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Lynn is the family photographer. I lost the job many years ago when all my photos turned out to be of feet or sky and not the subject at hand.
Unlike my good friend, Charlie Bourland, who is expert at writing and posting pictures related to his then subject, I just have to post what pictures Lynn sends and post them unrelated to anything I have written.
Starting at the top and going left to right are the following:
Lynn at Mobile Art Museum
Myself at Ogden Art Museum in New Orleans, which I did not comment on in my previous memo. We went in search of one of Rolland's paintings depicting Katrina's aftermath.
This was a natural 80 foot swimming and diving hole off Route 66 near Clinton, Oklahoma. Scuba Divers go their to practice.
Picture of Rolland, Stella Golden and yours truly on their back porch in Folsom, La.
Lynn at Walter Anderson Museum of Art but I cannot remember where in Louisiana.
Lynn took a picture of up-ended Cadillac's in a field west of Gallup, Texas. She read about it and while at a gallery in Marfa also saw an upended car outside the entrance.
We enter Nevada on our way to Las Vegas
Bob and Susan Helpert at museum in Tuscon
Lynn at penny slots in Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas - big spender/loser
Lynn at Grand Canyon - picture taken by someone else
I will have further pictures once Lynn finishes and sends them in a separate memo.
(Lynn also reminded me, in the first memo I spelled the art colony as Murfa but it should have been Marfa..
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This will be the second recap of our trip and final one. I began the first recap talking about my father and will start this with comments about our extended family.
As I previously noted, the drive to Los Angeles was a bit harrowing. One thing I did not comment on and probably should, is that throughout our drive hundreds, and I mean hundreds, of large tower wind mills are springing up all over our country. I mentioned, when we drove to Wisconsin last year, how many were located in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Western Pennsylvania. Most are turning, some not. I cannot explain why. As you approach Los Angeles from Warm Springs they block out the sky! Some are located on hills but many are set in the valley/ This renewable source of energy is growing and, I assume, is immediately placed into the energy grid but cannot be stored for any length of time. My understanding is G.E. is the largest domestic manufacturer of these huge blades and towers etc.
I also have read they have become a serious hazard for birds who are either being sucked into and butchered by the blades or are flying into them and being killed. Either way it is an ecological problem.
We arrived in time to go to our motel and unload and then cabbed to be with our other California Grandson, Henry, son of my number three daughter, Lisa. Henry is an assistant writer for Bill Maher and had arranged for VP passes. (Henry attended Georgetown last year and upon graduating went to California to pursue his love, working as a script writer. ) I have no doubt Henry will be successful. He has a quirky sense of humor, aka Woody Allen, and has an enormous amount of material if he simply records the interrelationships of our family.
Henry knows I am no lover of Maher but I wanted to support our grandson and see how he was doing so was delighted he was able to get us tickets. We cabbed to the CBS Studio where the show is taped and Maher performs before a live audience of over 400. Yes, we had VIP passes but still had to wait in line with everyone else because security is very high.
We were seated by someone who works on the show and immediately recognized we were Henry's Grandparents. He made some positive comments about how Henry was accepted as a member of the staff. Henry came on the stage dressed in khakis and a white shirt, holding some papers wearing a headphone , gave us hugs and then returned to do his thing.
The show began with the head writer coming out and doing his shtick. He poked fun at Republicans and told the audience what to expect and encouraged them to laugh when Maher did his intro monologue. The audience was mostly young but there were a number of aging former hippies and a few straights like Lynn and myself.
Maher came out to hoots and hollers (I sat on my hands), did his monologue and then took his seat and began his banter with his guests. I do not remember the names of who his guests were except for Ed Begley Jr who is totally absorbed in saving the world from pollution etc. Begley wore white socks, I guess it has something to do with ecology because he looked foolish, and he talked about how his life was devoted to being P.C when it came to saving water in a cistern etc.
Maher is truly brilliant but I find him snarky and off the wall because he stretches the truth or ignores it in order to get easy laughs from an audience that adores being in the fore front of bashing conservatives. I doubt any of them know who John Wayne was and if they did hated him and/or found his love of America corny.
