Memorial Day in Tulsa

All winter long I’ve been looking forward to going to Tulsa for Memorial Day, and the date finally arrived! I love Tulsa. I love leaving the airport and breathing in the distinctive Tulsa scent: the river, the trees (trees with leaves instead of trees with needles), the honeysuckle and other fragrant plants, and well yes, the oil refineries (but out by the airport the refineries don’t smell as bad). My skin soaks up the moist air, especially after a winter with lots of artificial heat, and the city is so attractive. I didn’t take this picture but I could have: this was the view from the window of my old apartment.

Of course, the best part about going to Tulsa is seeing Wendy! Here we are at the used bookstore:

Since I moved away from Oklahoma, Wendy and I have gotten together a couple of times a year, usually around Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. We used to have other friends in Tulsa who we used to visit, but they’ve all gradually dropped off the radar screen or moved away. Our last friend in the area moved to Virginia earlier this month (we miss you Brandi! ). But even though it was just the two of us this time, we still managed to have fun . We ate LOTS of food (we’re both great cooks—I’m not afraid to brag about it ), played video games, watched movies (we both liked the new Indiana Jones), and stayed up all night talking. I wish we lived closer to each other so we could get together more often! But on the other hand, once Wendy moves away from there (she’s finishing up a Ph.D. program at OSU) I won’t have an excuse to visit Tulsa anymore and that will be sad.

Wendy lives on the banks of the Arkansas River, and I like going out there in the morning (before it gets too hot) and hiking along the river. The water level was extremely high this year, at least compared to the other years she’s lived there. It made the Arkansas look like a wild, cascading river instead of the wide, meandering river it typically is.

The last night I was there, we had a severe thunderstorm. Wendy probably slept right through it because she’s used to this kind of thing, but it kept me awake!Every time I thought the storm had passed, there would be more rumbling hail, booming thunder, and flashes of lightning that lit up the sky like it was daytime! I didn’t take this picture either, but it was taken close to where we were.

Now I have to start counting down again. Only six more months until Thanksgiving (sigh).