Oklahoma

I haven't been to the south since we moved to Michigan in 2017!  Which means, I hadn't seen my Grandma since then either.  She's had a few scary falls this past year, and has been put on hospice, so I went down to visit.  It's the first solo trip I've made in a long, long time!

I don't hate flying as much as I did prior to our recent trip to Germany, but I'm still a little bit of a nervous flier, so I arrived to the airport an hour and some change early.  I ended up having to go through security twice, because I forgot to take out my pocket knife (it just lives in my purse usually.)

Before we left, the sun came up in a splash of color.

I sent pictures to the kids each time I found something fun or interesting.  On our camping trip, they all brought cables, but forgot their bricks.  I was showing them that at the airport that wouldn't be an issue!

The inside of the little plane that flies between Lansing and Chicago (It's a 30ish minute flight, no food service.)

We landed in Chicago, and gained an hour.  There were at least 4 Starbucks between the gate at which we landed and the one from which we left!

A sink with 5 spigots!

Popcorn vending machine in Chicago.  I didn't get any.  Our flight was delayed by an hour or so in Chicago, due to weather.  I could see the storm rolling in.  Then, we sat boarded and in the plane for a long span, and were a couple hours late getting into OKC.

The flight was quite turbulent, and they were not sure if we would even get drink service! (And let me tell you, those flight attendants are fearless, but when they can't stand, they have to call it.)  Thankfully, we found smooth air, so we weren't bouncing around the entire time!

The inside of the larger plane.  It's not much bigger, but a few more people per trip.

Oklahoma City was warm and cloudless.  Their airport is really quite nice!

I rented a car for the first time in my life!  I read through the literature, and made sure to document this little scratch, lest they try to tell me that I did it!  I was thankful for out of state plates, since I didn't know where I was going.

The path I took was different than the one I had researched, because the interstate was super easy to locate.  I started out on 240, but when I found 44, I thought, oh, it will cross 35 eventually, but then it turned North, and I'm like, oh, maybe not.  So, when I saw 40 I'm like, well 40 goes to Arkansas, so it must cross 35, and it did, but I ended up all the way downtown.

It was an uneventful drive down to Ardmore.  I stopped to grab some provisions on the way to Grandma's house, but didn't grab lunch, since Haley and her crew brought chicken express (with a large 1/2 & 1/2 sweet tea!)

After lunch, we celebrated Avia's birthday with a cake that Haley made, and took some pictures of the birthday girl with people who love her dearly!

I don't remember what was happening here, but Leon was the chosen sacrifice. lol.

After Haley and her crew left, the house felt so empty! I had to go move my car out of the drive, which was for the best, because apparently the renter is responsible for hail damage, should any occur!

On night one, it was still a little light out when bedtime rolled around, but I was tired from the trip, and welcomed bedtime.

My only full day there, Grandma and I watched some gameshow reruns: the Match Game*, Wheel of fortune, Master Minds, and a tiny bit of Split Second. We also enjoyed some BBQ that Avia went to pick up from Rib Crib, Grandma had saved a gift card she'd gotten for my visit! Later in the day we cleaned out a couple of drawers, and looked through some picture albums.  For dinner I had some leftover chicken express. = )

It was a really pleasant way to spend the day; not going anywhere or doing much of anything.  I am overwhelmingly disappointed with the recycling culture of Ardmore.  We threw away so many things that I would recycle (or repurpose) at home!  But there's just nowhere to take it!  We didn't break 100F, and on day 2 I had to go outside to warm up, because my hoodie was not cutting it!

I enjoyed spending time with my mom and Grandma.

The next morning was leisurely, with time to clean out one small drawer. Just before leaving, I got to meet one of her nurses. I left with enough time to hit traffic, stop for gas, return the rental car, and still be at the airport the recommended two hours early.

Driving on Interstate 35 felt so much like home, is it weird to have a favorite interstate?

My nerves curtailed my appetite, but I bet these tacos (from my vantage point at the gas station) are pretty good!  OKC was overcast, and slightly cooler when I arrived than when I'd departed Grandma's.

I got the car returned, stood in a bit of a line to get through security, then had hours to while away.  First stop was to change back into jeans. I spent the first part of my wait being a tourist.  The hand sanitizer dispenser has the airport logo on it (Will Rogers World Airport.) 

They also have a Will Rogers mosaic on the floor.  It was hard to get a picture without people crossing over!

You can see oil pumps from the terminal (and all along the roads to and from the airport.)

Apparently the capital has some recycling options!  There was also a paper can!

I would say that the flight from OKC had worse turbulence than the flight in, because it would be smooth, then turbulent.  Drink service was started and stopped 3 times!!

My longest layover for this trip was in Chicago, I had a couple of hours to explore the airport.  It's massive, and heavily populated, and made me so glad that I don't have to go through security there!

I found a place at which I would have been happy to spend a few hours chatting with my Billy!

My flights were in wings L and G, but H was huge, so I spent some time sending my dear ones pictures of the cool vending machines that I saw!

Cupcake vending!

Salad vending!

Licorice Vending!

I was surprised by all the vending machines, until our flight was delayed and delayed and delayed, and the shops started to close down!  If you come to the airport in off hours, they still want you to be able to have a variety it seems.

Our gate was also moved around several times.  This was down in the 'basement' area of the G wing.

While charging my phone at one of the many outlet banks they have for such purpose, the fire alarm started to go off.  No one seemed too bothered by it, but I had no desire to burn in Chicago, so I took myself out of the wing.  I drew in the alarms, since it's not easy to picture.

I found some plugs on the floor, with a view of the wing, but outside of the alarm area.  They shut off the alarm after 5 minutes or so, but that felt like an awfully long time for a 'false alarm.'  And, they also weren't letting the arriving airplanes disembark.

We finally made it back to Lansing, following more turbulence, and a pilot in training just a couple of minutes before midnight.

All 5 of my babies were still awake to greet me!

Grace and Juliet had marked down each time they missed me.  This is what they gave me upon my return!

Despite still trying to recover and get back into the swing of things, I'm so glad I went.  It was really great to see Grandma and Haley's crew!  (And of course Avia, but we see her more often than the others.)  Maybe I'll get another opportunity to go again.

later days

*Gary Burghoff was on it as a guest star!

edit 7-20-24: backdated for continuity.