Tulsa... who knew?

First off, the St. Louis arch is absolutely amazing. To walk around the bases of it and really grasp the scale of it is awe-inspiring. Pictures cannot do it justice. Frankly, I think we all expected the “gateway to the west” to be a little cheesy, but fortunately we all walked away from the experience glad we took the time to get up close and personal with the arch. We didn’t get a chance to go to the top, there are only so many hours in a day...





Next we stopped at Café on the Route, a Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives recommended hole-in-the-wall in Baxter Springs, KS. Located in an equally charming yet creepy part on Kansas, this restaurant was pretty much the only place of business open in this self- proclaimed “cowtown.” That doesn’t mean they skimped on anything though. Renae’s burger was a monster as big as her head. Oh, and did I mention fried potato salad?







Ahhh Oklahoma! Finally someplace that doesn’t still feel like the Midwest. We rolled into Tulsa after a torrential downpour and about a 7 hour drive from St. Louis. We were a bit tired, a bit crabby, and Bruce was getting sick. But that’s nothing a little vodka can’t fix! A few drinks at the hotel and we were good to go. Somehow I managed to find the only hipster bar in Tulsa. Yeasayer and Ratatat were on their playlist before the house blues band went on. A good place for soup-bowl sized martinis, 24 oz. beers, and fried pickles.



Consensus: Tulsa is pretty great. It’s quaint, it’s nice to look at, and it’s kind of gay. We had our choice of about a half-dozen gay bars to choose from and I pictured country music and whiskey, cowboys… plaid. Nope, not here. We ended up at Club Majestic. The music was thumping, there was a cage, and we witnessed our first Rihanna drag queen. All in all, not a bad night. We got a little crazy on the way back to the hotel, but that is to be expected when you are under the charm of Tulsa.












Today we’re going to see the rest of Tulsa and on to Santa Fe…