Maher admitted he learned having at least one conservative guest helped his show so that evening he had one black middle aged conservative male who had served in George Bushes' Administration. Why this gentleman came is beyond me because guests receive no pay and the conservative ones immediately become the butt of jokes, sneers and other insults. Maybe they like being punching bags for pathetics or have nothing better to do. Every time this poor soul (bless his heart) tried to give a reasoned response he was shot town by a dingy female guest to his left (naturally) who reminded me of the ditsy demwit Representative from Florida and head spokesperson for the Democrat Party, Debbie Wasserman,
After the show we three went to a great deli up the street from the CBS Studio and then Henry drove us back to our motel and we made plans for him to pick us up the next morning for the PHD ceremony.
At dinner, Henry told us about Bill Maher and how the various writers worked and about his role . It was all interesting and we were delighted to be able to see our third grandson making his way in life. He works very hard keeping abreast of world events and monitoring what the more senior writers do and because Maher's staff is stable and have been with him for a long time, and are likely to stay, Henry understands, in order to move up the ladder, he must learn all he can and then move on.,
The next morning Henry met us at our motel and then we proceeded to our first grandson, Elliot's apartment, to join assembled family members. On our side was Elliot's mother (my number one daughter) and father and sister, Debra, Martin and Emma, my cousin, who now lives in northern California, Steffi Berkowitz, ,Elliot's wife, Elizabeth, the PHD recipient and members of her side of the family, her mother, Tabby, her mother in law,Tammy, her doctor father, Tom,and her three brothers, Danny, Ben, and Will .
The UCLA campus is absolutely beautiful and the buildings are massive and very stately.
The ceremony was very personal and commemorative. The Dean spoke about how hard it was to get into UCLA and that their program was number one in the nation. He also talked about each graduate, what their thesis was all about and then one of the student's gave a witty and very insightful talk about her own experience and that of her co-classmates. The PHD recipients were given their diplomas by their individual department professors assigned to them and hugs were evident and sincere. (I turned to Lynn and observed touching was no longer acceptable in lower education circumstances because the P.C crowd thought touching was dangerous. Lynn taught first graders and her kids loved her, as they should, and hugs and touching was a daily event.)
After the actual ceremony families gathered outside the hall for a varied lunch and refreshments. The faculty attended and engaged in conversation for the entire time. I never attended any of my own graduations because right after Penn, I knew I was going into the service and when I graduated from Law School, I had to report to work in Atlanta the day before graduation occurred. At the graduation
I was in my typical "suthren digs," whipcord suit and bow tie and wore President George Bush (the elder) socks. ( I gave a similar pair to my dear friend, Jerry Montana, for his birthday on the basis he wore them every time he voted for a conservative.) I told Jerry if he wore them out I would get him another pair.
Lizzy walked us around the campus a bit and then we went to her apartment . Later that evening we motored to Lizzy's paternal grandmother for dinner. Her grandmother, Charlotte, was also married to a doctor, lives north of Los Angeles in a lovely older California house, situated on a steep hill with a gorgeous overlook including the ubiquitous California pool in the back.
The next day Lynn and I did our own thing (We went to The Hirshhorn Museum) and then to Elliot' and Lizzy's apartment to meet some of their contemporary friends, some of whom we had met the year before at their wedding.
The Hirshhorn is actually connected to UCLA and is a beautiful and unusual building with a wonderful second story garden where they serve food in an outdoor atmosphere. The museum itself is small and what paintings are part of the permanent collection are the best of the best but most of their displays were art by other artists and their main show pertained to Afghanistan rug making.
