BAGPIPES, BOOTS, AND A BIG BLUE WHALE

Last Friday, Hubby and I went to Tulsa for my pre-birthday celebration. Soon after we settled in our hotel room, our daughter and her boyfriend picked us up and we went to dinner together at Café Ole, a trendy Mexican restaurant at Brookside. After a wonderful dinner (which I enjoyed with equally wonderful margaritas) we went to the Gathering of the Clans ceremony at River Park. Our specific clan was not represented so we didn’t experience the shout of the Maclean battle cry Fear eile airson Eachainn, meaning in Gaelic "Another for Hector", which oddly enough sounds like something a burly Scotsman would shout in a barroom rather than on a battlefield.

Cowboy Trade Day was on Saturday. It is a cowboy-stuff flea market and located on Route 66 just outside of Catoosa, Oklahoma. We arrived around 9:00 a.m. and shopped until a few minutes after noon. This year we weren’t looking for anything particular, however, I did purchase two antler candle holders, which said antlers at one time sat on the head of a six-point buck. The candle holders are made by Dan Porter from central Kansas and his work is exceptionally good. I looked through lots of vintage cowboy boots but didn’t find a pair that would work for me. We were disappointed that the cowboy music and poetry were cancelled and there were not as many vendors as there had been in past years.

After leaving the cowboy sale, we stopped at the Big Blue Whale which is also on Route 66. The whale is the main attraction of what was a water park many years ago. The whale was built in the early 1970's and the water park closed in 1980. Because it was declared a Route 66 roadside attraction in 2002, hundreds of people stop there to explore and take their photo in the mouth of the big blue whale.

Of course, I snapped a few photos of Hubby posing as Jonah just prior to being swallowed by the big fish. A hand painted sign was posted on the old ticket booth which stated NO SWIMING. No swiming? I understand the intent of the sign is NO SWIMMING but it made me laugh anyway.

For those of you who have read my past blogs, you know I love Route 66. Cowboy Trade Day and the Big Blue Whale are only a couple of endless reasons why I get my kicks on Route 66.
What a wonderful way to celebrate my impending birthday!