Rockin' Tulsa !

If you told me 6 months ago that I would be taking a vacation to Tulsa, Oklahoma I would never have believed you. I think that's what made the trip so fantastic! My friend Eddy just got a new job at Hilti, a construction tool company where he will be the engineering contact for tooling sales across the country. Luckily he'll still be located in LA, but for 3 weeks he has to do his training in Tulsa, Oklahoma! Since I can only imagine how depressing that could be, I went out to Tulsa to visit him...and I was determined to find the hidden gems of Tulsa. Here's how it went:

Friday morning, I flew (free with miles) into Tulsa via San Antonio. I picked up my rental car...a Chevrolet Impala (not nearly as cool as rollin in a 6-4). By the time I got there it was time for dinner, so Eddy asked where to get good local meat. Conveniently, it was across the street at Texas Roadhouse. Ribeye and RIBS! Fantastic ribs...I'm sure Eddy is back there this weekend since Steph is in town.

We hung out with Eddy's Hilti Buddies that were there for the same training. We went to check out the haps at the Mexican Restaurant since they had a little To-Do for Cinco de Mayo. Too bad it was lame (must not be a very big deal out in Oklahoma). Afterward, we went to check out Mission Impossible: 3 (which is why I saw it a second time with Joanne).

The next morning, Eddy and I were determined to check out all the places I had researched. It wasn't your typical vacation research though. Typical research would have led us to just museums, restaurants, and parks. (There ain't much in Tulsa) I did a Google search for "Tulsa" and "world's largest" and turns out Tulsa is a hotspot for some of the world's largest stuff. Some of these items might be self-proclaimed world's largest, but I'm easily sold.

First stop: The world's largest (and only) Golden Driller. At 76 feet tall, the Golden Driller stands in front of the International Petroleum Exhibition Building which claims to have the world's largest unobstructed interior volume. Whoa. And beside him, is one of the many penguins located all around Tulsa city.

Next stop: Catoosa...to see the world's largest (non-mammal) blue whale. Made of rebar and concrete, this blue whale is a highly prized attraction in Tulsa. It's on all the maps! This was a real treat for us. It's even noted as a Route 66 landmark.

Needless to say it was a big photo opportunity. You can see me way out on the tail. And then you can see Eddy coming out of his nose.

Next, we drove out to Woolaroc to check out the cool collection of animals. They had bison (aka buffalo), llama, horned cattle, emu, deer, and water buffalo. Check out the pissed-off llama and the cool horned cattle.

They had a museum full of Indian artifacts and a bunch of animal heads on the wall. I can understand a big bison head, but a little jackrabbit?

Did you get your tickets? To what? The Gun Show.

On the way back we stopped by Weber's Root Beer of Tulsa. Any place that has "Root Beer" on their sign has to be worth a stop. And was it ever! Frosty mugs full of fantastic root beer with some onion rings on the side. Life doesn't get much better...

But then it happened. As we were flipping through the local radio stations, we just happened to stop on the religious station. Out came the most victorious song..."Praise the Lord..." It paralleled that of the Star Spangled Banner. I can still hear it now. And just then, towering above the trees, we saw it...The World's Largest Praying Hands! What timing! The hands were huge! We had definitely reached the pinnacle of our weekend. Weighing 30 tons, the Praying Hands were cast in 1980 and at the time was the world's largest bronze sculpture.

That was definitely the high point of our weekend...especially since we went to a local sports bar to watch Game 7 of the Lakers vs. Suns playoff series. Luckily the beer in Tulsa is super cheap. Only $1.50 a pint!

Thanks, Eddy, for the great weekend. I had a great time, but I don't think I'll ever be back.

For all 88 of the pictures, go here.