I wore my Bush socks simply to get a rise out of Elliot and Lizzy's friends. I actually did because several of the wives told their husbands 'now that's a good looking pair of socks.' Then I told them they commemorated George Bush's birthday and the conversation changed. (I also wore them to the Bill Maher show but got no rise from anyone. Most of the audience did not wear socks except for Begley's white ones!). That evening many of the family members went to a movie nearby. It was a huge place with probably ten or more screens and you actually bought advance tickets with reserved seating. I agreed to see a movie Emma wanted to see and eventually Lynn and Lizzy's mother joined us. Other family members scattered and saw several other movies. Elliot and Liz stayed home to clean up and catch their breath. When the movie ended Elliot picked us up in our car and rode back with others as we said our goodbyes.
As noted in a previous memo, Lizzy has two teaching positions at two different nearby California Universities. A most exceptional opportunity for a new PHD graduate to not only teach at her own school, UCLA, but even be considered for a professorship. Go girl, we are very proud of you both.
From Los Angeles, our next destination was Las Vegas and we debated whether to go by first returning to Pasadena and do more exploring, having been there many years earlier, or go by way of Santa Barbara where we had never been. Everyone voted for Santa Barbara and so Santa Barbara it was. We mostly drove along the Pacific Ocean (Ocean Highway) and, by doing so, came upon field after field of all kind of vegetables and fruits, including strawberries, oranges, dates, avocados, etc. Not only were the fields lush but there were hundreds of pickers bent over harvesting and the weather was clear but very hot, well into the 90's. The impact of the water shortage problem was more evident upon agriculture as we drove to Los Angels from Palm Desert.
As we drove north we passed Pepperdine University, which we had visited in a previous trip, drove through Malibu and saw some of the fabulous homes/estates but most were gated and treed and thus, not easily seen,
One of the towns we passed, Oxnard, was said to be the headquarters of our Pacific Fleet and on both sides of the highway were military installations and facilities, a few ships in dry dock
As we drove to Santa Barbara the topography was very mountainous, craggy and beautiful. We knew we had made the right decision as we entered Santa Barbara. What a quaint town - very
laid back with elegant shopping and wonderful seafood restaurants. We ate on the pier (230 Stearn's Wharf) and I had a wonderful lobster roll,which reminded me of Maine, Lynn, fried shrimp, which reminded her of Savannah. Santa Barbara is old California - quaint, narrow streets, picturesque, shopping very up scale and the better homes perch above the city and enjoy magnificent views of the ocean, the docks etc.
From Santa Barbara our next stop was Ojai. having been told it was a unique art colony town. To our amazement, the first gallery we stopped at( The Leslie Clark Gallery) had magnificent African artifacts. Apparently, the owner/painter, displayed her own paintings and had also fallen in love with Africa. The proprietress was not in the gallery at the time but her sales associate gave us a complete rundown about a foundation the owner has established and told us all about the items she sent back . We fell in love with a Yoruba White Beaded Crown and after some back and forth negotiations decided to purchase it. (The gallery called today and said it is being shipped and should be here next week. Lynn hopes it will go on our dining room table which is black enamel.)
We have very dear friends in Savannah, Don and Kaye Kole, who share our love of African artifacts. Don began collecting some 20 or so years ago and now has a collection numbering over 800 pieces. I encouraged Don to allow GMOA to show some thirty of his choice pieces and he agreed.. Don's first major display was part of our new wing opening exhibition and we entitled it":From Savanna to Savannah." Since that show, Don has had another show at a local university and recently purchased a building across from his office to house his vast collection. After our 37th Tybee vacation next week I am going to lunch with Don and see what he is about. I have taken many of my friends to see Don's collection . They are awed, as they should be.
After walking around Ojai it was fast approaching 5 PM and we still had some hefty driving ahead and a reservation the next day at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. We stayed ,that evening, in Barstow and the next morning Lynn did some shopping at a huge connecting Tanger Outlet. It was there that I saw many Asian named tour buses packed with Asians shopping. Some were wheeling empty luggage which they quickly filled with purchases from Nike, Polo etc. I wrote about this in a previous short note I sent.
As we drove past Barstow on the right was a huge Marine Installation apparently devoted to equipment maintenance. The base was in view from the highway and you could see tanks, howitzers and a variety of equipment spread over a base that extended for several miles. Quite impressive.
