Stillwater to Midland to Stillwater

Debbie and I went to Midland, TX on Tuesday morning to move Megan back to Stillwater.  We left about 7 a.m. and arrived in Midland about 3.  We had Megan's stuff loaded into the U-Haul and the Neon onto the car-hauler by 4 p.m. We ate dinner and was on the road back to Stillwater by about 6.  Stopped for the nite in Abilene.  Back on the road to Stillwater this morning.  Back in Stillwater by 1 p.m on Wednesday.  Megan is back home in time for turkey day.

On the way to Midland, we saw several cotton fields.  Some of the cotton had been harvested and some was being harvested.  First time we ever saw huge cotton bales.  It is amazing how much cotton is not harvested and ends up either on the side of the highway or left in the fields. 

Huge field of unharvested cotton.  We saw dunno how many acres of fields like this.  Some stretched over the horizon.

Field of harvested cotton.  You can see some of the cotton still on the plants and on the ground.

That ain't snow. That is cotton from the field beyond the green stuff.  I think the green is winter wheat.

We saw dozens of these huge cotton bales.  These must be about 25 feet long, 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide.  We saw round bales, also.  Lots of them.

Not a very good photo, but this is part of a huge lot filled with the giant bales of cotton just outside of Roby, Texas.

We stopped in Stamford, Texas for a restroom break.  This lone cotton plant was growing next to the driveway into the convenience store.

This is one of the trucks that hauls those huge bales of cotton down the highway.  The little flecks of white stuff in the photo are pieces of cotton flying out of the truck as it went down the road.

There are hundreds of giant windmills near Sweetwater, Texas.  Miles of them.  Debbie was fascinated.  They are pretty cool.

Windmills.  As far as you can see.  Next to the highway.  Way, way over there.

Charlestons and Walmartians

Had a great dinner with Debbie last nite at Charlestons.  Debbie had the prime rib.  I had the short smoked salmon and the Moss Point gumbo.  Very good food with an even better dinner date. 

We went to the Stillwater Wal Mart.  The new one west of town.  I now know where to go to take photos of Walmartians.  You know, the oddly and sometimes inappropriately dressed people at Wal Mart.  First Walmartian was a young woman dressed in knee-high Ug boots, tights, jacket and one of those hunting hats with the fur flaps.  Sorta Elmer Fudd-ish, "shhhh, I hunting wabbits", if you know what I mean.  The boots did not fit well and she was so flat footed that she was walking on the sides of the boots as much as the soles.  The second was another young woman pushing a cart around while talking loudly on the phone about drug money.  She was wearing a short coat that allowed her bare midsection to show.  The first time we saw her she was walking toward us.  The second time we saw her, we were walking along one of the end aisles and the woman walked out of an aisle in front of us.  She was going away from us and was showing alot of butt cleavage.  Debbie said something about the woman having some sort of mushroom thing going.  Apparently that is a new term (for me anyway) about chubby women wearing pants too tight that their love handles, or butt, spill out over the waist band of their pants.  Not an attractive look at all.  The third Walmartian was a young man wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and day-glo green pajama bottoms with slippers.  Gonna have to take the camera into Wal Mart now. 

A nice high after the great dinner and a steep dive back-to-earth at Wal Mart.  What a country, eh?

Home again.

