Total travel time: about 8 hours
The Trip Home Begins
I will admit, after spending three days in the car hauling-butt across the country, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it again. I actually checked into selling my car in Albuquerque, buying a plane ticket home, and then buying a new car upon arriving back in D.C. That, however, did not pan out.
Accompanying me on the return trip was one of my oldest and best friends Mike. Since he had the fancy camera, he was the de-facto “official photographer” of the drive home and somehow managed to make sure he wasn’t in any photos.
We spent the first few hours talking and catching up. We’re both absolutely terrible at keeping in contact with each other, so we had plenty to talk about, until…
The Largest Free-Standing Cross in the Western Hemisphere
We drove up on this atrocity somewhere shortly after crossing into Texas. The sign claims that this vinyl-sided cross is the largest, free-standing cross in the western hemisphere. My friend Mark had told me about this thing before leaving D.C. to drive home, but I had forgotten about it. We didn’t stop, but I did manage to snap a photo. According to Mark, there is a power outlet at the base of the cross. I can’t imagine what use it would serve.
Some Random Leaning Water Tower
Shortly after passing the cross, we drove past a very random, leaning water tower. I’m not sure why it’s leaning or if it even holds any water, but it was a roadside amusement, so I took a picture. You can also see Mike’s profile in the shot.
Bricktown, OKC
We arrive in Okla. City at about 8 p.m. hungry and ready to be off the road. The trip was uneventful. Mike (a brilliant road-tripper) asked the woman at the front desk of our hotel for a list of local restaurants. We ended up wandering a few blocks to an area of downtown OKC called Bricktown. It’s a very cool place with lots of local restaurants. We found a fun, italian restaurant where we inhaled an enormous meal, then we went back to the hotel to crash. We plan to visit the Oklahoma City Memorial in the morning before taking off.