From Barstow we went through Baker and began to see oil fields, some of the pumps were active others silent and we touched part of the Mojave Desert. It was a most desolate drive with few fuel or food stops but magnificent cacti, mountains and color. Before entering Las Vegas, we came upon a huge Native American Casino, connected amusement park and Tanger like outlet in what seemed to be in the middle of nowhere!
We approached Las Vegas a little after lunch and Lynn used Trip Advisor to locate a fabulous Greek Restaurant that served some of the best Gyro's I have ever put in my mouth and Lynn had a scrumptious Greek Salad and we shared some delicious Hummus. From there, we drove a short distance to see The Hoover Dam but, before we did, I stopped at a filling station for gas ($2.36/gallon) and a car wash. (Bugs were a problem and the more we drove west the bigger they got. There was several areas in the Mojave that were so hot signs warned you to turn off your air conditioning so as not to overheat your engine.) The temperature reached 111. Though it was dry it was hot but then we learned the entire nation was experiencing a heat wave. Savannah was also experiencing low hundreds.
When we arrived at The Hoover Dam, I was beginning to have breathing issues because of the altitude ( some 4 or so thousand feet.) I also had been doing a great deal of walking and though the more I walked the better I go but I was not willing to walk up the stairs to reach the road/bridge traversing the dam area. (For those who are not aware, I have had 8 operations on my left knee and three knee transplants. The last was successful enough to get me back to walking and on the courts but I have little ability to run.) Lynn took the walk, I stayed behind and sat outside in what had to be 110 or more degrees but then, I love the sun and heat does not bother me a great deal but this was hot.
Lynn returned completely awed by Hoover's complexity and beauty so we drove around the bridge and parked in an area so we could both experience Hover's awesomeness from another side. We decided it was time to check into our hotel and as we returned Lake Mead,, which is the main water source for Hoover, was on our right and we concluded it was also worth a drive around and we would do that on our way to The Grand Canyon after our stay in Las Vegas.
(This is ironic. As I type this, FOX's Gretta Van Sustren, has a Special Investigation reviewing The Charlie Manson's "Helter Skelter" story and he is about ready to move to Death Valley which abuts The Mojave )
LAS VEGAS: This city can only be described in hyperbole language. It is sin city, what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, anything for a price. Looking through Capitalistic eyes Las Vegas is the personification of greed, hope, despair and I could go on and on.
When Tepplis Travel Agency of Atlanta put together Las Vegas Junkets, my father used to love to go and on several occasions, since he gave the house a fair shot, he would take us along. The last time we were in Las Vegas was probably over 30 years ago. Accompanying us for football analysis was Alabama's Great Bear Bryant. The Bear came aboard and drank his way to Las Vegas. The stewardesses swooned and he kept drinking. That said, he still was able to depart our plane without any help. He was very personable and a lot of fun .
Las Vegas of today does not resembel Las Vegas of old. The Strip is longer and lined with one hotel after another. The golf course, that Sinatra, Martin, Lawford et al made famous, still remains but is now behind the Bellagio.
A new 3,000 room hotel is being built on the site of a former hotel and there seems no end to the enthusiasm.
Las Vegas is home of a replica of the Eiffel Tower, The Bellagio has an automated water ballet and the Venetian, where we stayed, has a canal with Gondolas on its second floor that traverses the hotel.
The Venetian is a suite only hotel and ours was on the 24th floor and was lovely and beautifully furnished. Included in our under $200/night was a full in room breakfast and no charge for parking. On the other hand, though there are still some very inexpensive buffets, food is no longer subsidizeb by the casinos but you still can get free drinks while you are actively gambling
My father was a shrewd gambler, loved baccarat, 17 was his favorite number on the roulette table and he enjoyed craps from time to time. He invariably won. In fact our wrought iron porch furniture was purchased with winnings he shared with Lynn. On our last junket my bill came to $60 for three half hour tennis lessons.
