Holy Hail!!!- An Independence Day Trip Report

[HouCuseChickie]

It was fun trying to orchestrate our pick up point with David, but he eventually found us. We were at least a mile from where he'd parked at this point and my feet were hurting, so it just made sense for him to come to us.

We left Stillwater and headed south on I35 to Oklahoma City for the National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum.



We really didn't need to make this stop. We've been here before. This was our second stop during our big 2021 road trip and I took a ton of pics last time, but our softball world has changed quite a bit since then. One of Sam's travel ball coaches is in there, so we wanted to take a look. It's been such an amazing experience to see this kid learning from one of the best. I know not everyone wants to hear a ton about softball, but this past year was such an exciting and educational experience for the whole family and such a great boost for Sam that it just seemed so fitting to go see it again.















Of course they’re switching clubs and will no longer be Bombers. Lol



Sam also had a little bit of souvenir $ left to spend. I know she bought something in the gift shop before we left, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what she got. I remember thinking how much the store options had changed since our last visit and how she went for something small. I even remember looking at the t-shirts in case there was something relatively inexpensive she might like. It's going to drive me nuts! I even looked in her room and don't see anything!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We got back on the road. Next stop- Norman, OK to see the University of Oklahoma. I could not get us into a tour and we were pretty strapped for time, so we were stuck just doing another self-guided drive through like we did in Nebraska. At least I took a couple of pictures this time!





Kendall didn't love or hate it, but it's close enough that we're planning to head back up in October for an official tour. That trip is going to be extra special, but it's all going to be a surprise. She doesn't read my trip reports, so I'm safe sharing this exciting news!

When you drive south on I35 towards the Texas state line, you will pass the WinStar Casino and Resort. It's the world's largest casino, it's right along the interstate, and the facade is full of replicas of world landmarks. In other words...it's kind of impossible to miss. As we were passing, I briefly saw Ringo Starr's picture appear on the massive digital sign (nobody else seemed to notice). Before the big writer's strike, I'd seen him on one of the late-night talk shows. I could not- for the life of me -remember why he was on, but I figured picture on the casino sign had to mean concert. I bookmarked it in my brain as something to Google when I got home and settled in. If there's one sure thing I can tell you about Kendall it's that she's a mega Beatles fan, and she would lose her mind if she got to see any of the surviving band members. So, I was really hoping he was coming to Houston...or close enough.

After that, the drive got pretty hectic. Traffic was crazy as soon as we crossed into Texas. It was a blend of rush hour and construction all the way through Dallas. My navigation ended up taking us on the scenic route to save over 20 minutes. So, I got a few neat pics while waiting at lights in some not-so-great parts of town.





We were getting hungry and I needed gas, but I wanted to get onto I45 before seriously thinking of either one. While I know they're now branching out to a bunch of other states...we decided we needed a Buc-ee's stop now that we were back in Texas.



We grabbed some snacks and gas, and then hit the road for home. We'd gone from very mild temps in OK to nearly triple digits in the Dallas area. We'd be over 100 by the time we got home (or at least that's what my car and weather app said)...and unfortunately, that oppressive heat and lack of rain just hasn't let up.



We didn't get home too horribly late. In fact, we still had some daylight! It was good that we bumped the dog pick up to the next day, because we missed their closing time by a good 2.5 hours.

After we unloaded the car, grabbed some food, got the A/C going, and put our suitcases in line for laundry...I went back and looked into that whole Ringo Starr thing I saw back when we passed the WinStar. It turns out, he is on tour with his All-Starr Band, but that concert is the last of the tour and there are no dates in Texas. I wasn't satisfied with giving up on my idea. We were already planning to go back up to Norman...whenever I could get her in for a tour at OU. After looking at her preliminary fall calendar for school and availability on the OU calendar, there was an agreement of dates that also aligned with the concert. So, we're heading up to Oklahoma in October. She thinks she's going up for an OU tour and honors college presentation, which is 100% the truth, but I also told her that it might be fun to have a nice dinner at that big casino. There's a bit of driving between the two, but it's manageable. So, she's already thinking about fun dressy outfits for our "nice dinner." That kid is going to absolutely lose her mind when she sees what I have planned. I'm even more curious to see if he'll have any special guests for the last leg of this tour. Special guests are apparently pretty common with him. Now I just have to hope that he remains in good health. He had to cancel some dates last fall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

