The trek from Salina to Norman was another long, boring day of interstate driving out on the plains – this time heading south on I-35. Since the wind was coming out of the north the day before, we were hoping to have a nice tailwind, and therefore, good gas milage all day long. Nope! Overnight the wind had shifted and was now coming out of the west which made for another annoying crosswind. 😒
I’m sure that I have mentioned this in a previous post, but I’ve become quite the stickler when it comes to prevailing winds on drive days and their impact on our fuel efficiency. Every time I start ranting and saying things like “Without fail! What-do-ya-know, another stiff wind right in our face!” Sam just rolls her eyes and tells me I’m sounding like an old man. And the sad part is that she’s 100% right. I am developing old man tendencies at a rapid pace. But in all fairness, it should be expected. I live in an RV after all…
After a long day of driving, we eventually rolled into the Oklahoma City metro. However, before we could head down to Norman, we had to make a stop in south OKC to drop off the trailer at a storage facility. Since we would be in town for a few weeks, we figured that we would save a little money on site fees and stay at my parent’s place. Plus, we had been in the trailer for a good nine months at this point, so it was nice to take a little break from RV life and see how the other half lived in these mini castles commonly known as “houses.”
Our extended stay in Norman was prompted for a few reasons – the first of which was my grandmother’s (AKA Meme) ninetieth birthday party! We had such a good time ringing in the big 9-0 with Meme and the rest of the gang who had flown in for the big occasion. The day was filled with fun, starting with great food/drinks/desserts, and ending with a piñata which was smashed by the birthday girl, herself. Although Meme just kept talking about how blessed she was the whole day, the truth is that we are the ones who are blessed. We are so damn lucky to have the most amazing matriarch sitting at the head of our table for all these years – and, God willing, for many more years to come!
The next big event on the itinerary was Sam’s bridal shower! And for this one, we had the great pleasure of being joined by Char and Jess who flew in the night before so that they could be a part Sam’s big day. In addition to Char and Jess, we had friends and family from all over Oklahoma who made the journey to my parent’s place to join in on the festivities. It is special times like these that we are reminded just how loved and blessed we are to have all these people who are willing to take time out of their busy lives to come and celebrate with us (and shower us with gifts).
The last of the three major shindigs was Easter Sunday, which was hosted over at Meme’s house (the traditional Easter gathering point for the Normanite fam). The day kicked off with a delicious lunch which was highlighted by a huge, juicy Easter ham before the gang migrated out front to engage in some festive yard games. After all, no Easter celebration would be complete without an egg toss! And not to point fingers or anything, but it was definitely Kaleigh’s fault that our egg broke. Just sayin’!
Following a quick cleanup of all the eggshells and confetti from Meme’s front yard, we had one last activity before it was time to drop Char and Jess off at the airport – a rocket launch! Ms. Kaleigh had received a model rocket for Christmas a few months before and conditions were finally right to get that bad boy airborne, so we loaded up the cars and made our way over to a field that was big enough to conduct the launch (or so we thought). Turns out that we vastly underestimated just how high the rocket would go and how far the wind would carry it once the parachute deployed. After searching for the rocket for a good thirty minutes, we were all set to call it quits and give up on finding it when Char happened to spot the rocket’s orange parachute a quarter mile further than we originally estimated!
Our few weeks in Norman was an absolute blast! We just had the best time seeing everyone and celebrating seemingly nonstop. That being said, it was nice to have a few days of quiet following Easter Sunday to recharge our batteries before it was time to hit the road once more. However, this time we would be going our separate ways for a few days – Sam to Scottsdale for her bachelorette party while my dad and I teamed up to drive the rig back up to Denver.