Another fun day although there was some driving involved getting back home to Stillwater.  Debbie and I got up this morning and had breakfast at IHOP.  We planned to eat breakfast at the motel, but we were a few minutes late for the freebie.  Debbie picked up some brochures about an antique store in a small town, Grain Valley, a few minutes east of the motel, so we went over there after eating.  Neat place with some good stuff.  Debbie has wanted one of those kitchen tables with the chrome legs and trim.  They had a really nice set of table and chairs.  Yellow.  Just what she wanted.  What we didn't have was a way to haul it home.  Bummer.  After milling around there for about an hour, we decided to head to Wichita and visit a couple of antique shops there.  Three hours later, we were in the Flying Moose antique store.  Debbie found a neat quilt to use for bear material.  Found another metal Coca Cola sign for $45.  I should have bought the one I saw in KC.  We didn't take the camera inside or would have taken a photo of a giant moose head wearing goggles, flying cap and a scarf.  Cracked me up.  After that, we went to the Paramount Antique Mall.  Huge place.  We got there at 4:30 and they closed at 6.  Did not make it through the entire place.  Debbie found an oval shaped picture frame.  We saw two very cool Coca Cola coolers, the kind they used to have at gas stations with the lift up lids.  One appeared to be either fairly new or refurbished.  The other was obviously older, but the tag said it still worked.  About $300 for the refurbished one and about $450 for the other.  Huge neon Coca Cola sign for about $950 that was lit up pretty nicely. 

Here are the two necklaces that Debbie bought yesterday.

This is not a Whiting Davis necklace, but is similar.

Not sure why this posted sideways.  Anyway, this is a Whiting Davis necklace. 

A few blogs ago, I posted that a trucking company was sending a free hat.  The company is Opies Trucking.  When we got home today, there was a box from Opies on the recliner.  Opened up the box to find THREE hats.  Awesome!!

We had a great weekend.  Good to be home, too.  Hope everyone else had a great weekend.

Fun Saturday.

Started Saturday morning having breakfast at the motel. 

View out of the motel window.  Where is that sunshine the weather guys promised?  That's Rib Crib in the background where we ate last nite.

We went to River Market Antique Mall in downtown KC.  Four story building, plus a basement, full of just about everything and anything you can imagine.  Well, the fourth floor was closed, so only three floors and a basement.  But it took us three hours to mill through it all.  Lots of cool stuff. 

$40 metal Coca Cola sign.  Whattaya think, John?

Strange cabinet.  The doors were carved in China about 200 years ago.  A Frenchman shipped the doors from China to France and had them put on the cabinet.  Somehow, the cabinet ended up in Arkansas and is now in KC.  Except for the doors, the cabinet was plain Jane. They wanted about $2500 for the cabinet.  No takers, here.

Debbie found some Maxine glasses.  Um, mebbe not yer style, dear.

Wooden walking horse.  A kid sits on it and rocks it back and forth so it walks.  Kinda cool.

A bouncy horse.  The huge spring has nothing to do with the bouncy part.  The spring is attached to a rubber band.  Cracked me up.

Megan, here is an ugly chair for ya.  LOL.  They wanted about $150 for this.  wow.

After a three hour tour of this great antique store, we had lunch at Jack Stack BBQ near the old Union Station.  Mushrooms for appetizer.  Debbie had ham and chicken with green beans and iced tea.  I had the burnt ends with fries and a Boulevard Bulldog Porter.  Tasty and filling.  Refueled for more antique stores!

We found another store where Debbie bought a necklace and a picture frame.  She picked up a brochure about antique stores in the KC metro area.  A place called the Brass Armadillo sounded interesting.  Over 500 vendors.  Short drive and we found a huge building full of stuff.  Good thing we went because Debbie found a very nice Whiting Davis necklace for $8.  She searched online after we ate dinner and found it on a website on sale for about $50.  Daggone good deal!!

$300.  Whattaya think, John?  Look good in the kitchen with the Coke sign, don't ya think?  hee hee.

Great dinner at Hereford House steakhouse.  They had a four course dinner for two, so we tried that.  Stuffed mushrooms for appetizer.  Steak soup, which was really tasty.  Tender Kansas City strip for each of us.  Deb ordered seasonal veggies but got a baked potato instead.  I got the seasonal veggies. Finished off the meal with an awesome carrot cake for two.  Went back to the motel and watched part of the OSU-Texas game before ABC switched coverage to the USC-Arizona game.  Glad the Pokes won in Austin.  Great day all around!

Reluctant to head back to Stillwater tomorrow.  Don't want the fun to end. 



