Oklahoma Report Day 2

Other Oklahoma Trip posts: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Wrap-up

First the important news - Mrs. HolyCoast's well traveled bag showed up in our hotel room this afternoon while we were out (after we spent $50 at Wal-Mart last night buying stuff she needed). The bag went all the way to Norfolk, VA and back, and is probably in better shape than I would be if I had made that trip.

Today we took in some of the important local attractions in Oklahoma City. Our first stop this morning was the Oklahoma National Memorial, the site of the Murrah Building which was bombed in 1995. This is the reflecting pool between the two gates which represent 9:01 am, and 9:03 am. The bomb went off at 9:02.


To the right of the scene above is the field of chairs, with one chair representing each of the 168 victims. The chairs are arranged according to where they were in the building, and on what floor. Scattered among the large chairs are smaller chairs representing the children who were killed in the Day Care Center. It's a beautifully done tribute, and very moving.

We toured the museum next door, and they don't allow photography in there so I don't have any photos. The museum is very well done, and frankly kind of difficult to walk through with so many remembrances of the victims.

After the museum we headed over to Bricktown, a shopping/food/entertainment part of the city located around the baseball stadium. Here's a shot of the downtown skyline from Bricktown (as you can tell it was a crystal clear day with temps in the 70's - very much unFall-like).
Lunch was at Earl's Rib Palace in Bricktown, and if this guy had any restaurants in Southern California, I'd weigh 400 pounds. It was good eatin'.

After lunch we died and went to redneck heaven - Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.

If you're into hunting, fishing, or any number of other outdoor activities, this is your place. You should have seen all the good old boys drooling over the brand new bass boats. They had the same look on their face as Southern Californians looking at a new Lexus.

We spent the rest of the day driving around Bethany and revisiting some of the old family stomping grounds, and places I'd been on various trips over the years. After traveling to Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Virginia and Pennsylvania this year, it quickly becomes obvious that those of us in Southern California don't really live in America. America is all the stuff between the coasts. Our area is so different than so much of the country, it almost defies comparison. The America between the coasts is a nice place to be.

Tonight we're taking the bored HolyCoast siblings to see Harry Potter. They've been troopers all day, and now it's their turn for some fun.