Turkey Trot to Tulsa

Fun fact of the day: Tulsa and Altus are anagrams (read, I have too much time on my hands). But someone has to take the time to appreciate the small things in life, right?

Eric and I spent our first Thanksgiving away from home this year, but it was far from lonely. My great uncle and aunt, Vince & Gayle, invited us to celebrate with them at their home in Tulsa. We left Altus as soon as Eric got home from work on Wednesday afternoon. The trip from Altus to Tulsa takes about five hours and Oklahoma City is sort of a mid-point between the two.

We reached OKC right around dinner time and decided to stop. We didn't want to eat at any of the standard off-the-highway joints, so we turned to our trusty pal, Urbanspoon, for help. "The spoon" indicated that a place called Zelda's Greek somethingorother was both close to us in proximity and delicious. We plugged the address into our GPS whom we fondly refer to as, "Trixy," short for "Beatrice," and she began to direct us to our destination. Within moments, Trixy started saying, "you have reached your destination on right," but Zelda's was no where to be seen! In Zelda's place, we found an Indian Buffet called KhaZana. Again, we turned to Urbanspoon who informed us that 86% of patrons liked their cuisine, which was enough for us. We, too, enjoyed our dinner (Eric couldn't get enough of the curried goat) and were in and out of the restaurant quickly, which was exactly what we were hoping for.

We were guests in Vince & Gayle's home from Wednesday night to Saturday morning. They couldn't have been more welcoming and hospitable. We had a fabulous time getting to know one another and enjoying each others company. Vince, Gayle, and Eric had only met once before and that was during our wedding festivities. I grew up far away from all of our extended family. Although I was able to see and visit with my aunt and uncle on occasion, I've never really had the opportunity to get to know them as an adult.

We seem to remind Vince & Gayle a lot of themselves when they were just married and out on their own in the world for the first time. They have a lot of fond memories of those days and Eric and I loved hearing about them. They've traveled the world, lived in a multitude of countries, and experienced many cultures. We learned a lot from them about moving from place to place and admire their ability to foster a sense of community in each place they lived.

We stayed up late every night and consumed several wonderful meals. I helped Gayle prepare Thanksgiving dinner, which ended up being delicious. Through helping Gayle, I was able to cook my first big bird and clean my first Brussels sprouts. My cooking repertoire has grown exponentially since moving to Oklahoma!

We were also treated to a first-class tour of Tulsa. My aunt and uncle know so much about the city from it's history to plans for it's future and everything in between. They made excellent tour guides! My favorite stop on the tour was the house in which my grandmother and Vince grew up. It was so interesting to see the street on which they spent their childhoods.

On Friday morning, we went to the TU football game to tailgate with a group of Vince & Gayle's friends who have a sweet party spot with a direct view of the big screen inside the stadium. TU is uncle Vince's Alma mater; so again, they were able to tell us all about the campus and how it has changed. Vince & Gayle were married at a church on the TU campus, which we were able to see during our visit, too.

This may come as a surprise, but this was my first tailgate. St. Mary's doesn't have a football team and I've never tailgated before a professional football game either. I was impressed by how seriously these TU fans were about the art of the tailgate. Some had huge, fancy RVs orbited by two sometimes three flat screen TVs! It was a legit party. Eric and I spent much of the day wishing that we were still in college and reminiscing about the good old days. How did they become the "good old days" so quickly?

Our trip to Tulsa was wonderful. We felt right at home. Holidays are some of the hardest days to be far from home and familiar traditions. We can't thank Vince & Gayle enough for welcoming us with open arms and we truly look forward to future visits.

We left Tulsa for Altus on Saturday morning. Eric had been vetting a Challenger R/T at a dealership in OKC that was also offering Black Friday specials on their vehicles. Of course, we had to stop. We spent about three hours haggling in a glass box (an office that literally felt like a fish bowl). Haggling is certainly a skill that not all people posses. I've seen it perfected by my dad, Big Jer, and, now, Eric. We came within $500 dollars of a new car. The dealership refused to come down and Eric refused to go up. Eric walked right out of that dealership with the words, "you can't possibly be that cheap" lingering in the air. I didn't know whether to be proud or embarrassed, but I think that's par for the course in car negotiations.

Eric (and I) returned to Altus sans new car, but with a new sense of determination to find the perfect car and the perfect deal. The Challenger saga does not end here, but that is for another day and another post...