Kansas City, MO

Actually, we are in Independence, Missouri.  Debbie and I came up here several years ago for our anniversary and spent a couple of days milling around.  During that trip, we visited a four story antique store.  Debbie has wanted to return for another visit, so here we are.  Staying in the same motel.  Planning to eat at a great steakhouse tomorrow nite, the Hereford House, which is a few blocks from the motel. 

We finally got out of Stillwater around 10:30 or so.  Debbie renewed her drivers license before we left town.  It rained the entire trip. 

We stopped for lunch in Wichita at a place called Fat Ernie's Family Dining.  Next door to the Fat Ernie's Bar and Grill.  Take the wife and kids.  Or not.  Discovered this place through the hi-tech world of our Garmin GPS.  Pretty good food.  Crowded place which means the food must be good every day.  Debbie saw a fat guy in the kitchen and wondered if we could get our photo with him if he was Fat Ernie.  Never got past the wondering.

We stopped in Ottawa, Kansas and visited a few antique stores.  Didn't really find anything worthwhile, but it is fun to mill around and say, "Hey, Granny used to have that!"  We saw some sort of strange contraption near the entrance to one store.  The owner had no idea what it was.  He said, "If you know what it is, I'll sell it to you for $45."  LOL.  We didn't know what it was and he still owns it.  hee hee.  One place that we stopped was the old Coca Cola bottling plant.  Should have taken a photo of it.  Sorry, John.

We traveled all the way to KC, the world center for BBQ.  And we ate dinner at Rib Crib cuz it is next door to the motel.  Boy, are we lazy.  Hoping to find time to eat at Jack Stack BBQ near downtown KC.  We ate there a few years ago and it was really good.

Guess it's time for bed.  Debbie is already in her jammies and snuggling under the covers.  hee hee.  Not even ten o'clock. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend.  Ours is going pretty well so far!

Fall Scenery

I had to make a trip to Wilburton on Wednesday.  The scenery was pretty cool.  Most of the trees leaves had changed colors.  The early day sun was shining through the partly cloudy skies and made the colors really pop.  I had to be in Wilburton at a certain time so did not have time to stop and take photos.  These photos were taken at midday and do not do the colors justice at all.  Take a drive toward McAlester and go east from there toward Arkansas.  It's worth the gas.  

Sunday Fun

Tara, John, Evie, Maggie, Oliver, Eleanor, Debbie, Kelsey, Jeremy and me... hanging out and having fun.  Evie and Maggie were up way before little kids should be on Sunday morning.  Might have something to do with setting the clocks back an hour.  Dunno.  Seemed like they were in the other room jabbering before daybreak.  I tried staying in bed as long as I could, but both of them kept opening the bedroom door and poking me on the hand.  I let them come in a few times and then hid behind the door.  Scared the crap out of both of them.  hee hee.  Debbie made Mickey Mouse pancakes.  Eleanor had a waffle iron that made heart shaped waffles.  Now, who travels with a waffle iron?  Well, ok.  Eleanor.  That's what you call "prepared".  LOL.  Tara, John and the kids have been doing something called "letterboxing".  Going around and finding hidden boxes containing ink stamps made by other people.  They use the ink stamp in the box to make an impression in their notebook and leave an impression of their own ink stamp in the notebook in the box.  Cool concept.  We went with them when they searched for one between Stillwater and Yale.  Found the box but the contents were missing.  Bummer.  Fun day.

Oliver likes to wrassle.

Maggie apparently has the same "high crack" genes as her Aunt Megan.

Oliver likes powdered donuts.  The powder on his fingers?  Not so much.  He kept getting upset about messy fingers.  LOL

hee hee hee.

At the historical marker near Hiways 51 and 18 east of Stillwater near Yale.

Looking for the letterbox and contents along the fence behind the tire.

Found the box and lid.  Nothing in the box.

Oliver checking the mirrors. 

Had a great Sunday.  Hope everyone else did, too.