We sadly left Texas this morning on a cold but sunny morning. Our goal was to drive across Oklahoma, with a stop at the Oklahoma City Memorial. We made it to Clinton, Oklahoma in time for lunch and stopped at Jigg's Smokehouse, recommended by our friend Beth Yakimchuk. We decided to split the briscuit sandwich, which was a pile of chunks of briscuit on top of a bun, impossible to eat as a sandwich, and definitely a splitter! One of our favorites here was the homemade hot chow chow...a great compliment to the briscuit. Larry sent Laurie a picture of our sandwich and the chuckle of the day was when she texted back, "how fat are you guys?" lol. About that time, we passed a truck weigh station...I asked Laurie if she thought we should pull off and get on the scales. We decided to wait until we return to Tybee for that rude awakening! Our next stop was the Oklahoma Memorial. What a wonderful memorial to the "victims, survivors and those forever changed." The empty chairs, one for each life lost, smaller ones for the children lost, were adorned with a Christmas wreath...very thoughtful and meaningful. The two granite walls at opposite ends of the reflection pool we're engraved with 9:01 on one and 9:03 on the other...one minute before and one minute after the bombing. The reflection pool is where the road was where Timothy McVay parked his vehicle loaded with explosives. The Survivor Tree, a 90+ year old American Elm, is a great example of how Oklahoma and the US will move forward after this attack...with vigor! The tree was greatly damaged by the blast, but it has returned to its grandeur! Determined to survive! The wall with the names of the survivors of the area reminded us that not only they, but all of us, were forever changed that day in 1995.The statue of Jesus,across the street from the State Memorial, was erected by the Episcopal Church. Engraved on the base of the statue are 2 words...Jesus wept! Amen.
We took the Lexus...yep, still fitting in it, to a car wash to remove the dirt and slag from the snow, hoping we are finished with that part of our trip. We made it as far as Tulsa and looked forward to another wonderful Marriott bed!