So, that's it for the trip report! I really appreciate everyone following along on our little journey. I'm still sad that we couldn't swing a softball-free trip, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get. With the amount of travel coming up for Sam, it's just going to be our norm for a while. On a bright note, if all goes as planned, we should be returning to Colorado next summer. It's also sounding like California (and maybe Florida) are also in the plans. The California tournament is Anaheim area, so I think you probably know where I'm going with this. I had wanted to take K to WDW for a little grad trip, but it looks like Disneyland is the greater possibility. I've also discussed with David the possibility of renting a second car so that K and I can have a little adventure to some of CA's national parks during some of Sam's game days. It's iffy, but if we go to this one showcase in FL, David and I have also discussed a 1-day trip to enjoy Epcot. It's all up in the air right now and we'll have to see how the budget holds up (especially with medical issues) as well as schedules with wherever K will be starting school. Still, it's exciting to have some fun possibilities in the mix.

Thanks again ​

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us, it is always fun to tag along with your family. Please update us when K has her surprise. I bet she will love it! And exciting that there may be some Disneyland and WDW soon too.

 

[MinnieM123]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us, it is always fun to tag along with your family. Please update us when K has her surprise. I bet she will love it! And exciting that there may be some Disneyland and WDW soon too.

X2 !!

 

[Swissmiss]

Thanks for sharing. I always love your TRs - whether Disney or not. And I too would love to hear about the concert when the time comes

Hope things resolve quickly on the health front.

 

[cgersic]

Oh man, I'm bummed this is over!!! I just love your reports and hopefully you'll give us a "quickie" when you head to Oklahoma! Can't wait to hear about how the surprise goes! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us, it is always fun to tag along with your family. Please update us when K has her surprise. I bet she will love it! And exciting that there may be some Disneyland and WDW soon too.

You’re welcome I will add a post (or more, if I take a bunch of pics) to this thread after the OU/concert trip. I also really hope we get some Disney time next summer!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Thanks for sharing. I always love your TRs - whether Disney or not. And I too would love to hear about the concert when the time comes

Hope things resolve quickly on the health front.

I’ll hopefully be sharing an update after the trip. I might try to tag everyone. Hopefully I’ll get some good news on the health stuff before then as well.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh man, I'm bummed this is over!!! I just love your reports and hopefully you'll give us a "quickie" when you head to Oklahoma! Can't wait to hear about how the surprise goes! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

Thank you!!! I’m still amazed that this turned into a full fledged trip report. It just didn’t feel like much beforehand, but it turned out to be a full on trip! I’ll try to share about the concert in October. Right now I’m just doing everything I can to not spoil the surprise!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I promised a little update to @ajrwdwgirl @MinnieM123 @Swissmiss @cgersic and anyone else that was interested.

Our little trip to Oklahoma was over this past weekend. The surprise didn't go quite as planned, but I think it was right considering the circumstances. About 2 weeks ago, K had a really rough weekend. I'll spare you all of the drama, but she was so incredibly down and frustrated. In the middle of all of the sobbing, some things came up about some cover band she wanted to see. Things were starting to take a turn and I didn't want to upset her anymore. David and I agreed that now was a better time than waiting. I offered her the option to wait until it happens, but she was really in need of a pick-me-up.

She started sobbing as soon as she started to process what I was telling her. I asked her if this was better than going to the cover band, because I wouldn't be able to do both. She was more than happy to skip the cover band in favor of seeing an actual Beatle. For the next almost 2 weeks, several times a day, she'd bring up something about the concert. Most days, it was a countdown, but there were also days where she talked about what to wear and how she'd found the playlist for most of the concerts. I did not film the actual surprise, but I got lots of pics and video of that night. Some of the video and pics will also show just how happy and emotional she was with this night. She gave me updates nearly every single day, but as we got closer, my phone and social media also started to do the same.







