london remembered

to steal ira glass's classic this american life transition: act two. with two huge accomplishments in the books - tying the knot at timberlake and then circumnavigating the USA from east to west and back - we had a whole new story to write in the next chapter of our journey in europe. in act two, we were excited to learn, observe, try new things, and see old friends on the other side of the atlantic. this stage felt like the first 50-100 pages of a new novel. you now have a feel for the characters and what makes them tick out in the world. now was the time to drop those characters - the rambling beasts - into action where the real plot unfolds.

we began the european leg of our adventure with a brief stopover in london en route to turkey. it had been five years since i was in the UK after several whirlwind semesters living, working, and studying in primrose hill, maida vale, and kensington, and up north in newcastle. it had been a little longer for steve since his solo backpacking days. we landed early on a tuesday morning in typical fog and light rain with plans to hit the pavement hard for two days before continuing on to istanbul.

my favorite way to see london is on foot. despite fighting a proper downpour and jet lag that first day, we covered lots of ground in our 48-hour layover. feeling like i had once known many of london's neighborhoods like the back of my hand, my knowledge and muscle memory was immediately put to the test. we stepped off the platform at paddington station, dropped our luggage at the gresham hotel, and hit the streets. we explored the arab late-night cafe culture on edgware road, hustled down (and away from) oxford street, crossed through mayfair and trafalgar, westminster, and south bank. we admired the opulent neighborhoods of kensington, the quaint, colorful crescents of notting hill and primrose hill, and popped into storefronts and pubs from islington to camden. having once been so confident and comfortable, i was surprised i had to relearn simple things like pedestrian rules for crossing the street. other things - like my old walk to work through regent's park, down harley street to grosvenor square or up kensington church street to the notting hill coronet - came back quickly.

it's amazing to me how much and how little has changed in five years since i moved back home to start my working life in dc. steve tested and confirmed they still make the very best, buttery clouds they call croissants at the french patisserie around the corner from my old dorm, though the handsome, brooding french waiters have moved on. some sketchy blocks on my late night walk home off the 24 bus route are now fully gentrified. where the camden and chalk farm of my early twenties was all dinge, late night music halls, and chip shops, now there are craft beer gardens, tapas restaurants, and artisanal cheese shops. 

it was fun to see the city through a new lens with steve as my tastes and interests have certainly changed since i lived here as an undergraduate and graduate student. we sampled a new trendy indian restaurant, cinnamon soho, which put a modern twist on traditional, family style dishes. hot off our trip to napa and sonoma, we plotted opening a "new world" wine shop in london to fill the gaping hole on most london wine lists and store shelves (we actively searched!) with the big, fruity cabs and zins that california has to offer. any investors out there? let's talk!

in sum, i still love this city, and steve and i loved being there together. tons of green space, rich with diversity and tradition, yet ever-changing with new things to see and do - london fits us perfectly.

here are our pics from london

philadelphia

our last u.s. stop was philadelphia.  we went to attend the wedding of our friends hugo and jenn. we had a great time seeing a wide collection of old friends.  the ceremony was a beautiful indoor recreation of the paris park where hugo and jenn got engaged.  it was so fun to see everyone in their blacktie optional attire.  congratulations to hugo and jenn!

philadelphia pics

the second city

after three 12-hour days in the car plowing eastward, we were road-weary and antsy to stretch our legs. as we pulled into chicago at rush hour, steve and i had lots to look forward to on our visit. my brother, jordan, and his wife, hope, were putting us up for three days in their andersonville apartment, and steve's sister, caroline, was in town for one night for work. we had three full days where all we had to rely on was our feet, not a car!

chicago never disappoints. our appreciation for the city sneaks up on us a bit and sinks in a little deeper each time we visit. obviously, we always have great company in jordan and hope, who give us a taste of the chicago comedy scene they are immersed in, a life which is so different from our D.C. routine. the food is abundant and always good (if not good for you!). the city architecture and museums are marvel-worthy, and the mix of people and industries is interesting. typically, the only wild card is the weather. this time we got super lucky with a sample of the best chicago has to offer with unseasonably beautiful, warm sunny days and a few early summer thundershowers low over the rooftops to sing us to sleep.

we started our stay with a boozy, celebratory bang at hopleaf, one of j and hope's favorite neighborhood spots we frequent each time we visit. monday night was caroline's only night in town, and hope just got a big promotion and raise at second city, so we made a party out of it on back patio sampling pretty much everything on the belgian-heavy menu - mussels, frites, wine on tap, and a monstrous ham sandwich that may be better characterized as dessert. a full house that night in more ways than one, but we slept well indeed!

