Oklahoma City

Well that was an expensive day! And busy! It's all good though. We have a list of things we wanted to get done before crossing into Mexico, and Oklahoma City has proved to have pretty much everything we need.

We left the motel in Chandler at about 9:00am and it wasn't long before we found a little country diner where we had some breakfast. It was a little pricey, but we both had full stomachs and we weren't going to need any lunch.

Next stop along the highway was a Walmart SuperCenter. The little blue car needed some tires and I knew that even before we left Canada. But now they've got yet another 1,600 miles (2,600 kms) on them. Figure I've pushed our luck far enough and this Walmart had the tires I wanted in stock. And there was nobody in line.

These tires are done!

The little blue car getting some new boots.

Now that's better!

So, we got four cheap tires for $330, with  new valve stems, installation, and balancing and taxes included. Great deal. By noon, we drove away with four new tires. We headed into Oklahoma City.

Our first view of downtown Oklahoma City.

Wonder what old George would say today...

Of course one of the things that unfortunately put Oklahoma City on the map was the bombing of the Federal Building on April 19, 1995. The blast killed 168 people and injured 680. Now, there is a peaceful memorial on the site.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial.

This chain link fence was installed at the site to keep people out after the explosion. It became decorated with mementos to the people who lost their lives, and they have left the fence to stand. Many of the mementos are toys and stuffed animals because 19 of those killed were children under the age of 6.

168 empty chairs decorate the property where the building once stood.

After that, we wanted to go to the new Outlet shopping mall because Ruth needed some new hiking boots, and we both needed some new sandals. We got some good quality sandals for $40 for the two of us. My sandals were regular $58!! They were on sale for $16.95. Ruth's were even more! Good deals though, so we were happy.

But nowhere did they sell any hiking boots. There's a Columbia sporting goods store, but it's not open yet. So we went to the Bass Pro outdoor store near downtown. Sure enough, they have hiking boots. They had only two models of Merrell boots, and one of them was the exact identical boot that Ruth had bought two years ago. Sold! We don't like buying anything at regular price, but it was hard to argue with the knowledge that Ruth will get another two years out of these new boots. 

The little blue car has new boots, and so does Ruth!

Now it was dinner time, and we hadn't had any lunch so we were pretty hungry! The Bass Pro Shop is right near the "Bricktown" area of Oklahoma City and it's one of these old warehouse areas that's undergoing redevelopment with lots of restaurants and hotels and a nice baseball park. We chose "Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy".

Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy.

Holy cow...how did we eat all this??

Well we didn't...but we sure do have a good lunch ready for tomorrow!

The canal area is really pretty and a nice area to go for a walk or a boat ride. We're going back there tomorrow!

That's enough for today! Staying with new couchsurfing friends Luis and Kevin tonight, and then we've got some more exploring of Oklahoma City to do tomorrow. Did you notice the blue sky? Oklahoma City has beautiful weather!!