The first night we arrived we decided to eat in one of our hotel's numerous restaurants and tour the myriad shops on the first and second level. It is impossible to get to your room without going through the casino which is vast and seemed actively inhabited with gamblers but not totally occupied. Many slots and tables were silent. Asians seemed to be everywhere and now that Las Vegas is family oriented we saw plenty of children accompanying their gambling parents.
The next day we hung out at the pool in 109 degree heat and in that past "long limned pool girls" would bring you free drinks and cold towels - no more.
Lynn's one desire was to see the Cirque Solleil "O" Water Show at The Bellagio and was able to procure excellent tickets through our hotel's guest service desk. In the past these shows were often 'comped' but today, unless you are a big time gambler, you pay and seats are not cheap. The show was truly outstanding. The theater was full, and the acts began with clowns and then proceeded to be followed by one amazing water venture after the other. Before the performance we had dinner at one of the Bellagio's excellent and beautiful restaurants. After the show we lined up to cab back to our hotel and observed their famous outdoor fountain ballet.
Our last day we took advantage of the Venetian's Spa run by Canyon Ranch. It was a vast array of rock climbing walls, exercise machines and many private rooms for massages. We were told it was the largest such spa in the world. They also had a wonderful restaurant where we, probably, had our first healthy meal since leaving Savannah. That evening we ate at one of the Venetians Italian restaurants. Again excellent and fine service.
Before dinner we had a drink at one of the bars and I engaged our bartender about the hotel. He told us he loved working there because it was non-union, paid better than any of the other union run hotels, Adelson, the owner who is in his late 80's and one of the largest contributors to the Republican Party, visits and drives around in an electric golf cart and runs a ship shape hotel.
We left just in time because over 200,000 kids were streaming in that weekend for a $400 p/p rock concert. Hillarious had been in town the day before pandering to Hispanics who were having an annual meeting. The lobby of our hotel had become a junior camp with kids checking in and carrying dozens of packages of beer and bottled water and some luggage in preparation for the 'big event.'
It took us well over a half hour to retrieve our car and we proceeded to our next destination - Santa Fe - by way of a detour drive around Lake Mead, The Grand Canyon and Albuquerque. This was to be one of our longest drives and we planned doing it over two plus days.
Our drive took us through more deserts and canyons: Mesquite, Williams, Rte 66, (Grand Canyon), Cameron, Flagstaff, Winslow (outer northern edge of The Painted Forrest), Gallup. before reaching Santa Fe.
Once again, our ride was through sparsely developed territory, plenty of beautiful sites but nothing compares to The Grand Canyon. This amazing area was caused when two colliding tectonic plates some 50 million years ago and various erosion from wind and water etc. began to carve out vast segments of the mountains. When the federal government wants to do something right it is so readily visible and what our Park Service has done with respect to signage, visage points, parking and rest facilities is commendable. Though we did not take the time to stay over to hear evening lectures you could spend two or three days learning about the Canyon's mysteries etc. Car entry costs , I believe was $20.00, and I found that a bit offensive because I thought our taxes paid for us to enjoy our Federal Parks, but it is still a bargain. There are plenty of other ways to view the Canyon's glory, ie helicopter, jeep and bus rides (the latter is free) but you can easily do it in your own car.
Before we arrived at the entry of the Canyon, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a two year old restaurant (Kick's on 66) outside Williams, a very quaint town on Route 66. William's City Fathers have done a remarkable job of restoring the town's attraction as a tourist venue.
Route 66 was actually de-popularized when Eisenhower's Interstate Highway was finished. Some of the towns, through which major truck commerce and vacation travel traversed, literally were forced to shutter.
I remember Sweat's Barbecue in Soperton, Ga. went out of business when U.S. 16, was completed and I am sure many, many such businesses were equally impacted. Progress comes at a cost.
As we exited this region we drove through Navajo Nation territory and along the road were shacks populated by Native Navajo Americans selling their wares.