with j and hope at work during the day, steve and i spent our days attempting to do the same, taking care of "road business" and other general maintenance - hair cuts, oil change and tune-up, and catching up on email, bills, and mail that had piled up while we were away (thanks to carol for being our mail lady!). we feel at home among andersonville's many coffee spots, boutiques, and grocery stores, having gotten "stuck" there for a few extra days on a previous visit during hurricane sandy. by now, we've sampled just about every swedish breakfast the neighborhood has to offer. we spent one afternoon getting sun and exercise in lincoln park on the ocean-blue water of Lake Michigan. it's amazing how much being on the lake in the summer feels like you're on the coast, not in the heart of the mid-west. 

our favorite part of the visit was tagging along to jordan's comedy gigs. we admire how both j and hope are strategically and fearlessly building a career in chicago's competitive improv comedy and theater scene. hope is learning the ropes of producing at second city, and j is building a name for himself getting new auditions, new roles, and more exposure all the time. on wednesday night, we saw j in a preview of a second city director's sketch comedy show. after that wrapped up, we piled into his van and barreled across town, so j could make his debut performance of a five-minute solo routine at another venue. both shows were so fun and so funny. home by midnight after a full day of work and two shows, j had to get up and do it all again the next day. 

thanks again, j and hope, for giving us another great taste of chicago! you guys are killing it. 

eastward!

we left portland saturday morning and began our long drive back east.  our plan was to largely drive through, with very few daytime stops. it was a long drive, portland to chicago is 2100 miles.

that said, getting out of oregon we had one planned stop - in bend, oregon.  we wanted to go to bend because we had heard great things about the high desert town, but our real purpose was the beer.  we drove through the quaint town and straight to deschutes downtown bend location.  deschutes has a special cache, at least to me, in the craft beer world.  they were one of the first craft breweries in the country and are known for their high quality product.  whit and i were struck at first by the size and professionalism of the brewery and restaurant.  it's a large two-story building that seems outsized to serve the small bend community.  we got a sampler of all their beers and some decent food.  the beer was truly great.  i liked every option in the sampler.  i don't think i've ever felt that way at any other brewery.  each beer was so well balanced and clean.  really great stuff.

after bend we continued east and stuck to our plan - no other daytime stops. however, our dinner stop along the route included another surprise. landlocked boise, idaho, has some amazing sushi. i must admit, i was quite skeptical when whit navigated us to a run-of-the-mill shopping center in the boise suburbs, but when our plates of fresh, tender, melt-in-your-mouth rolls arrived, we were thoroughly impressed. yelp usually doesn't lead us astray, and this time was no different. we assume the quality sushi may be a result of the japanese that settled in this region during and after WWII internment.

the drive west to east is interesting.  in my mind, structured as it is in an east coast mold, this drive was the opposite of how the u.s. has evolved and developed.  we drove through the high desert, and then green, mesa-like eastern oregon and idaho.  further east we got into the rolling hills of wyoming and the flat prairie of nebraska.  it's all very beautiful, if vast and largely uninhabited.  driving into chicago, especially from the west, it becomes very clear why chicago has such sway in the midwest - it's the big city.  and it really is.

PDX

wednesday was a day in the car driving from napa through the redwoods en route to portland.  i have visited the redwoods before, but it was whitney's first time seeing the huge trees.  as we were already a bit behind schedule, we didn't hike through the forest, but we did get out and stare up at these giant trees.  the redwoods are awesome.

we spent thursday and friday in portland after a short drive up US-5 from wednesday night's terminus, roseburg, or. after exploring downtown and the legendary powell's books we headed east of the river to our guesthouse off division in the richmond neighborhood. we were happy to stay in a neighborhood where we could a go for a run through the residential streets, observe the locals, and fall into a more normal pace of life.  portland, like SF, is a city of neighborhoods, and we spent a fair bit of time exploring.  we walked through hawthorne, brooklyn, buckman, and roseway.

there's plenty to do and see in portland but it seemed like all we did was eat and drink.  we had two great meals in portland, which, even among the big time cities we passed through, has a great food scene.  the first night we ate at pok pok.  it's a trendy thai/vietnamese place with the best wings we've ever had - just an amazing blend of spices and sweetness with the perfect crunch. we also had a more elegant, classy experience with amazing pasta at ava genes down the street.

portland is known as the "city of roses" and was on the verge of being in full bloom on our visit.  everywhere roses.  we did a quick tour of the international rose test garden up in the hills of portland's west side.  the roses there were just about to come out.  each bush had 10-15 buds just waiting to burst.  those that had come out were beautiful and really fragrant!

as we were walking back to our apartment on thursday, whitney observed that portland is where 20 somethings go to retire.  it's the truth.  the young in portland seem so content in their place.  we watched the first episode of portlandia on our second night in the city and the creators make a similar joking assertion in the first five minutes of the series. hilarious.

our pics from portland

napa

we love napa.  before our good friends scott and kara's wedding last year in point reyes, whitney and i spent a couple days in the carneros area and have since been hooked.

this time we stayed in sonoma at a great little cabin on a farm a couple miles outside of town.  the rustic cabin, pictured below, was a really fun experience.  it was dark and quiet at night, bright and airy during the day. we really enjoyed the town of sonoma.  our first night in town we ate at a cute little place called the girl and the fig.  the very rich meal of local cheeses, meats and, of course, wine was delicious.  our second night we were lucky enough to meet up with our good friends from dc, aaron and megan, at Meritage Cafe after sampling more local fare at the sonoma farmer's market and cocktails from the excellent bartender at El Dorado Hotel - a really fortuitous, fun night.

during our three days we spent our time exploring vineyards in napa. we went to a number that were known for their zinfandels including biale and storybook. we had a particularly special experience at storybook, where we took a tour of the estate which ended with a tasting in their 100-year old wine cellar - a cave built into the side of a zinfandel-covered hill.  the zinfandel produced by the vintner received the highest rating ever given to a zin, 97. of course, we had to take their last bottle of that vintage off their hands. outside of our zin experience, we had some great cabs at hall vineyards and discovered there are some good merlots out there after all at peju.

we were having such a great time in napa that on our last night, in a bit of a wine haze, we considered staying for the rest of the week.  when we woke up the next morning though, we returned to our plan and hit the road.  we will be back!

more pictures from napa and sonoma

lake tahoe

while whitney stayed in SF, i headed out to north lake tahoe for my very good friend gabe's bachelor party.  a great time with old and new friends.  saturday was a very full day: before sunrise fishing, cube and ping pong competition over lunch, mountain biking in the afternoon, grilling, drinking, and the board game dominion in the evening.  a very fun time.

mountain biking was super fun but not without some trouble.  while trying to execute a cool skid, i went down.  road rash.

san francisco

steve and i were both anxious to get to san francisco - steve to meet his gang of best men for the weekend and skip town to tahoe for gabe's bachelor party, me to explore the city. from our vantage point, SF is a west coast city with an east cost mentality. it feels like a mix of so many places we have visited and lived, but yet it is so distinct. it's easy to fall in love with this city and fall hard.

steve-less for the weekend, kate and her sister-in-law, rachel, came up from LA to explore the city with me. i wanted a real introduction to SF's neighborhoods from the perspective of a local. we got just the kind of intro we needed from kate's cousin, who gave us a glimpse of life in berkeley, and from leslie, a great friend who moved from arkansas to SF five years ago by way of spain and france.

we dropped our stuff at the hotel, said goodbye to steve, and struck out up a steep hill to grab a quick cocktail at the the top of the Mark Hotel to take in a panoramic of the city. the fog already blanketed our view of the golden gate bridge, but we happily sipped our $14 martinis like the tourists that we were.

next, we hit the BART at rush hour to meet kate's cousin, ashley, at little star pizza in albany, a charming suburb of SF near berkeley. visiting with ashley and her three engaging sons (6, 3, and 9 months) was rejuvenating, as she warmly described the pace of work and life in the bay area.

saturday morning, we hopped the MUNI to meet leslie in cole valley for brunch at zazie. leslie arrived early to snag us a prime seat on the sun-lit back patio, and, after one of the best mimosas of my life, i knew immediately leslie knew exactly what was up. brunch turned into a full day and night of neighborhood hopping.

from there we blazed a path across the city, leslie leading the way through the haight district, the castro, and into the mission. we stayed put to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather at zeitgeist, a dive bar where we set up shop on the patio with the hipsters sunning themselves over pitchers of lagunitas and stiff bloody marys. we continued down valencia street for some authentic grub at a local taqueria and then made the obligatory stop for a cone at bi-rite creamery next to delores park.

after a cloudless afternoon, we made it through golden gate park to the bridge to find it once again completely covered in fog. the obligatory bridge picture just wasn't meant to be this trip! leslie and her boyfriend dropped the three of us off at the hotel after a family-style dinner in chinatown.

thanks to leslie for proving what we suspected to be true - public transport is prevalent and efficient. good food is ubiquitous. the hills are steep, and the weather is moody, but people are active and interested. san francisco is an amazing place to visit and to live.

