Norman, Washita and the Action Figure Museum

I am very lucky. Mark was back out here in Oklahoma this past weekend. He actually had a site visit for work this week and so he just flew out a few days early to spend some time with me. :)

Mark flew in to Dallas and drove up to me in Sulphur. We did dinner at Roma here in Sulphur and then drove off to Norman to stay in our favorite Marriott. Thanks to my brother who is both sneaky and sweet, we had a gift card to use which made the stay that much sweeter. We enjoyed sleeping in and leisurely heading out to Starbucks in the a.m. Lunch was at Which Wich--highly recommended by Lauren. We sure did enjoy that! For our friends out east---it's best described as Potbelly with more options in a cool brown bag. We hung out at Barnes and Noble and read our purchases at Starbucks (we had to use that after 2 pm coupon for a $2.00 grande drink!).


We had miles to do on the treadmill so we hit my favorite gym at the my favorite Norman hotel and got to runnin'. But were well rewarded by a delicious dinner at Bricktown's Chelino's. After dinner, we walked the canal and explored all the Land Run Monument. I was most excited to find this because I read about it on my first visit to the OKC Memorial but just now found it. When finished it will be 46 statues depicting those who ran on to the land in Oklahoma to stake their claim. The statues are larger than life!


We headed back to Norman earlier than we would have liked, but knew we had an early morning on Saturday.

We were headed to Cheyenne, OK, home to NPS site Washita Battlefield for a teacher workshop. It was a phenomenal workshop, sponsored by the National Park Service and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. We had an excellent talk from the former Chief of Interpretation, Dave Shaefer, heard from the Red Moon Singers, and walked to the site of the battle/massacre.




We returned to the Visitor Center for a delicious traditional lunch of corn soup, fry bread, and raisins and rice.

Our afternoon was phenomenal as we learned about books for teachers using what we've learned, heard from Dr. Henrietta Mann, and were given demonstrations about the Cheyenne by a chief. Thank you Kathryn for letting us attend your awesome workshop!


After our full day we drove back to OKC and checked into our hotel there. The plan was to run the OKC Midnight Streak 5K. The reality ended up being that while waiting to leave we fell asleep on the bed and well...never made it there. Oh well--good intentions.

We had brunch plans on Sunday. Noelle, a friend and NPS ranger at Frederick Douglass' Cedar Hill in DC, was in OK doing research for her dissertation. So, we met up for brunch in a new neighborhood of OKC! We had a great time sharing stories of our experiences here in OK!


After a really nice, leisurely brunch we said bye and Mark and I headed off to our last big stop for the weekend--THE TOY AND ACTION FIGURE MUSEUM! As you may have read earlier, my brother and I stopped there last weekend, but before it was open. I was most surprised and excited to receive a comment from Susen on my blog offering tickets to the museum if I was able to come back. Oh was I ever excited! She set aside two tickets for us and we were headed to the museum to explore! SOOOOOO excited!

The museum was like stepping back in time--my brother's He-Man collection was on display, my My Little Ponies were represented, even a Fisher-Price dollhouse I remember from nursery school.

Oh! And Dad--remember Alf who rode around in the back of your car all through the 90s? He's here too and says hi! He wants to know if you have any cats? :)

Mark and I played and ooooohed and aaaahed.... The most impressive display (in my opinion) is the spirit of a collector's bedroom. Every inch was covered by some sort of action figure. It was like "Where's Waldo?" times 1000. OMG! It was more eye candy than I could handle and yet I couldn't tear myself away. So much shizzle! Wow! :) Very, very impressive!

They also had a dress up section. It may not have been meant for adults---but it didn't stop us...just fantastic! Mark became Spidey and I tried my hand at Pocahontas.


And they had a "bat cave" with Batman and Robin action figures and paraphernalia. Oh and this rockin' Batmobile that I don't fit in, but wanted to have a picture with. :)


Additionally, and NOT surprisingly, Time Magazine just named this museum One of America's 50 Authentic American Experiences of 2009! How cool is that? I am in total agreement with them! If you're ever in Pauls Valley, OK be sure to stop by! Thank you Susen for the tickets!!!


Despite our busy, busy weekend Mark and I came back to Sulphur and decided to go for a run. I showed Mark the Bison Trail---we watched a black rat snake dig in his hole and then slither off and then a deer that was very, very close to the trail.

We topped our night off with our Mazzio's picnic near the Bromide Pavilion, where we dined with two ferrell cats. On our way home through the park we spotted a buck and two turkey vultures....cool, cool, cool!


(PS This is the second time I've written this entry--the first time the internet went out while I was uploading photos and the whole post was messed up---some of the details were lost on the second go around....)