Mom and Shea went a day early, the other 3 of us came in the next day....we hit the ground running like always...first stop hotel to check in and check in with Mom. Then we were off. We had a little extra time so we went to the site of the Oklahoma bombing....we've all see pictures online, but it's very humbling when you are standing there.
There is a gate around it, and as you approach the fences are covered with memorabilia from loved ones.
The Gates of Times forever frame the moment of destruction at 9:02 a.m. The 9:01 gate is a symbolic reference that represents the last moment of innocence for our nation in reference to domestic terrorism and of those affected by the bombing. The 9:03 gate is a symbolic reference that represents the first moment into the aftermath and hope for the future. 9:02 is the moment where those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever are represented.
The building was 9 floors high and the chairs are arranged in 9 rows to represent that. There is a chair for each person that died int he bombing and it is in the row that represents the floor they were on. They each have a name. There was a daycare in theis building and there are smaller chairs to represent the children.
This is the wall of honor that list the names of everyone that dies due to the bombing. Some were outside, some were in other buildings that were affected, one was a nurse that was helping with the rescue. April 19, 1995...a very sad day.
This is known as The Survivor Tree....
It is more than 90 years old. An American Elm Tree in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, it survived the bomb’s blast and witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil. Today, we call it the Survivor Tree.Before the bombing, the tree was important because it provided the only shade in the downtown parking lot. People would arrive early to work just to be able to park under the shade of the tree’s branches.
On April 19, 1995, the tree was almost chopped down to recover pieces of evidences that hung from its branches due to the force of the 4,000 pound bomb that killed 168 and injured hundreds just yards away. Evidence was retrieved from the branches and the trunk of the tree.
When hundreds of community citizens, family members of those who were killed, survivors and rescue workers came together to write the Memorial Mission Statement, one of its resolutions dictated that “one of the components of the Memorial must be the Survivor Tree located on the south half of the Journal Record Building block.”
This building was the Journal Recor Building, it had extensive damage but has been restored enough to house the Memorial Museum.
The front of the museum had all these cards from school children.
This is just inside the front door...we didn't have time to tour the museum, I bet it's very moving.
That was amazing....we were all a bit hungry so it was time for something to eat. We had no idea what was around, so, like all geeks...wee asked Siri.....and we found a cool yummy place. We split 2 breakfast orders, had some Mojitos and headed out to do our shopping.
We had some party store things to pick up...lots of balloons, a bit of a challenge since it was a windy day...then the adult beverage store and back to the hotel.
We finished up some table/room decor, then headed back to the room to get dressed.
Betty was so surprised and it was a wonderful party. We got to see folks we hadn't seen in many years. Several folks got up and spoke. I'm sure Betty enjoyed the walks down memory lane. There were pictures all around the room and on a long table, folks seemed to really enjoy the evening. We had a nice happy hour and dinner...then it was singing and cake time.
The 4 sisters, Betty and Mom....
Just us and Betty...
Mom and Betty, BFF's for 50+ years....awesome.
It had been a very nice evening, but we were all pooped. We headed off to bed around 10p....the next morning Vicki and Glen (Betty's oldest daughter and husband) were hosting a brunch....time for some shut-eye, we had to get up and roll in the morning.
Brunch was delish.....thanks Vicki and Glen. It was in a room next to the rooftop patio where we look lots of pictures.
Betty's daughters...Sandy, Suzanne, Vicki
Mom and daughters........
Sandy and hubby Steve and Betty
Betty, Vogen (hubby), my Mom
Betty with all her grandkids
After the brunch we still had some clean up to do. At Mom's request we wore our "special" pink shirts....she gave them to us and she thinks they're hillarious...they kinda are!!
After our clean up we 5 had a little time we could go do some touring...we really wanted to see the cowboy museum and get in a little shopping. We would meet all the others later for dinner.
This place was HUGE...and I"m so sorry this picture can't show the true size of the statue...it was really big, and very cool
The artist coat and tools
More about the artist....
Moving and reassembling here at the museum....pretty amazing.
It was all about cowboys and Indians..
Lots of buckles, trophies and saddles....
This was a cool display...it was all about fencing. Different fences and what they meant. This is how ranchers knew where their land started and stopped....you just pulled out another display and checked it out, there was a room just for fencing...wow.
Very primative fencing.....
They even had a little Mexican Cowboy history.
Then they had a "mock up" western town....some buildings your could walk into, some were just store fronts. It was done very well. It was kept darker so you could see lights.
The Mercantile was fairly well stocked...
And the post office on one end...
Looking down the Main Street........
The School would hold plenty of students...
The doctors office....he did everything....this chair even had stirrups....ready for anything!!
Nice buggy....perhaps their hose was at The Livery, and they were in.....
The church.....it had a few pews in it, and a piano and pulpit, all they needed was a preacher and a few folks.
Mom stopped in at the bank.....maybe she needed money for shopping.....
Nope...she needed it for the bar..........or....
to get her out of jail!!!!
The photo shop even displayed some old cameras...I'd owned some on display, do I belong in a musem,???
Did you notice the cat in the upstairs window???
Love the old backdrop.....
Geez they look real........
The newspaper.....and the printing machines
Watermill.....
And the train station....with a real train car....
Come on in .....
and get your tickets........
Maybe you need to get your saddle repaired while you wait....
Or maybe you'd like to buy a new side saddle.......
Yes this little town had anything you needed.
The hall of fame was pretty amazing.......might see some names you know
Then we headed outside....the grounds and gardens were beautiful.
Even if part of it was a cemetary for some famous horses.......
Buffalo Bill was soooooo big he had to be outside....you could see him from the street...he was HUGE!!!!!
Gunslingers.....WOOHOO!!!!
One tired cowboy.....holding his saddle and wiping his head.
The cowboy museum was well worth it, we were there about 2hrs and could have stayed 2 more to really cover it all and see all the films....it was really neat.
Next we headed to an area that we'd been told had some good western wear shopping. We got a few things and headed to Bricktown to meet the others.
Bricktown has a small river/water front much like San Antonio...it's really nice. We all ate at a really good Mexican place and then took the boat ride...compliments of Betty and Vogen.
Our tour guide was great, he gave us all the history as we floated by. This also happened to be the night of the moon ecplise...pretty cool.
All the lights were great....it was a gorgeous evening
This wall is all done with small tiles....well done.
These life sized bronzes were hard to see at night...but they were really cool. We never got to see them in the daylight, I wish we had they were truly amazing...
Toby Keith has a reataurant here.....neat.
More upper living....bet they have a nice view...
These walls were painted to show the progression on Oklahoma City....
It had been a really wonderful evening, we all had a great time...but it was time to head back to the hotels...we ladies had a luncheon the next day.
Though we had Betty's big party on Saturday, her actual birthday was on Monday...so Vicki hosted a ladies luncheon at a wonderful Italian restaurant...thanks Vicki it was wonderful.
Betty opened soome gifts and cards and we all had a delightful time....
Mom and Betty have been friends over 50 yrs...pretty cool
After the luncheon it was time to head for the airport and back home. It had been a fast 48hrs but we had a blast. Thanks everyone for all the hospitality, we truly had a wonderful time and appreciated all your kindnesses.
Hope you had a terrfic birthday Betty, we enjoyed surprising you!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment