love day and going home

On valentine's day we were leaving the hotel. We decided to go downstairs to have breakfast at the hotel, but when we did we were told we couldn't because of their special Valentine's day brunch and that we were to order room service.

So we did... and then proceeded to wait three hours for them to deliver our very expensive breakfast.

While we waited we watched a movie on HBO called Temple Grandin. It was beautiful and so inspiring. Highly recommend it.

 

Once we checked out we headed to the Oklahoma City Museum of  Art

It was so windy and freazing so it was nice to do something indoors.We should have just eaten breakfast at the museum cafe.

 

  

The OKC MOA has one of the largest collections of Chihuly glass exhibition in the country. Starting with the huge floor to ceiling one at the entrance.

  

  

  

  

  

Isn't his stuff just beautiful!?

We saw some of this stuff at the Missouri Botanical Gardens when we were in St. Louis last Spring.

The other art was neat, but not as cool as the glass stuff. I think Tyler and I finally realized we are more sculpture type people than paintings.

  

  

  

They also had a special exhibit of Jason Peters with his anti-gravity sculptures that were in the dark with tubing, buckets, and lights. It was neat, but glass was still prettier :-)

Afterwards we were going to tour the capitol. but it was too darn cold and I wanted to come home. So we drove by and took a picture.

  

On our way home we stopped in Denton for some dinner to a little Italian restaurant that was a hole in the wall called Beghari's. Family owned and oh so good!

 

When we got home I had surprise flowers and happy puppies waiting for me.

I loved our little weekend getaway. It'd be nice to go back to OKC and do the memorial museum again, visit bricktown during the day and do the water taxi rides, and explore some other things. But we hit the highlights and OKC is definitely doable in a 4 day trip. 

Oklahoma City Memorial

We walked over to the memorial and I was immediately taken back by it. By far one of the most intriguing and worthwhile things we did in Oklahoma.

 

  

The Chain Link Fence

 The first Fence was installed to protect the site of the Murrah Building. Almost immediately, people began to leave tokens of love and hope on the Fence. Those items now total more than 60,000 and are collected and preserved in our archives. Today, more than 200 feet of the original Fence gives people the opportunity to leave tokens of remembrance and hope.

 

Entrance through Robinson Avenue into the 9:01 gate

 

 

The view of the memorial when we first walked in. I started the cell phone tour.

The Reflecting Pool

The pool occupies what was once N.W. Fifth Street. Here, a shallow depth of gently flowing water helps soothe wounds, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet thoughts. The placid surface shows the reflection of someone changed forever by their visit to the Memorial.

  

The Field of Empty Chairs

The 168 chairs represent the lives taken on April 19, 1995. They stand in nine rows to represent each floor of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor. Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children. The field is located on the footprint of the Murrah Building.

  

The 9:03 Gate

 

The 9:01 Gate

 

These monumental twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 a.m. – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing.

The Methodist Church across the street fromt the Murrah  building. The impact of the explosion itself shattered the round window with stained glass.

  

The explosion was also felt on the other side where a baptist church is and shattered their window also.

  

We then went to the Memorial Museum area and walked around there, then into the museum. No pictures are allowed in the museum.

In front of the museum is the Children's area.

In the aftermath of the blast, children from around the country and the world sent in their own expressions of encouragement and love. That care is represented today by a wall of tiles painted by children and sent to Oklahoma City in 1995. In addition, buckets of chalk and chalkboards built into the ground of the Children's Area give children a place where they can continue to share their feelings -- an important component of the healing process.

  

The Survivor Tree

The Survivor Tree, an American Elm, bore witness to the violence of April 19, 1995, and withstood the full force of the attack. Years later, it continues to stand as a living symbol of resilience. The circular promontory surrounding the tree offers a place for gathering and viewing the Memorial.

  

This message was written back in 95 during the rescue time on the wall of the Journal Record building.

It's so neat that it's still there.

  

  

We ran out of time in the museum because they were closing. We ran out of time right at the trial part, and I really wanted to see that part. We just lost track of time.

  

We then walked around a little bit more and waited until dusk to see the lights.

Each chair lights up and so do the gates. It's just beautiful at night.

 

 

I think this was our favorite stop in Oklahoma City and the attractions that are there. I would highly recommend a quick trip there to see it. I'd like to go back during late spring and see the tree full and the grass green.

Memorial Symbolism excerpt taken from here

downtown and botanical gardens

The same day we went to the temple we explored downtown.  It was a busy day, but so fun.

We stopped by the hotel to change really quick, and off we went.

 

Our first stop was the Myriad Botanical Gardens and Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory

  

  

It is smack dab in the middle of downtown and it's a pretty good size. We walked around outside for a little bit and enjoyed the cool weather.

  

Then we went to the tropical conservatory. It was darn hot in there, and we were super bundled up because it was in the high 30's outside.

  

  

  

It wasn't very big, and they had plants from the rain forest, Hawaii, and native desert plants. The neat thing was that you could feel the difference from one side to the other in the humidity.

  

We took a short break when we found some tables and AC. :-)

Then proceeded to play outside

  

They will be closing the Crystal Bridge where the tropical conservatory is this April for a 12 million dollars renovation until April 2011.

  

I think they charged too much for the 10 minutes you spend in the conservatory and the outside gardens would have been more fun if it wasn't February and everything wasn't dead. :-)

  

Once we were done there we walked over to the Oklahoma City Memorial.

  

A little bit of Brazil?

After the temple we went to Cafe do Brasil in Midtown

I found this place from the Design Sponge City Guide

I was excited to go since I crave Brazilian food from time to time. But I was not impressed at all. The selection of food was not what I expected, and didn't taste very authentic.

 

On our way back to the hotel I asked Tyler to stop by these two church buildings that I thought were so neat.

  

First Baptist Church

 

City Church

I find buildings just fascinating.

Oklahoma City Temple

On Saturday we woke up early so that we could drive over to the Oklahoma City LDS temple.

We got ready in our fancy bathroom that I miss dearly.

 This is part of our New Year goal to visit the temples around us.

Two down, Three to go.

The temple was very simple and tiny. Reminded us of the Louisville, KY temple, even though we didn't get to go into the KY one. The outside was very similar. 

We had a wonderful experience, and a much wanted answer to a prayer.