Total travel time: about 8 hours
Yes Clint, OKC Does Have Starbucks
If you remember the earlier blog post on the trip home, Clint and I could not find a Starbucks in downtown Oklahoma City. Apparently one must phrase the question very specifically to Oklahomans (sorry Mom), because it turns out there is a Starbucks in Bricktown, about a 3 minute walk from the hotel. Mike and I stopped here to warm up and reflect on the Oklahoma City National Memorial before checking out of the hotel and heading to St. Louis.
Meet Bob
At some point along the way Mike suggested that we get an object to photograph on our trip. I, of course, immediately suggested that we get something tacky and that we’ll know it when we see it. At some point later, I suggested a bobble head doll. It was The Perfect Idea. Little did we know it would take stopping at a McDonalds stretched over the highway somewhere north of Oklahoma City to find one.
But find one we did. Meet Bob The Gassy Old Fart bobble head doll. You’ll be seeing quite a bit of him from now on. Though neither one of us verbalized it, I think we both had high hopes that Bob would sit on the dashboard (like in the photo above) for the entire trip. Unfortunately his noggin kept banging against the windshield irritating us both, so he spent most of the trip in a cup holder or map pocket. Poor guy.
Getting Our Kicks Somewhere Near Route 66
The tourist book in the OKC hotel room boasted that Oklahoma has the longest drivable stretch of the original Route 66. I tried to figure out a Route for us to follow, but couldn’t, so we traveled up I-44 towards Missouri listening to music, chatting, and enjoying some very pretty countryside.
Besides the gigantic, arch-shaped McDonalds over the highway, there really wasn’t much to see. Except Tulsa. Tulsa was neat. But I have to say that because that’s where my mom is from.
The Midwest Closes at 9 p.m. on Sundays
We rolled in to St. Louis at about 8 p.m. I think we would’ve been earlier, but the enormous, 10-lane highway coming in to the city had been reduced from 5 travel lanes on each side to 2 travel lanes on each side for no apparent reason. I think Mike took it personally as he expressed his outrage several times. I think he was just tired of driving. (But it really didn’t make any sense at all.)
After checking in to the hotel (more on the hotel in a minute), we wrestled with where to eat. As it turns out, eating out on a Sunday in St. Louis at 8:30 is not going to happen. At all. Forget it. Don’t bother. Everything closes at 9. Fortunately room service was still open.
The Heavenly Westin
The last time I stayed in a Westin was in 2000. It was the weekend of my U.S. Navy aircraft carrier trip and I don’t remember the Westin brand being so nice. (The carrier trip is an amazing story in and of itself…I may have to write about it.) Anyhow, the St. Louis Westin is a recently renovated old warehouse on the edge of downtown St. Louis next to the new ballpark. It is very contemporary and our room was VERY nice. Mike went bonkers with the camera. (Yep, that is a tub and a shower in our bathroom.)
So, I’m pretty much sold on the Westin. Check one out sometime.