On the way to Santa Fe we spent the evening in Gallup. Before reaching it we stopped in Cameron to visit a Native American antique gallery. We arrived late and the gallery was closed but the tourist store and restaurant were open. One of the clerks asked the manager for the key and we had a private showing. The items were magnificent, very pricey and it caused us to think that either they were gouging , our own items were woefully under insured or a combination. We committed to have our assorted Native American artifacts re-appraised and I am in the process of doing so.
Also, as we gained altitude (now around 5000 plus feet), my breathing problem, compounded by a sinus congestion and a mild infection, began to increase .)
As we passed Albuquerque we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was across the street from another Native American Casino. We had a typical Mexican lunch and then proceeded to Santa Fe - one of our most special cities. We checked in to our favorite Hotel- The Inn on The Alameda -and proceeded to our room because we had dinner plans with Mike and Eleanor Peters that evening at our favorite restaurant - Geronimo.. Mike is the current president of St John's College, on whose board I served for eight years, so we had come to know and love this unique city. Alas, my breathing was such that I felt it best to regretfully cancel.
That evening my situation turned worse and Lynn began to get nervous and she insisted I go to the local emergency room. On Father;s Day I relented and the service I received from the entire staff of Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center was fantastic. (My kids are hearing about this for the first time so please understand I did not wish to bother you because there was nothing you could do and frankly, you know, after 50 years of smiling and dialing, I hate the phone. Yes, this is an impersonal way to apprise you but you know me by now.)
After the various procedures were performed, the attending emergency doctor, William Kinlaw, who grew up in Atlanta, attended Lovett and whose father lives in Edisto Beach, concluded I was having a reaction to the altitude. He also noted that I had some calcification due to ageing and urged I get my blood pressure taken when I got home and go for an echo cardio test. (As we proceeded to lower elevations I felt better so we moved forward with our plans and upon arriving in Savannah I visited my internist Thursday, who I had spoken with after I returned from the emergency room. He has scheduled the test Kinlaw suggested.) My veins are clear and I plan to stay around long enough to continue driving my liberal friends crazy.
Parenthetically, I also learned my dear friend, Kaye Kole, had a medical procedure and my friend, Tom Barton, editor of the editorial page of our local paper who publishes my LTE's, had a mild stroke after visiting Taiwan. Both are on their way to a complete recovery so I attribute my problem as being one of sympathy.
When I told Don, Kaye's husband, he told me it would be 2024 before any prospect of a conservative president. Though Don is on the opposite side of the political fence we are able to engage in banter and still love and respect each other.
We rescheduled and had dinner with the Peter's the next evening and Mike was able to get a reservation at Geronimo, albeit a bit earlier. After dinner we went back to The Inn and had an after dinner drink and chatted about our two foundations and how we would move forward. Pete has been a superb president and in December will retire and is being followed by FDR's great, great grandson who is presently president of another liberal University in Ohio.
It was now Tuesday, June 23 and we were off to Oklahoma City. Along the way we made several stops starting with a detour to Rte 66 to explore The Blue Hole (picture to follow) outside Santa Rosa. That evening we stopped at Amarillo. Lynn went to a Texas Roadhouse for dinner and brought me back a delicious filet and sweet potato. (I weighed around 208 when I left and had ballooned to 212 and was determined to start a loss weight eating program . One of the problems of being on the road is no exercise and eating good food that is bad for you. Lynn is more disciplined and did exercise at many of the motels along the way while I remained sedentary, By the time I returned to Savannah and stood on my internist's scales, I weighed 202 clothed and I intend to reach 190 by the time we go to Tybee next week.. I plan to be bathing suit svelte!)
The next morning we did a little back tracking so Lynn could see the buried Cadillacs (see above.).
As we entered Oklahoma the scenery became green and lush and we exited at Sayre, Oklahoma to visit an art gallery and antique store advertised on the route. I discovered a local artist/rancher named Leddy and bought one of his lithographs and he graciously agreed to throw in his book pertaining to his work. (Like James Bama, Leddy has a goal of capturing, through his art, the local ranches for historical purposes.) Next door I found a Deere Tractor for our grandson, Blake. Blake's father is a car man and is rebuilding a Ford Mustang and we have begun to collect antique miniature cars and various motorized vehicles for Blake. While in Fort Worth, Lynn found some metal plaques featuring Superman, Batman and Robbin to grace his walls. (In a following memo I am posting a picture of Blake taken for the 4th of July.)
