Oklahoma City and Route 66

I interrupt my daily craft/food post for a random road trip.  One of my favorite things to do is find a misc place I've been thinking about (there are a lot) and drive.  The problem is I keep a pretty busy schedule....I'm always trying to leave more room for being spontaneous, but then I have to literally schedule those days too....sooooo...this year we were off mostly AFTER Christmas, and I knew it was the perfect time to (re)visit Oklahoma City.  I went a few years back in January b/c I had always wanted to see the memorial.  I wrote about that here.  This time around, my cousin really wanted to see the city.  So....we filled up the car...and we went.  My one request was that we got to drive to Arcadia (about 20 minutes outside the middle of town...if that) and see some of the sites along route 66.  I heart Route 66.  I've driven so much of it, and pretty much every mile from Amarillo on, but I've just hit little spots along the route going North. 
We stopped at Pops and checked out their walls, coolers, and racks of every soda pop under the sun.  The organize them by 'type'-cream soda, cola, grape....whatever.  Being the good stewards that we are-we both picked up a bottle of Dr. Pepper for our Moms.  To say it's sort of their 'thing' would be an understatement.  If Dr. Pepper only knew what portion of their profits were due to my family's obsession.....

Outside the shop there is a ginormous bottle that lights up in neon at night.  I'll save that for next time. 

Next up....the Round Barn.  Why?  Because it's there.  You can literally see one site standing at the other, so it wasn't a hardship to check out both.  The barn is open to visitors. 

After getting our kicks....we headed back to Oklahoma City where we tried out Ingrid's.  I saw it featured on Diner's, Drive Ins, and Dives.  I get it.  I love a good Reuben (cut the sauerkraut), and it was goooood.....I'll definitely go back next time I'm in town.  I know, I know-German food and Oklahoma City.....but wow.  Go.  And then there is this case about a mile long filled with cookies and desserts I can't even talk about.  Let's just say New Year's Resolutions were broken. 

And as we were driving towards downtown, I made my cousin stop so I could hop out and take a picture of these clouds.  I've become a little obsessed with clouds lately, but I can never capture them.  It doesn't do it justice....those waves of white, but it was gorgeous.  The one thing I can say about Texas and Oklahoma, especially the Dallas area on up is that the sky is so 'big.'  Drive along the East Coast and you'll leave and miss the green, out west you have the red rocks, but right here in the planes....stop and look and you'll notice the skies are 'bigger' in Texas and Oklahoma....less obstruction, more room to notice fun little formations....

We also visited the memorial.  They really have done a beautiful job keeping pieces of the past. 

And honoring the lives lost and changed forever. 

It was a quick trip, literally, a day, but it was nice to get away, explore a little bit of our sister state before heading back home....and back to work.