October 13th-

I'll spare you all of my hotel blunders with this trip as well as the driving stress. It all worked out, so that's all that matters. We got to our hotel in Ardmore, OK with time for me to nap and K to get all dolled up. We were still not hungry from the Whataburger that we had for lunch, so we just headed straight to the WinStar. The lots were really parked up, but things were still pretty decent around the concert venue.



Before we went in, I got a pic of K with Ringo's pic on the sign.



It took around 5 minutes for it to cycle through. It made us realize how lucky it was that I just happened to see it as we were driving by back in July, because it takes a while for these images to come back around.

We went in and it smelled like Vegas, which gave me all kinds of good vibes.



These cool lights were animated and changed into all kinds of things. I'd taken video, but I wound up deleting them to make room for my concert video montage.



The doors were set to open about 90 minutes before showtime and we still had some time, so we took a little walk to look at the hotel.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We weren't really up for walking all around the casino, so we just went back to the arena entrance and waited for the doors to open.



Once the doors opened, we went through security, bought some merch for K and some drinks. Then it was off to find our seats. Apparently, everything was mislabeled since this is a brand-new venue and it was the first night it was open. In the end, we all determined that row C was equivalent to CC. Part of me wishes I splurged for the floor, but our seats were elevated and were the permanent more comfy seats. So, it was probably the better option. It was still a great view.




We were sitting there for a while when I realized that some of the lights spell out RINGO.




Many of the other people in attendance were wearing Beatles gear. We're talking everything from tshirts and bags to Yellow Submarine hats and full-blown Sgt. Pepper's costumes. I encouraged K to wear her tee...




...but that didn't last long.



The place was packed by concert time and thankfully, nobody too tall sat in front of us.

I'll share some pics during the concert in the next post but this is the video montage I put together. His current All Star Band is made up of Edgar Winter (The Edgar Winter Group), Steve Lukather (Toto), Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), Warren Ham (Kansas -among other things), Colin Hay (Men at Work), and Gregg Bissonette (amazing drummer).

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Here are some of the pics I took during the concert.













Afterwards, we were hoping to get a bit to eat in the cafe since I'd seen some sources saying it was open 24 hours. That's how most casinos have it but this one was closing right as we arrived. So, we waved goodbye to the WinStar…



…and we grabbed some more Whataburger on the way back north and ate in our hotel room. We were up bright and early the next morning to head up to OU. You're probably not interested in the full 2.5 mile campus tour, so all spare you all of those pics.






So that’s it! It was a huge success.

 

[Swissmiss]

I’m glad you had this surprise in your back pocket to help with the teen drama. At 18 mine is finally (slowly) starting to put stress and drama into perspective so the sobbing bouts are fewer and farther in between.

Love the selfie of the two of you - it looks like you were really having a great time.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I’m glad you had a great time, sounds like it was exactly what was needed

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I’m glad you had this surprise in your back pocket to help with the teen drama. At 18 mine is finally (slowly) starting to put stress and drama into perspective so the sobbing bouts are fewer and farther in between.

Love the selfie of the two of you - it looks like you were really having a great time.

Thankfully this wasn't that kind of teen drama. We've had plenty of that variety as well, but this was more of a school/state organization structure-policy/teacher thing. So basically, a bunch of adults ruining things for kids.

It was a lot of fun and definitely an experience we'll never forget!

I’m glad you had a great time, sounds like it was exactly what was needed

It was!

 

[cgersic]

Yay for the mini trip report and I love the selfie! Sometimes, music is just what we need to make life better, and it looks like that was the case here - you both look very happy! Hoping the OU tour went well!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yay for the mini trip report and I love the selfie! Sometimes, music is just what we need to make life better, and it looks like that was the case here - you both look very happy! Hoping the OU tour went well!

Thanks! It was a great time and really brought K a lot of joy. The OU tour was good as well.