From Sayre we went to Clinton (it took some doing for me) and lunched at Gayla's Restaurant on Rte 66. The restaurant was ready to close but she was willing to accommodate us. Gayla was working with a lady who travels in the area selling various items from a catalog. Gayla is expanding her restaurant and was purchasing various chairs, tables etc. She is currently open for breakfast and lunch and said she was making do but being able to accommodate more and serve dinner should pay off. It was a scene right out of Norman Rockwell!
We arrived in Oklahoma City but before doing so came upon one of the worst accidents, a truck and car collision, we had experienced during our entire drive. It happened east of a small town in Oklahoma and their entire police, rescue and fire force were at the scene. I can only pray there were no deaths because the front of the car had been totally smashed and was shoved beyond the front seats.
Our hotel was new and located in a great area for exploring this magnificent city. Oklahoma City benefits from being the home of Devon and Chesapeake Energy . Obviously the energy decline is having an impact but the city has a lot of momentum. An entire section, called Brick Town, is being redeveloped and the developers built a canal, similar, but not as extensive, as the one in San Antonio.
The city has plenty of parks, beautiful buildings, wide streets. sports facilities located downtown along with many hotels, some historic, and plenty of restaurants. The town also celebrates the fact that Mickey Mantel and another great catcher, whose name I cannot remember, were local boys.
We were mightily impressed with Oklahoma City and had dinner at Mickey Mantle's Steak House sited on Mickey Mantle Ave. was delicious, service excellent, bill high!
The next morning we drove out to the renown Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. In addition to their fabulous collection of Western Art and sculpture the museum was featuring works of artists selected in 2015 as the best painters of Western Art. Five large rooms were devoted to this magnificent show. To do justice to this museum would take every bit of two hours. Their collection of Remington's, Russell's and all the greats is beyond comprehension. Their mission, which they have assuredly succeeded in meeting, is to be the best museum in the world possessing and displaying art and artifacts of The West. More extensive rooms were devoted to Hollywood Movies depicting the West, an entire section was devoted to the influence of Rodeos, another entire room displayed art and artifacts pertaining to the military history of the West and an entire section of walls displaying plaques of the founders, current and past members of the Museum.. Another room displayed selected art of previous annual winners.
For lovers of Western Art, there is none finer.
From there we had lunch at the historic Stockyard Restaurant which is within a few blocks of the famous Oklahoma City Stockyards which we drove through after lunch. The Yard was empty because auctions take place on Monday. On our way back to downtown we stopped at two art gallery's One featured artists we love, Sharp, Farny. Johnson etc and the prices were beyond our checkbook.
That evening we had lunch at a Cajun type Restaurant overlooking the canal. The etouffee was good but not equal to New Orlean's or Al-T's in Winnie.
The next morning we went to the Oklahoma City Museum, toured their permanent collection on display and then saw their featured Faberge Show.. The Museum covers a half a block, has some lovely art and features massive glass objects by Dale Chihuly. One notable feature of the Museum is their dining room which is elegant and features white table clothed dining.
I have to say Oklahoma City was a big surprise. The drawback, and this is true of so many cities, not only in the West but throughout our nation that have many highways that intersect make driving difficult as well as dangerous. More on some road pro and cons later.
The last museum city on our scheduled coast to coast tour was Tulsa. Tulsa is a short drive from Oklahoma City so we arrived in time to have lunch at The Philbrook before they closed and then see the museum. Philbrook was established by the founder of Phillips Oil (The many Phillips Filling Stations on Rte 66 is where their moniker, Phillips 66, came from.).
