I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I last posted to this blog... and I can't believe all the really cool, fun things we've done in the last 3 weeks that I've got to tell you about now! From the time we first moved downtown back in mid-December, all through the cold winter months, I kept thinking that as soon as things started warming up and we could get out and about, living downtown was going to just keep getting better... and I was right!
As soon as we got back from our spring break trip to the beautiful Alabama gulf coast, the spring time fun started. We're both still crazy busy at work... been back two weeks today and am starting my third big work project this afternoon! Whew... and sweet hubby has almost the same pace at his job. We've packed in some really cool stuff though in our spare time.
One of my recent meetings was at Quartz Mountain Resort in far southwestern Oklahoma. That place is so beautiful. If you haven't been, I highly suggest giving it a try... very peaceful place.
We were going to try to go the H&8th food truck event that happens the last Friday of each month here in OKC when I got back from that meeting but between being exhausted from the meeting and it being a little too cold and windy that evening, we decided to skip it and try again next month. I heard the crowds were amazing though and they had somewhere between 15-20,000 there! I guess we're weather wienies compared to them. Holy moly, that's a lot of people! Glad it's so successful.
We got out and walked around on Saturday because it was a beautiful day. From our place near 4th & Walnut, we decided to try to find the most level route to Park Harvey because we were going to ride our bikes on Sunday to meet up with some Urban Neighbors friends and then ride to OpenStreets OKC on 23rd Street. From there we went around and strolled through the Myriad Gardens, marveling at all the tulips blooming since our last visit there and all the people who were out enjoying the beautiful day. It was great.
Plans changed for our bike ride Sunday because, warm as the weather was, the wind was gusting to 40 mph! With the single speed bikes we have (beach cruisers, not city bikes), we thought that might be a bit much. There was also a Thunder game our friends had to be at so driving made more sense in the end. We parked a block or so off 23rd Street and set off to see what we could see.
We got there pretty early so at first there didn't seem to be too much going on for the first OpenStreetsOKC. It didn't take too long for that to change though and wow, what a great event it turned out to be! I don't know if there were quite as many people there as at H&8th but I bet it was close. There were all kinds of booths from all kinds of great groups focusing on health and being active, there were activities for kids and adults to participate in and there were food trucks. Even the Loaded Bowl, the vegan food truck we'd been so anxious to try at H&8th!
I got the layered enchiladas and sweet hubby got the gardener's pie - that way we could try them both to see which we liked better. Wow, they were both terrific! I don't know how to pick a favorite. Guess we'll just have to keep trying them so we can decide. :) I love that we have a vegan food truck in OKC. That rocks!
I tried to take pictures of the crowds on the street but I just don't think they really do it justice... there were so many people and it looked like everyone was having a great time. Plus, other than the food trucks (which were pretty reasonable), everything was FREE!
OpenStreetsOKC was a great way to spend a beautiful spring afternoon with some of our Urban Neighbors friends... we even left a little something so everyone would know we were there:
We finished up our last night of the bowling league on Tuesday, right after my first Urban Neighbors board meeting. There are several new board members this year (including me) and some wonderfully seasoned ones, too. I think it's going to be a terrific group to be part of and I'm really excited to see all that comes from it.
Thursday was such a nice day we decided to do something else we've never done before - the Art After 5 at the OKCMOA. On Thursday evenings starting in the spring, the museum keeps the galleries open until 9 p.m. and opens up the rooftop terrace where you can have drinks and appetizers, relax and enjoy the great view. Starting in May they'll have live music, too. How cool is that?
Since we were already there, we decided to stay and have dinner at the Museum Cafe (we'd received a gift card for Christmas that we've been intending to use...) They had a wonderful veggie plate that was so big, I couldn't finish it all. Wow....
Next up was the movie, Particle Fever. We just love the theatre at the museum and when I saw this film was there, I knew sweet hubby would enjoy it. It was about the big Hadron Collider and all the physicists who worked on it for so long. It was interesting... but maybe just a tad too nerdy for my tastes. Hubby liked it so it was worth it. It really was an amazing project...
Of course our next fun was a project more along my tastes... the big community garden project!
We met up bright and early Saturday morning (well, it was actually 6:30 a.m. so it wasn't bright just yet!) and worked most of the day. Shelley, the one spearheading everything on the garden, is simply amazing. She somehow managed to find a developer who had land that was currently unused who was willing to let us garden there. Then she and her dad worked to build 10 raised beds for the garden and she planned it all out herself. Like they say, build it and they will come... and come they did. I didn't count all the volunteers who were working yesterday but there were a LOT. Including a really great group of students from OU who made our garden part of their "Big Event" community service project. It was really awesome to see it all come together. :)
Once the potatoes and onions were planted, those of us who were left decided to walk over to Waffle Champion for lunch. We'd never been there before but everyone raved about it and now I can see why. They idea of having a waffle "sandwich" had never crossed my mind. It was crazy good! Hubby and I had the garlic cauliflower mash along with a cold brew. It was the perfect way to wrap up a great day.
As we were walking back to our cars, someone suggested we go up to the 7th floor bar in the new Ambassador Hotel to see what our garden looked like from up there. I'm so glad we did because, not only does the garden look awesome from up there (and will look even better once it's filled with veggies!), but now I know for sure I want to go back to try out the bar & restaurant sometime. The hotel looks amazing, too!
So now I'm off to Norman for my biggest meeting of the year and once that's finished, I'm heading to the beach with my girlfriends for a few days of R&R. But I can't wait to get back, work in the garden, meet with the Urban Neighbors folks and have more downtown fun.
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Location:NE 4th St,Oklahoma City,United States
