Day 15-- Oklahoma City & Norman, OK

Michael and I left our hotel in Arkansas around 10:30am, which was an early start for us. I'm still trying to perfect the art of packing. Sometimes I bring everything in. Sometimes just a few bags. I'm thinking about going to the store to get some large containers. I have about 4 cardboard boxes of food, plates, cups, etc. and I think it might be better to put them all in 1 box.

Anyway, not much of a difference between Arkansas and Oklahoma except for the condition of the highway. As soon as you cross the border it's like driving through a 100 mile construction site. OK can't be THAT poor that they can't pave the biggest Interstate in the state.

I was surprised at all of the hills & mountains in the east. I expected it to be a lot flatter. Parts of Oklahoma remind me of Upstate NY.

In one town I saw a sign that said "Home of Carrie Underwood". Driving at 70 MPH and without any warning, of course I missed taking a picture of the sign.

About 15 miles from OK City it went from farmland to suburbs in about 10 seconds. It's like you go over this hill and see businesses. I drove straight into the city to see the Bombing Memorial. Michael was alittle antsy, so we parked the car, jumped out and walked around for about 20-30 minutes. I got a few pictures, but want to go back tomorrow night an hour before sunset. There really is something special about that place. I'm not sure how to describe it. Maybe because as a New Yorker I can understand how Oklahoma City feels, in a way. I just hope the WTC memorial is as powerful and beautiful as OKC.

We're going to head off the church in the morning. I wanted to take Michael to the zoo, but it's supposed to be 95*. Michael doesn't do very well in the heat. But, I have to get this kid around other kids. I can tell he wants to play with them so badly. I think there is a science museum--- which means AC. I also need to do some laundry and get ready for the drive to New Mexico.

I can't believe we are half way across the United States already. We spent about a week in Virginia and then took off. The last three days has been mostly driving. We did 1000 miles, with each day between 300-400. I'm not tired from driving. The AC, GPS and Ipod help. Sometimes I listen to the radio. Going up and down the mountains in Virginia I had the need to listen to country music. Probably the first time in my life. LOL.

OKC seems like a pretty cool place. No storms in site, so I can relax about tornadoes. Michael is afraid of them too. Which isn't my fault. Honestly. The kid loves watching the Weather Channel.

I'll have more pictures uploaded on the blog soon. It takes so long to download them onto my external hard drive, edit them and then upload them into the blog. I'm not taking as many pictures as I thought. I think that's because it's 90* out and I don't want to open the window.