Philbrook is located a few miles from downtown on the Phillips estate and connecting buildings have been beautifully designed and integrated. The home is also surrounded by gorgeous sculptured gardens. The Phillips has an enormous O;Keefe gracing the wall of their restaurant and from there you can enter the home and its extended rooms and view , again, some great art and artifacts. To the left of the main entry was a current show of beautiful art and sculptures by foreign masters.
The Phillips is absolutely elegant and is located in some of the most beautiful residential areas of our entire trip. The homes are older, the grounds manicured and wealth just exudes! We probably drove around for well over several hours and with each block came homes and estates more magnificent than the last.
We checked in our motel, another new one, in a redeveloped area which featured an evening concert (Guthrie Park.) We were told you would not have dared walk there only ten years ago and now there are parks, converted lovely buildings to condos, restaurants and all kind of art galleries etc. The Phillips has an extended gallery in the area which we explored next to a contemporary gallery and a building featuring the Arlo Guthrie story.
That evening we had dinner at another steak restaurant adjoining our hotel and again, the food was delicious, service excellent and bill on the high side.
The next morning we toured the Phillip's extension which featured massive painting by some of the contemporary masters, ie Diebenkorn, Stella, Rothko, Gottlieb, Motherwell etc.
The remaining part of our trip was devoted to arriving in Birmingham in time to visit my parent's graves and then have dinner with as many friends as could join us.
I began the first part of our coast to coast writing about my father's partner, Chervis Isom and his wife Martha. Though I had invited Frank and Bethany James, another one of my father's partner, Mike and Carolyn Edwards, my father;s former partner and an old friend , Sol Kimmerling, they were unable to join us, so we had a relaxed dinner with the Isom's.
As we left Tulsa we stayed that evening in a hotel south of Memphis and the next morning we motored to Birmingham via U.S 20, which turned out to be one of the loveliest drives of all. It took us through Arkansas( Little Rock) , the Ozarks and north Alabama.
I promised I would not politicize my trip recap but I do have to note that when I was feeling the lousiest in Santa Fe many tragic things were happening, The Supreme Court Decision on Obama Care , the insane murders in South Carolina and I wrote an LTE which was published in the local paper about the Church violence.
If this trip did anything for me it allowed me to experience our nation's physical beauty. Furthermore it reminded me, once again, that America is a political barbell and the bar is inhabited by real people who, in my opinion, reflect the very best of what America and Americans are about. The bar bells reflect what we have come to be and must move away from or we will not survive because urban living has radically altered our nation and does not reflect the best of our values.
This afternoon I had the distinct pleasure of taking my most respected Marine Corps friend to lunch. He has some health issues and will be leaving the Landings with his charming wife and moving closer to their son and daughter in law and I am going to miss them. My friend thinks as I do and through our relationship I came to know someone who is the personification of what an American hero means and someone of whom I have the deepest respect and affection. That it was the Fourth of July made it even more special seeing him in his red, white and blue shirt with the flag and Marine Corps pin attached.
I also thought of my wife's father who fought in WW 2, came home be-medalled and never talked about his experience until we bought him the book "The Greatest Generation." Our son had the distinct pleasure of taking his grandfather to his unit's 50th celebration.
I promised a few likes and dislikes:
Likes:
Travel by car provides flexibility
Holiday Inn Expresses and various Marriott connected motels are reasonable, clean, have good mattresses and large towels generally provide breakfast, and are our choice.
If you want to avoid the fast food type restaurants The Trip Advisor App provides reliable dependable choices
Don't commit yourself to pre-arranged motels because it diminishes your flexibility. Wing it. You will generally find a nice place to stay.
Windex now makes a pack of wet towels which are useful in cleaning your windows when gas stations are unavailable.
Stay within the speed limits.
Various navigation devises or programs make travel a pleasure.
Dis-likes:
Signage can be confusing and thus dangerous. It is as if those who design and place signage never drove a car.
As I noted above, larger cities that have many highway intersects are truly hazardous and many of the older highways have very short entry , and therefore, makes for dangerous access.
Truck companies have political clout and thus aggressive truckers can be dangerous as they take advantage of laws that favor them.
HAPPY 4TH!
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