Well, we are back…

We knew it was going to be a really long trip driving all the way to OKC, so we decided to break it up into two days on the way out. That turned out to be a really good plan since the snow was really coming down pretty much all day and by the time we made it to Salina (Kansas) the visibility was so bad we could barely see our hotel from the street. We decided to have dinner that night at this restaurant next to the hotel, just because it was within walking distance and we didn’t want to try to drive anywhere in the storm.

So, we trek across the street to this buffet place called, “Western Sizzle”. Now I’m not wild about buffet restaurants, but since we didn’t seem to have much choice, I just went along with it. We walked in to the saddest restaurant I have ever seen. Behind the garishly lit front counter was an obese woman in a bedazzled Christmas sweater and matted Santa hat. She welcomed us in a monotone voice, “welcome to western sizzle, a steak place, what can I get for you.” Not a question, just a statement. Tim ordered the buffet for us and I went to find a table. After passing 6 tables each with some person in varying degrees of obesity, munching happily on their food, plates piled high with bright orange mac & cheese and fried chicken. Tim and I both wandered around and filled our plates with the food that looked least dried out and toxic. It was probably one of the grossest meals I’ve ever had, including the chow hall food from Ft. Meade (and that was really bad…) We both went to bed that night with upset stomachs and a feeling of relief that we’d never have to come to Salina ever again.

The next day was an easy drive and we made it to OKC in the late afternoon. The car ride was made much more pleasant with the help of an Audio book called, “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson. If you are ever stuck in a long card ride, I heartily recommend that you get this audio book. I learned so many interesting things and even though the scenery from Colorado to OKC is bland, listening to this book helps you appreciate the details in the monotony. He covers everything from the smallest atom on earth to the stars in the farthest flung parts of the universe and everything in between. It’s really wonderful… We still aren’t quite done, our trip ended just as we had learned all about DNA.

On to the family…

We spent our first evening at Tim’s nephew Luke’s school Christmas show. It was adorable, kids in reindeer antlers singing all kinds of weird songs… We also got to see Tim’s cousin Jon’s son, Cooper. It was a very kid-centric evening. Friday night we went and caught the “Christmas Extravaganza” at the Yellow Rose Theater. Tim’s brother was in the show, he plays a Dean Martin impersonator. It was hilarious. Michael does an awesome job as Dean Martin, and the other impersonators were pretty funny as well. There were more fat ladies in Christmas sweaters. I feel like taking out an ad in the OKC newspaper and telling these ladies that dressing like you are a Christmas tree does not make you look pretty. *sigh*

Saturday we attempted to go rock climbing at "OKC rocks" which turned out to be a huge disaster. It was freezing cold, the climbs were crappy and the guys that were working there were really rude. It's so strange, because most climbers we have met have been just the nicest people, and these guys gave out the vibe that they really didn't want us there. So we got our money back and went out to lunch downtown in Bricktown with Tim’s parents. That night we went out and hung with our good friend Chris. He’s the only one of Tim’s friends in OKC who we ever get to spend that much time with. He’s just a really cool guy. We keep trying to talk him into moving out to Colorado, but he’s strictly an OKC guy.

Sunday was Tim’s dad’s birthday party. We had family pictures and then a huge dinner with all the Tim’s brothers and sisters and their families. It can be really overwhelming when they all get together, the average volume of the house goes up quite a few notches. But at the same time it’s pretty fun to have everyone laughing and talking, they are a very festive family. Monday was a shopping day. We ran around and picked up some last minute presents for a few folks and then we took Tim’s Mom to go see “Narnia”. It was such a wonderful movie. I really loved the books as a kid. (actually I still love them… it’s an easy read, but a really fun nostalgia thing for me…)

We finished up with a business meeting with one of our OKC clients and then had dinner with Tim’s parents. It was a really busy week and I’m glad to be back home. Anyway, we took off this morning and made a straight shot back to Denver. My ass is tired of sitting, that is for sure… I’m so glad we are flying to New York and not driving. Anyway, I’m going to be busy this week taking care of everything for my Christmas Party this Saturday night, so I’ll keep you all posted.

~e

p.s. Pics from the trip are here.