Oklahoma Adventure - No. 7

After our stay at Lake Murray State Lodge, we drove (about an hour) to Durant to the Choctaw Casino and Resort.  It has a great kids area, with a bowling alley, arcade, laser tag, food court, and movie theater.  There are also a couple pools, with a family pool and an indoor pool.  I highly recommend renting one of the cabanas at the pool area.  Inside there is a 'fridge, a fan, and an air conditioner.  The cabana rental is half price in the middle of the week.  And, as with all great pools, they will deliver nachos to you.  A must. 

Pro tip: stay in the spa tower.  The rooms are smaller, but newer than those in the 'grand tower.'  The rooms in the grand tower smell like cigarettes, or at least that was our experience.  When the bell hop took us to our room, it smelled like someone had smoked in there about five minutes before we arrived.  They then moved us to the spa tower, where all they had left was a king bed disabled accessable room-- this meant our shower was not as fancy, but did make hosing kids down a lot easier. HA!  Oh, and we all had to sleep in the same bed-- but everyone was so absolutely worn out from swimming and the sun, so this was no problem.  

I did not go to the spa, as the whole point was to spend time with the kiddos, but it did look fancy and serene.  Maybe a future girls trip?!?? 

There are many, many, many food options inside the hotel itself, no need to leave.  All-in-all a good experience.  If it was a smoke free environment, it would have been a great experience...but, then again they make a lot more money of vices than families, so I get it. 

Oklahoma Adventure- No.6 Lake Murray State Park & Lodge

Our Oklahoma adventures continue!  But, due to the fact we spent so much time, effort, and money renovating our new home, our adventures this summer have been sparse.  We did, however, decide to take a week off--no emails, no edits--to spend time with the kids (while they still like us).  We did a three-day, two-night, road trip, and we started at the newly renovated Lake Murray State Lodge.  It is owned an operated by the State of Oklahoma.

This place is beautiful!!!!!  They are still working out some kinks---i.e., they put us and some other guests in the same room.  So, while the kids were resting (naked) in the room, some older ladies walked in to (what we thought was) our room.  Then for the next hour, we got to pack all our stuff back up and move rooms... staff seemed annoyed and not apologetic.  But, then again, these are employees of the state, and we were not at the Ritz.

On the other hand, the rooms are BIG, and they all have a balcony with a beautiful view of Lake Murray.  I have to admit, for the most part, I am not a lake person.  But Lake Murray is absolutely, stunningly beautiful.  It has to do with the fact that the lake itself is a state park, so people do not live on it.  That means less runoff and less pollution.  The water was crystal clear and so refreshing.

The Lodges' rooms cost $109 per night.  A steal for the beauty and comfort of the room.  There is also, what is supposed to be, a very yummy restaurant there at the lodge--no need to leave for dinner.  But it is only a 12-minute drive into ardmore for some El Tapatio! MMMMMMmmmmmm.  Go there.  Get a marg.  But, be warned, it will be a strong marg.

Other things to do here:  Jet Ski Rental--by far the most expensive activity we did, but also the one the kids thought was the most amazing. This place is only a short walk from the lodge.  They also have minigolf and a water trampoline thing.  

We also did a short hike to the Tucker Tower, which is very cool.  (But when we return, we will go when it is not the hottest week of the year).  There is also a very nice beach area, where we swam while we waited for our room to be ready.  All-in-all, we had a great time, and we already scheduled our return visit.  

Below are the pics from this part of the trip.  Not edited.  Aint nobody got time for that.  Some are DSLR, some are film, and some are iphone. After we left the lodge, we made the hour trip to Durant, where the second half of our road trip takes place. (PART 2 HERE).

Oklahoma Adventure- No. 4 Red Brick Nights

We lurve Guthrie.  Just a quick 15 minute drive from our house and a totally different world.  On the first Saturday of the month (through October?) they shut down downtown Guthrie for Red Brick Nights.  There are food trucks and bands and families.  Soooooo fun!  We happened to go on the 3rd of July, so there were also FIREWORKS.  The next day we went over to friend's houses to swim.   And I threw in a pic of Harvey with his awesome swim instructor, Tiffany Rains. 

All images shot on Walmart's finest Fuji Superia film with my handy dandy Canon Sure Shot A1.  A great waterproof point and shoot for when I want to relax and not think about apertures. 

Adventure Oklahoma- No. 3 State Capitol

This one is free!  And, honestly, July turns out to be a great time to go.  The building is almost empty.  We went for a breakfast at Kitchen 324 and then headed over to the capitol for some nice, free air conditioning.  And LOTS of stair climbing!!!  The kids LOVED the stairs.  I was surprised how much the kids like exploring around the state capitol building.  There are guided tours, but we just kicked around on our own.  Shot on an iPhone (because my film camera can't go through the x-ray thing they send your bag through).  

Adventure Thursdays- No.1

We are on a mission to see the state this summer.  One Thursday at a time.   Oklahoma is full of cool things to see and do, but we barely make it out of a 10-mile radius of our house.  Well, that changes now.  (Except for this Thursday Harvey decided to get sick...so plans are on hold for a bit).  

These pics are from our last outing to the Pawnee Bath House in Pawnee, Oklahoma.  Lauren took her Canon Sure Shot A-1, which later may have met its demise.  But, before it did, it gave us these images, developed at OKC's Bedford Photo.  They are super nice and knowledgable there and charge just $5 to process a roll of color film.  

The Pawnee Bath House was built in the 1930s as a WPA project.  It is next to a beautiful and calm lake, where we attempted about 5 minutes of fishing before the boys were disinterested.  Here's a note though: Bathhouse does not open until 12:30pm.  It costs $2 a person.  The also sell snacks etc.  There is also a very friendly Sonic just down the street, about a 5 minute drive, in downtown Pawnee.  There were 2-3 lifeguards on duty at all times while we were there.

Seize the 'good stuff,'

The Keesters