WHY OKLAHOMA CITY? — Sharon Mark Cohen

When our children were younger, they would say that we know someone wherever we go and have to visit people whenever we travel. At this stage in our lives, I’m itching to see the states we have yet to enter, even if we know no one living there.

When I wrote to some friends that we will be traveling to Oklahoma City for a few days, my friend Kevin asked, “Why O?” My three-point response sums it up:

1) One of the six states we have not been to, so why not? The others are Alaska, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. Also, for Arnee (my husband), Kansas. He doesn’t care, but I do.

2) Surprising Arnee with reservations at Mickey Mantle restaurant next Sunday night in O, where they conveniently have a vegetarian menu.

3) Judd and Dena (my son and his wife) were in O on their wild, wild west trip a few years ago, and Dena said she was shocked at how much she liked OKC.

Now that we’ve been there, here are more reasons to visit OKC, the capital city of the Sooner State.

1) Myriad Botanical Gardens & Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, with a zoo animal art exhibit (check the yearly schedule for astounding zoo art) https://oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/learn-discover/art-in-the-gardens/

2) Gentrified Bricktown with trolleys, shops, and restaurants. There is an enchanting canal water taxi ride there that takes you past the Oklahoma Land Run Monument: https://www.visitokc.com/listings/oklahoma-land-run-monument/467/ where you see 45 of the 46 jaw-dropping bronze statutes under construction in honor of Oklahoma being the 46th state.

3) National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

4) Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum

5) Inexpensive hotels, low cost of living

6) Friendly locals, light traffic, and so much more

We were disappointed to miss OKCMOA-Oklahoma City Museum of Art - closed Mondays and Tuesdays (we flew in Sunday evening and flew out on Tuesday). OKCMOA boasts one of the largest public collections of Dale Chihuly glass sculpture in the world, and their special exhibit at the time was, “VAN GOGH, MONET, DEGAS: THE MELLON COLLECTION OF FRENCH ART FROM THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS.”

An inquisitive sales clerk at the lovely Painted Door gift boutique asked where we were from and why we were in OKC. She concluded, “When anyone says that they are trying to see all 50 states, Oklahoma is always one of the last 10, but that’s okay.”

I wonder what will be the last state for us to see? We are hoping to head to North and South Dakota on one trip, Nebraska and Iowa on another, and Alaska as a family bash. We have cousins who maintained homes in Juneau and Haines, Alaska, for close to 40 years. A few years ago, they retired back to the states, but they still have a home in Alaska. While their main home is now in Port Townsend, Washington, they offered to give us a tour of Alaska at any time, and we hope to be able to take them up on it.

We’ll probably travel to Kansas last, and that will be just for my husband and me to equal the playing fields. Being age 16 at the time, I was on a driver’s permit and drove my brother Al’s two-door, five-seated, non-air-conditioned, stick shift, navy blue 1966 Pontiac GTO, straight into a cornfield.

The next time I’m in Kansas, we could even rent a manual transmission, with my husband driving, not me, no thanks. He was driving his father’s three on the column stick shift on our first date in 1969.

My friend Kevin will probably ask, “Why Kansas.”

P.S. As of this writing, my website and blog posts have been in 40 of the 50 states. I wonder who will be the first to reach all 50 states, my website, or me?

1962 Thank You note from Mickey Mantle, addressed to my husband…note, it was before zip codes

Souvenir from my husband’s brother when he saw Mickey Mantle in person (and his then wife shot a photo of them together) 1982

Arnee batting with The Mick, OKC September 1, 2019

Buffalo Bill outside National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Oklahoma City, Oklahoma September 2, 2019

Oklahoma City National Memorial September 2, 2019

Perking lot in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 2019