Wofford Travels – 2019-10-20 – Norman, OK
Greetings,
Mission accomplished…we attended a family wedding and no hitches…well, there actually was a hitch…sorry about that. It was a great time to reconnect with relatives, socialize, and learn about that part of the country. Some fascinating discussion…about all the flooding that that area had experienced. As we drove over, we saw a lot of wetlands and thought it peculiar to see wetlands in the Midwest. Although there had always been some, it was particularly evident because of all the rain, with some families even having to abandon their houses. Apparently, it was not unlike those in the east having to deal with the residual of strong hurricanes. A lot of farmland was lost!
We were informed the day before that my daughter-in-law’s family was wondering if we would have a problem carrying a child’s rocking chair with us and taking it to North Carolina as it would cost a couple hundred dollars to ship, as well as transport on a fight. The cool thing about the rocker is that it is not just a plain ol’ rocker, but a family heirloom. It will be for our granddaughter (who I understand has been dying for one). The rocker actually belonged to her mom when she was a child. I suggested that she give it to her for Christmas…and that helped solve the question as to what would be something special to give her.
We left West Point, at 11:00 after a nice stay at the Horizon Inn & Suites. We made a rest stop around 1:30 in Hebron, which is just above the Kansas City border. The winds were brisk…we figured anywhere from 15-20 mph. So, we got a little extra workout. At 3:30 we stopped for gas…now at $2.22 a gallon.
It was 5:00 when we arrived in Wichita, Kansas and we were expecting to find an eatery somewhere along Interstate 135. But, we drove and drove and it seemed that we were in mostly industrial areas. Finally, as we continued further south along the Interstate, we came upon a cluster of restaurants and settled on Carlos O’Kelley (since 1981 and tagged as inspired Mex.) The food and signature sauces are all made from scratch in their kitchens and they oven-bake their recipes to 375 degrees. Yes, out fajita plate was bubbling hot! It claims that it makes real salsa from scratch every day. I learned that there are about 18 locations: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Virginia. No wonder I never heard of it. I enjoyed eating there because, as one who tries to eat low carb, their fajita had neither rice nor beans…just protein and vegetables, and of course, the taco, if you want it. By the way, the family name is Rolph, first and second generation.
We finished at 6:30 and headed for our last stretch to Norman Oklahoma. About 8:00 it started to rain, slowly at first and eventually a downpour. Fortunately, it was short, because we were driving at night. It stopped 30 minutes later, although my weather app said it would last 2-3 hours. Sometimes, you love it when our technology is wrong!
At 9:00 we arrived at Super 8. We would finish the fajita that we couldn’t get down at dinner – the hotel has a microwave and refrigerator, so we were in good shape. I took the time, after eating, to finish my blog article as we got delayed leaving West Point due to the rocker transfer and then getting into a “travel” discussion with our hotel neighbor…as they had done some extensive traveling in Europe, and recently took a British Isle Cruise.
Tomorrow we land in Austin, Texas…a highlight of our trip as we plan to check out the music scene…and at least we can settle in for four nights. Whew! ODO 19,645 (1,895 miles).
Tita