Not in Kansas any more

CCM
The journey south began with a free breakfast. Jack found the waffle maker and then there was sneaking of bread back to the room so as to wrap what was left of LC’s multi meat plate into two sandwiches for later. More wrong turns on the way out of town but each led to good things. Once on the road it was right into big sky country. Every mile offered up another view of a different red tailed hawk-majestic every one. As we dipped further south the earth around us began to turn PEI red. Jack once again hit the snooze button and was out for an hour. But not before we spoke of Jesse James and rummaged through the iTunes for various songs relating his story. Perfect accompaniment for the landscape, Bruce Springsteen’s The Pete Seger sessions were up next. And Jack was out.
He came to just in time for old meat sandwiches, Australian Ginger Beer and more music, this time in preparation for Flaming Lips Alley, which as we found out later had only been inaugurated mere months earlier.

Oklahoma does not look at all vibrant either upon arrival or on paper, both Jack and I almost skirted it completely. But we did want to visit the Federal Building Monument. It is perhaps over thought out in concept, but a very peaceful and beautiful place, with a “survivour tree in its midst that is fantastic (the only tree to survive the blast). As we pulled away I asked that we make a quick search for the Alley, and that led to our night of adventure. While attempting to park so I could get a quick photo of the Alley sign, we discovered that Oklahoma City’s NBA team the Hornets would be playing the Memphis Grizzlies in just a few hours. Jack had been less than impressed with the Cardinals’ baseball museum (“ I could not care less…”) in St Louis and so I figured this was going to be a no sports trip ( As we set out I had been told to try and see an NCAA b- ball game by Ori and now here was NBA opportunity). Surprise. Jack was psyched for the Hornets but later it was the Honeybees that caught his/our eye..kinda.

We met John Mainer in the Bricktown welcome centre which sits just feet away from Flaming Lips Alley, he sat behind the desk. We quickly found out that we had stumbled on the city’s hot spot area, though it was had been more than a touch Disneyfied. John was the person who told us that we might just be able to find $10 tickets to the game (And we did but chose to get a little closer) next there were T-shirts commemorating the Alley- I snapped one up. A perfect host to his city, John then rummaged through a back room and came out with a $20 voucher for a meal as well as free access to some hip dance bar that sits a top
Mickey Mantle’s steak house (right across from his statue in front of the triple A ball club: Bricktown stadium). Finally he told us that we had to go to Lit, a hookah bar down the alley where we would find photos by J. Michelle Martin-Coyne, Wayne’s wife, a collection of Flaming Lips tour photos on display.

Once we hightailed it out of the Hornets game, they won, then up and down a few random highways, I am a horrible navigator, we stopped at “free breakfast, free wifi” Days Inn. Chalk-a-block full of folks on a big city Hornets holiday weekend.