Houston, TX / Tulsa, OK

Houston to Tulsa Drive Russell Stover 11-26-2008 10-55-08 AM
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2008-11-26

The 26^th saw the start of our Oklahoma thanksgiving excursion. Terry, Sue, Lori and Ian were driving from Houston to Tulsa to spend thanksgiving with Julia. The trip is a mere 9 hours drive from Houston to Tulsa. It was never going to the most exciting day but we did stop at Russell Stover’s chocolate factory to sample some chocolate delights en-route. After 9 hours driving, shared by Terry and Sue, we arrived safely in Tulsa and Julia’s apartment where Ian was introduced to Henry, Julia’s boyfriend, and for the first time to little miss Ellie, Julia’s very small dog. Julia treated us to a lovely dinner of salmon with watercress sauce from Marks and Spencers (Lori had brought her some from London ages ago) and vegetables. Henry brought over his Wii for us to play on during our visit, so after dinner we had hours of fun playing bowling, tennis, boxing, and Mario Cart. Terry even got into it and really enjoyed the bowling. We were all a little sore the next day from the activity on it though.

The feast commenced around 4 pm and included turkey, a sweet potato casserole with brown sugar on top, a green bean casserole with French onion rings, stuffing, salad with pears and cherries and bread.

Houston to Tulsa Drive 11-26-2008 11-30-17 AM
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2008-11-27

Thanksgiving day in America was a new experience for Ian. Lori and Ian had made Thanksgiving dinner in London before, so Ian had a good idea of the food to expect. The day began with watching some of the Thanksgiving Parade on TV that took place in New York outside Macy’s. Lori told Ian that they would go there when they went to New York City in December. Julia and Sue were cooking on and off throughout the morning and afternoon. They kept our appetites in check with chips and guacamole and cheese and spinach dips. The feast commenced around 4 pm and included turkey, a sweet potato casserole with brown sugar on top, a green bean casserole with French onion rings, stuffing, salad with pears and cherries and bread. Julia and Sue did a sterling job creating a magnificent meal. No body could move for a few hours after that. We did pluck up the energy to go and see the Rhea College Christmas Lights though. This was an impressive collection of light covering a large area creating a very festive Christmas atmosphere. Some of the lights blinked in tune with music. When we returned to Julia’s apartment, Julia treated us to pecan pie and ice cream.

Houston to Tulsa Drive Julias Apartment 11-26-2008 5-29-13 PM
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2008-11-28

The day after Thanksgiving is a big shopping day in the US, know as ‘Black Friday’. Some stores allowed shopping to start at 12 am, 4 am or 6 am. Many people camp outside the stores in order to be the first in line for the deals the stores were offering. Lori’s family use to get up and go shopping early, but the crowds have become crazier over the years, so this year most of them decided to sleep in and go to the stores a little later. Sue left the apartment around 8 am and went to Joanne’s, a sewing shopping, and waited in line for 2 hours to pay for her bargains. Terry, Lori, Ian and Julia left the apartment around 10:30 am. They went to a few stores and managed to pick up a few bargains. They all had lunch at Julia’s and then piled into one car to make the 45 minutes drive north to Bartlesville, where the Millers had lived for 18 years. Lori was excited about getting to show Ian the town where she grew up. Terry drove them through Bartlesville and in about 15 minutes they completed the tour. Bartlesville, as you can gather from this, is not very big. Lori showed Ian the Community Center (where all the Miller girls performed countless ballet performances of the Nutcracker), Price Tower (Frank Lloyd Wright designed the tower as he was good friends with Frank Phillip, the founder of Phillips 66, now Conco-Phillips), St. John School (Lori finished elementary school and attended middle school (ages 11 – 13)), Phillip 66 swim club (where all the Millers spent countless hours practicing or supporting swimming), the Phillips 66 corporate building where Terry worked for a few years, and the house the Millers lived in. After the tour, we stopped and visiting with our family friends the Clarks. All of their family (including extended) was in town for the holiday. It was nice to visit with Susie, Steve, Nikki, Ryan, Elizabeth, Becky, Ryan, Robert, Gene, Bob, and Martha. After our visit, we went to Betty’s house for dinner. She treated us to a Bartlesville classic dinner of Dink’s barbeque and sides that she had prepared. It was yummy and nice to visit with her. After dinner, we drove back to Tulsa.

Tulsa Thanksgiving Julia cooking 11-27-2008 5-40-34 PM
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2008-11-29

This was the return to leg to Houston and another mammoth 9 hours drive. This was broken up by a short stop at an outlet Mall just outside Dallas to pickup so Christmas presents and a little lunchtime tailgating in the car park!

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