It was going to be a long day of driving to our next destination, Oklahoma City East KOA. We were on the road at 7:33am. The shortest route was suppose to take us 5 hours if we went the speed limit and we didn't stop. Remember, we putz. Siri had us taking two lane county highways with an average speed limit of 55mph, which was a perfect speed for us to enjoy the passing scenery. This part of Arkansas was very serene with rolling hills studded with trees with hint of Lake Ouachita peeking out between branches. Traffic was minimal.

Our serene route ended in Fort Smith and we were in for a rude awakening. Just before we got on Hwy 40, we filled up with gas at the Pilot Station. This gentlemen asked me where I was from. I must have sounded foreign to him. I told him that we were heading home to California and should be home by the first part of November. He said something like..."fly on 40 be home by the end of [something]" He, then, laughed. I smiled and thanked him for the advice. I had no clue what he meant.

As soon as we crossed the Arkansas River, we were in Oklahoma and I realized what the gentleman meant by "fly on 40". The winds on HWY 40 were ferocious. It was a challenge for Bob to handle the RV. The winds were coming at us broadside pushing us every which way. Add a passing truck and the fun was doubled.

We stopped for lunch in Heneryetta mainly to give Bob a break. After lunch, I offered to give it go. Whoa, Nelly...it was a challenge to keep the RV going straight and stay between the lines. Bob had every confidence in me, because he was fast asleep. It was like steering a boat in rough seas...I just had to hope we didn't capsize. It was soooo good to finally arrive at the Oklahoma City East KOA.

We arrived at camp around 2pm. We all just wanted to relax and unwind. It was Walt's and Barb's turn to cook. They offered to take us out to a Mexican dinner at Abuelo's in the Bricktown district in Oklahoma City. That worked out well, because we wanted to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which was about five blocks from Bricktown.

We arrived at Abuelo's around 6:30pm. Matt, our waiter, and Shana, his trainee, welcomed us and soon we had guacamole, salsa, and chips and a large pitcher of blended Margaritas...party time! Walt and Bob ordered their specialty of the house, bacon wrapped pork tenderloins with two enchiladas of their choice, and jalapeno mashed potatoes. I ordered an chicken salad, and Barb split the meal with Walter and they still had food left over for lunch tomorrow.

After dinner, we walked around the block to burn off 2 or 3 calories like it was really going to matter. Then, we drove to the Memorial. There are two monoliths at either end of the reflection pool. One has 9:01, the time of the blast. The other 9:03, when the healing began. Where the actual building stood there was a chair for each of the 168 people who lost their life on April 19, 1995. Each chair is lit and inscribed with their name. In the darkness of night, with only the sounds of soft swaying trees and trickling of water, it was very moving. We could feel the presence of sadness, but also hope...as we remembered that fateful day.

Tomorrow, we head for Amarillo TX