Day 2: Oklahoma City, OK to Wentzville, MO
Tuesday Oct. 21, 2008
In the morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel, and Megan enjoyed the waffles. She also liked standing on the HVAC unit and checking out the fountain in the lobby. We got back on the road around 9:30 AM and headed to the State Capitol Building. As we pulled up into the visitor parking lot, we wondered what the weird metal structure in front of the Capitol was for, other than getting in the way of a nice photo of the building. It turns out it is there to commemorate the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Fields. Then as we turned and looked around we noticed that there were quite a few oil derricks in view of the Capitol building. That and the really low gas prices reinforced the abundance of petroleum resources of Oklahoma.
As we drove east from Oklahoma City, we had our first glimpse of leaves changing color, thought it was still mostly green/brown everywhere. We had lunch near Tulsa at a Burger King, and Megan enjoyed playing with her new frog keychain that sticks out it’s tongue when you squeeze it. Since gas was so cheap we topped off with 2.25 gallons before we left the state.
We crossed the Oklahoma/Missouri State line around 2:30 PM, and then promptly stopped at the Visitor Information Center. This one had a fairly new Playground, and Megan played there over an hour. Moving rocks, climbing through tunnels, sliding down slides. She really enjoyed it.
The sun set as we turned north on MO-5 at Lebanon so that we could see the state capitol. Looking for dinner along a small state road in the middle of Missouri turned out to be an interesting experience. Often by the time we decided that a place for ok for eating, we’d missed the entrance to the parking lot. Not that there was a lot of choices, BBQ and Mexican food for the most part. After not successfully stopping in Camdenton, MO, we found ourselves in the Lake of the Ozarks, which is setup like the mountain tourist trap that it is. We managed by chance to end up eating at J. Bruner's, probably one of the most expensive restaurants in the area. Though it wasn’t much too look at from the outside, the food was excellent.
After dinner, we continued driving though the dark, (unfortunately not able to see the beauty of the Missouri Lakes/Mountains.) We reached the capitol, Jefferson City, around 9:30 PM, and Winston took his pictures in the dark. Somewhat surprising at the time was the replica of the Liberty Bell sitting in a pavilion near the building. Apparently a lot of 50 + Liberty Bell replicas were struck, and one was given to each state. They tend to be displayed in the State Capitol, or featured in the State Fair.
After Jeff City, we drove (seemingly downhill the entire way.) To Wentzville, MO, where we would spend a couple of nights with the Baughers. We did stop once more for gas (7.119 gal) near Kingdom City, and didn’t arrive until after 11:30 PM. (Thanks Tina for waiting up for us) having covered 523 miles. This would be one of the longest days on the road. Glad we got it over quickly.
See the Photos
As we drove east from Oklahoma City, we had our first glimpse of leaves changing color, thought it was still mostly green/brown everywhere. We had lunch near Tulsa at a Burger King, and Megan enjoyed playing with her new frog keychain that sticks out it’s tongue when you squeeze it. Since gas was so cheap we topped off with 2.25 gallons before we left the state.
We crossed the Oklahoma/Missouri State line around 2:30 PM, and then promptly stopped at the Visitor Information Center. This one had a fairly new Playground, and Megan played there over an hour. Moving rocks, climbing through tunnels, sliding down slides. She really enjoyed it.
The sun set as we turned north on MO-5 at Lebanon so that we could see the state capitol. Looking for dinner along a small state road in the middle of Missouri turned out to be an interesting experience. Often by the time we decided that a place for ok for eating, we’d missed the entrance to the parking lot. Not that there was a lot of choices, BBQ and Mexican food for the most part. After not successfully stopping in Camdenton, MO, we found ourselves in the Lake of the Ozarks, which is setup like the mountain tourist trap that it is. We managed by chance to end up eating at J. Bruner's, probably one of the most expensive restaurants in the area. Though it wasn’t much too look at from the outside, the food was excellent.
After dinner, we continued driving though the dark, (unfortunately not able to see the beauty of the Missouri Lakes/Mountains.) We reached the capitol, Jefferson City, around 9:30 PM, and Winston took his pictures in the dark. Somewhat surprising at the time was the replica of the Liberty Bell sitting in a pavilion near the building. Apparently a lot of 50 + Liberty Bell replicas were struck, and one was given to each state. They tend to be displayed in the State Capitol, or featured in the State Fair.
After Jeff City, we drove (seemingly downhill the entire way.) To Wentzville, MO, where we would spend a couple of nights with the Baughers. We did stop once more for gas (7.119 gal) near Kingdom City, and didn’t arrive until after 11:30 PM. (Thanks Tina for waiting up for us) having covered 523 miles. This would be one of the longest days on the road. Glad we got it over quickly.
See the Photos