Yuk -- I woke up to about 4 inches of new snow. I was planning on getting an early start but they didn't come to clear the street until 9:30 so it was almost 10 AM before I got out of the driveway. The snow was coming down fairly heavy. I went out and shoveled the sidewalk about 8:30 and almost had a hernia trying to lift the snow shovel full of snow....great snowball snow but it was hell to shovel. I decided to just load up the car and try to bully my way out of the driveway and that worked so I was on my way.
It was slow going. There wasn't much traffic and once I got to the highway it was pretty clear. The worst part was at Lake of the Ozarks because almost no one had been on the new highway that bypasses the old US 54 so it had a lot of snow and slippery spots. By the time I got past Mack's Creek and on toward Buffalo it was beginning to thin out and there was only a dusting of snow. Almost nothing at Springfield and Joplin was pretty clear. I stopped for lunch at Joplin and then headed on to Oklahoma. They need to do some repairs on the turnpike and they charge $4.00 per car now which I think is a little more than a year ago. I made my obligatory stop at the world's largest McDonald's and took care of some business for Jill. I managed not to get lost in Tulsa -- like I usually do. I finally reached Oklahoma City around 5 PM with a little bit of sunlight....a welcome sight on such a dreary day. I got checked in at the motel and was glad to be out of the car.
I've made this trip so often that I know the motels and have favorite bars and restaurants. In Oklahoma City I stay fairly close to Bricktown in a little antiquated EconoLodge. The price is right and the location is convenient and the same little Indian (east-Indian) guy works the desk. I decided to go to the Tap Werks in Bricktown for a beer and maybe supper. Plan B was to go to the IHOP next to the ballpark for supper but when I got into Tap Werks they were having 1/2 price appetizers because the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA game was on TV-- playing the Washington Wizards. I don't follow NBA and I forget that OKC has a team but I watched the 2nd half and the Thunder walloped the Wizards. I had a Fullers ESB and an Artichoke Dip appetizer with flat bread and then a Tallgrass IPA (a Kansas-brewed beer but still OK). Tap Werks has over 100 beers on tap so it will take me a whole bunch of trips to Oklahoma City to sample them all. I keep telling myself I need to come down here and spend a few days....maybe this summer. After the game they had live acoustic music....some guys doing Grateful Dead and Tracy Chapman songs. Go figure...sounded OK. Went back to my room and watched some TV before bed.
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