Oklahoma! Arkansas?

I have found that the mere mention of Oklahoma will bring people to immediately sing the state's name in show tune form, while an explanation of the place is being given. Phil drew the straw for the Oklahoma duty and let me say the 2 nicest things I can about the state,


1) The gas is cheap. 3.44 a gallon in some spots

2) There is no 2.

It is hot as hell, by far the hottest place on Earth. You might say, "Phil, how is it possible that it is that hot?" Simple. Christine and I have been to at least 14 states thus far and this one is by far the hottest. Seeing as how America does everything the best, I must infer that we are the best at having the hottest place on Earth.

I had this conversation with a gas station attendant today...

Me- Hot out there today. Is it normally this hot out here?

Him- No.

Me- Well that's good.

Him- It's normally hotter

NOTE: IT WAS 97... THE TEMPERATURE HAS HIT 110 FOR THE LAST 5 DAYS!


Another awful thing about Oklahoma are the bugs. Good lord, just the scariest, biggest, most annoying, things on Earth. They crawl, fly, swarm, bite, nip, suck, an bother like no other. They have ants everywhere and these wasp looking things that have a red torso with black wings that are the size of a half dollar flying around.

After setting up the tent here and disinfecting it with pesticide and citronella candles we decided to head into Oklahoma City into Toby Keith's restaurant.

For those of you who not know, Toby Keith is a country musician who is big for hits like, "Beer For My Horses", "Courtesy of The Red, White and Blue", and "I Love This Bar." He must be very creative because he named this place "Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill".

Upon entering, Chris and I took a seat at the bar because the wait would have been at least 30minutes or a table an I think we were both hungry since we hadn't eaten since breakfast. (Breakfast as a quick side note included a breakfast buffet at a truck stop and biscuits an gravy were of course a major player in the game.) We ordered drinks and food. As an appitizer we ha "the tumble weed." Which is a lot like a Bloomin' Onion, only with thinner onions crisps that are tangled together so it looks like a tumble weed. I had the sirloin and shrimp. Both were a bit too well done for my liking. The steak a bit dry, the shrimp despite a wonderful seasoning on top was a bit chewy, but still tasty and better than most of the stuff out there. Christine ha spare ribs, that literally were falling of the bone. Simply fantastic, along with her side dishes had an A+ meal.

The next day we left at about 11 for Arkansas. The original plan was to head for Little Rock, but after looking at the map and plotting times, Hot Springs seemed a bit more reasonable. The hotel we are in is an older place, where the room keys are just that... keys. Our first room was small and we had some problems with the cold water, so they move us down the hall to a much nicer room at the same price. Don't know why we had the crappy room first, or why they moved us to a much nicer room, but I won't complain. The downside is that they make you pay for wireless internet, which is bothersome at first, until you remember you are in Arkansas and should feel fortunate to have electricity.

The downside is that they make you pay for wireless internet, which is bothersome at first, until you remember you are in Arkansas and should feel fortunate they have paved highways.. let alone information super highways.

The downside is that they make you pay for wireless internet, which is bothersome at first, until you remember you are in Arkansas and are fortunate not to be staying at the Tyson Chicken Farm.

The downside is that they make you pay for wireless internet, which is bothersome at first, until you remember you are in Arkansas and you should feel fortunate you weren't directed to your room via hunch backed, candle led, bell boy.

The downside is that they make you pay for wireless internet, which is bothersome at first, until you remember you are in Arkansas and feel fortunate that they don't think "internet" is a term used to describe interfamily relations.

The downside is that they make you pay for wireless internet, which is bothersome at first, until you remember you are in Arkansas and you realize the thing that should bother you is the older, Dolly Parton looking, fake blonde, woman sitting in the corner of the hotel bar shooting all the men weird, lonely glances.

The downside is that they make you pay for wireless internet, which is bothersome at first, until you remember you are in Arkansas and this older, rustic hotel is actually state of the art. We are fortunate they don't use the telegraph to communicate with the outside world.

Okay done for now... more stuff tomorrow.