Road Trip: Oh, Oklahoma!

Your mom and I made it to Oklahoma! We spent some time visiting with your Grandpa Gene and then your Grandma Sharon and her side of the family. This was the first time I met any of these people and it had been a few years since your mom had seen any of them, as well, so it was great that we were able to get out there after all this time.

After a few years away, your mom finally made it back to Oklahoma, where she grew up. 

She took some time to show me some of the interesting sites, including this old one-room schoolhouse where her dad, your Grandpa Gene, attended primary school as a little kid. 

We also sneaked onto the grounds of this creepy, decommissioned mental hospital compound. Many of the buildings have begun to fall apart at this place, where your mom's grandpa actually worked when he was younger! 

Oklahoma is the home to most of your mom's family history, the home of both happy and sad memories. This is the grave of your Grandpa Gene's little sister Kim, who was tragically stillborn. She would have been your mom's aunt, and your great aunt.

Your mom also took me to the house she grew up in in Vinita. Someone else lives there now, but your mom has a lot of memories from growing up in this yard and some of the open land around here. 

This is the Vinita Public Library, where your mom volunteered for years as a teenager. We visited the folks running it, almost all of whom are the same as when your mom worked there. 

It was a touching moment when your mom and her dad were reunited after being separated for a few years. It had been too long, for both of them, I think. 

Your grandpa Gene was living in this trailer at a campsite near Grand Lake, an enormous lake near their hometown. 

Your grandpa Gene took us on a tour of the area, including some of the spillways which were rushing that day. 

Your grandpa Gene is quite the story-teller. There's likely not a single event in his life he can't recount with a little flair added in. This place was the view from what he and your mom have always called "the lake place," a house they had for a short while right on the bluffs overlooking Grand Lake. 

After getting back to the campsite that evening, we enjoyed a late sunset and your mom was able to reminisce about her time spent on these shores. 

The next day we went driving around a bit more, checking out some of the smaller tributaries leading into the big lake. 

Nearby we stopped for dipped cones from this little ice-cream hut. The menu had everything in both English and the Native American Cherokee language. I remember the cones dripping all over us in the humid summer heat. 

After parting with your grandpa, we made a short drive to visit your grandma Sharon. A bunch of your mom's extended family was there to visit as well. On the left is Nicole, your mom's sister surrounded by her three kids. The young girl next to your mom is Brooklyn, technically your mom's niece, but they grew up roughly the same age and good friends. Your grandma Sharon and her husband, Mark, are to the right of your mom. Mark is holding Brooklyn's daughter Sarina. It was quite a gathering, and I was glad to get a chance to meet the folks I'd heard so much about. 

We spent the afternoon and evening at their place, somewhat set back into some land. Your grandma's husband Mark is quite craftsman, and he and your grandma have been putting in a lot of work building this barn-styled house which incorporates a lot of neat features. One of the coolest items is the reusing of the old staircase from your great grandpa's old house which was torn down years ago.