Jan 5 Wichita to North Mankato 613 miles

Arrived last night 7pm. Will make one post later today. jerr

I ask myself, why do I write this blog? The answer. I like to show people what the US is like and doing it by minimum prior planning, also places to see, art, botanical gardens, restaurants and natural scenery. I also like to receive input as we go along as to what we should look at and visit from fellow travelers.

Forgot to mention the stop we made before we found the hotel in Norman. We came upon a sign which the visitor’s rest stop lady told us to stop at it was for the Original Fried Pie made at an Arbuckle Mountain exit 51 on I35. We saw it on the way down and pretty much of the parking lot was full. We picked up a peach pie. All it is is a piece of good pie crust wrapped around a peach filling.

Today we spent time at the University of Oklahoma, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. It has some unique pieces and art viewing area.

The most unique were the two rooms that were built to represent those in Clara Weitzenhoffer house, she donated all the furniture, paintings and porcelain pieces that decorated those rooms. She thought that the rooms meant as much to the decorations as the pieces themselves.

There were pictures from O’Keefe, Gauguin, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh.

This piece is actually seven inches tall, what detail?

Local Indian work, again a nicely beaded couple of pieces. Most of the exhibits were down for restoration. It made a nice visit anyway.

We also saw The Moore-Lindsay House is of Queen Anne architecture and represents Norman during the Victorian/Industrial era in America. Many artifacts were original and the young lady who conducted the tour of the house was knowledgeable and interesting. The outside was recently repainted 7 colors and they were finishing the painting of the front steps and porch. inside were original stained glass windows. An original to the home, couch and chair decorated with gargoyle on the arms. She also pointed out the sewing machine and pattern for a corset. She said the corsets cut off part of the air in the lungs and that was the reason for fainting couches. She thought we may want to look at the Overholser Mansion on OKC, which we did.

On the fire place were hung Christmas ornaments of old, picture does not do them justice. The green and blue tile in the background were used by the owners to show their wealth.

We found the mansion, first built in OKC, but it is closed during the month of January. It is in Heritage Hills is an historic neighborhood located in downtown Oklahoma City. The young man who told us this also asked where we were from. He felt sorry for us not knowing the place was closed. He asked the curator if he could take us through it and for an hour plus he gave us a guided tour for $3 each. The three-story Chateauesque, French Chateau-style house, completed in 1903 replete with original furnishings, hand-painted canvas walls, stained glass windows and lavish fixtures are still in good shape, 11,000 square feet. Decorative arts included Brussels lace curtains, English carpets, and French stained glass windows. The furniture reflected the high style of the period.

In the ladies parlor is a fixture with eight globes on it, there are two sets next to the fireplace and in the adjoining music room were more or a total of 24. why do I mention this, he said the reason that they have not changed the burned out light bulbs was because a restorer said you more than likely could not find new globes if you broke one and estimated they were worth $15,000 each. The picture does not do the shape and color of the glass justice. Limoges china was the daily china. Original rugs were still in the rooms and matched the color of the hand painted canvas fabric walls. A strange fact, there first born a son, Henry died shortly after birth. Years later she had another child a girl, named Henry Ione. As we were there in an off time, the house was cold, I could see my breath, that’s how cold.

It’s 3pm and time for lunch/dinner. Down to Bricktown, close by and we had been there two weeks ago and there are plenty of places to eat. We saw a Spaghetti Works restaurant, plugged the meter and went in. as we entered and were seated I smelled a foul odor and asked the gal who seated us, is there something wrong with the sewer? She said yes, we sat down looked at each other and got up and walked out, she said sorry. Down the block was The Mantel Wine Bar and Bistro, across from the Hampton we stayed at before. They had an amuse from the chef and some hot bread with a olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a hot pepper in it, wow, good. Shirleen had a Philly Steak & Cheese, Black Angus Beef, Sautéed Peppers and Onions with a Three Cheese Blend on a Toasted Baguette with a cold pasta salad, I the Prime New York Strip (12oz.) with mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, Whiskey Mushroom Cream Sauce, we’d go back.

Now the grind to a hotel, wanted to make Wichita KS for a rest. We spotted a grouping of hotels on the south side of town. Not the greatest Comfort Inn but it will have to do, not much else around. Hope to make Des Moines tomorrow night, well we made it home that evening. Going south we put on 1.313 miles on the way back – pointed north, 1,312 miles. Bye for now, Jerry
Back to reality: todays picture!!