stop convenience stores. We have stayed in some very nice places (and some not so nice) using the coupons.  Though I can say that every hotel where we used a coupon on this trip and in the past, the sheets were always very clean; though one hotel's towels smelled like corn tortillas, and I smelled like a corn tortilla all day after that shower. Not a pleasant odor unless it is on a taco or with salsa.

I do recall staying in +Holbrook AZ Friday night and in +Amarillo, TX on Saturday night.  We made it into +NORMAN OKLAHOMA at about 3PM on Sunday.

We arrived in Holbrook thinking it was going to be good but we couldn't find an inexpensive hotel.  The hotel we had stayed in on our last trip was still open, but NO guests were there, and they were way too expensive.  We hadn't found our magic book yet (coupons), so we asked at a travel center which hotel was the cheapest and proceeded to go there. The night was noisy from the guests above.  I figured they must have been practicing for the Olympic gymnastics team.  Our room only had heat, no air-conditioning!  I slept by the window, which had NO SCREEN, waking up all night and jumping up at any little noise, thinking a snake, tarantula or scorpion was going to crawl in! We were in the middle of the desert after all, WITH NO SCREEN ON THE WINDOW! We left our cheap ice chest there because we JUST did NOT have enough room in the car.  They had coffee if you could call it that.  Little did I know that it would be one of the better tasting drinks that humans have labeled as "coffee".

I remember being very exhausted coming into Amarillo, late about 9PM hoping and praying that the hotel coupon we had would be honored. In small writing on the coupon, it said something about it being in the south wing of the hotel.  We were so tired we really didn't care.  They had a free hot breakfast, and as long as the beds were clean we were gonna be happy!

The coupon should have stated:  "Your room will be in the servants quarters at the back of the hotel, in the dark scary alley with hoodlums hanging about." Ha ha ha. Just kidding, but not really, it was a little scary. The weird thing was that the front of the hotel was fantastic.  People walking about in fancy suits and dresses, with their noses up in the air.  The air conditioner didn't work in the first room they put us in so they moved us right next door.  The difference between the two rooms was unbelievable. The first room smelled really bad, like sewage, the second room smelled really nice and fresh.  The first room was clean, the second room shined.  The first room had cracked windows, the second room had cracked windows. Oh well.

We slept very nicely and the breakfast was served to a long line of hungry hotel guests by an overworked woman with a sweet smile. A very nice man (one of the hotel guests) made coffee, for which we were all very thankful and he said, "Isn't that the reason we're here?  To help everyone we can?" Wow, even that early in the morning, being half asleep and exhausted from driving, I recognized it as an epiphany!  No really, it was, for me anyway.  I mean I know THAT is the real reason we are here, to help, more than hinder, to love, more than hate, etc....but just the way he said it, was beautiful.  I heard music, and the sun shone, nothing was going to ruin my day now!!!






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