Big Sur

the drive from los angeles to san francisco via big sur was the segment of our road trip i was most excited about. steve had driven highway 1 a few times before but had never stopped in big sur. i had only read or heard about the scenic cliffs and seascapes from kerouac, travel journals, and friends.

after our unplanned overnight stay in santa barbara, we knew we had to make up time on the road to stay on schedule. after navigating the santa barbara "rush hour," we were immediately transported into a steinbeck novel. the rolling landscape was arid and dry but fertile and green all at once. old pickup trucks transporting livestock and produce passed us on the road, and we reluctantly passed opportunities to sample fresh cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and avocados sold in stands right off the highway. we had to push through to make up time.

instead, we made a quick grocery run at a natural foods market in san luis obispo where steve, after much deliberation over fancy hummus, gave in to his soft spot for reubens. finally, we pressed on.

big sur is a national treasure. it is just ridiculously gorgeous, reminiscent of the irish or scottish coastline with an edge for drama and laid-back cool that can only be found in california (at least in my mind). we had the perfect day for our drive - blue sky and a few rolling clouds overhead and lush greens, yellows, white, pinks, and purples of spring on the fields, hills, and cliffs along the highway.

we made several pull-offs to take in the views, snap photos of a huge elephant seal colony who have made their home along the coast, and to hike the redwood trails at pfeiffer state park. on our hike, steve and i had our first close encounter with wildlife on the trip - a baby rattlesnake! we strategically hopped out of there before we ran into mama.

the coolest part of the hike were the ruins of an abandoned mansion built by a wealthy family in the 1920s on a particularly spectacular, yet precarious, cliffside overlooking a cobalt blue cove of Pacific. to get to the house, the family had to take a cable car down the mountain side to their front door. perhaps because the land was prone to landslides, the family packed up and left in the 1940s, leaving the land to the state of california. the old flagstone steps of the back patio lined with non-native palm trees were about all that remained of the once gatsby-worthy old settlement.

while the scenery was breathtaking, the drive itself was, too. several times, i found myself white-knuckling the car seat or steve's thigh as we navigated the switchbacks hugging steep drop-offs to the rocky shoreline.

leaving the park, we drove through the carmel valley into monterey around dinner time. we stopped into a casual seafood pub that's a favorite of the local crowd before calling it a day, looking forward to the weekend ahead up the road in san francisco. steve and i will certainly be back down this road again.

malibu, santa barbara... and sorrento?

after a great time in LA whitney and i took off up CA-1.  we didn't have very firm plans, but knew we wanted to see malibu and santa barbara.  getting out of LA and on to 1 felt great - leaving the sprawl of the city and feeling the initial sea breeze was so refreshing.

malibu turned out to be a real brief stop for us, but a nice one.  we had truly the best smoothie either one of us has ever had.  as i write this it seems incredibly cliche to write about the best smoothie ever from sunlife organics in malibu, but it was amazing.  while we waited for our smoothies we also tried a thick bee pollen potion - just a single, small bite really awakened our senses.  who knows what's really in it, and at more than $10/oz we didn't buy any, but it was some powerful stuff.

up the coast a little further we stopped into santa barbara for what we thought would be just a snack and some wine.  on a recommendation from our friend kate we visited municipal winemakers and had a relaxed, fun experience. the knowledgeable (if "bro-ey") guy behind the counter poured us a bunch of their stuff, and we came away with our first bottle of the trip.  

before getting out west we didn't realize how much wine is in santa barbara. turns out there's a ton! we decided to extend our stay by continuing to sample the wines on offer on the urban wine tour in the district near the beach.  

our best experience in santa barbara came from our interaction with one of the owners of kunin wines in their tasting room and the chain of interactions and recommendations he kicked off. this led us just to bag it and stick around santa barbara for the rest of the day, despite only being two hours down the road from L.A. where we started. 

as a self-proclaimed foodie, we asked for him for some dinner recommendations. he gave us a great dinner spot - olio pizzeria.  at olio we had an italian server to whom we mentioned our upcoming time in italy for our good friends gabe and kelli's wedding in montepulciano and sorrento.  it turns out he is from sorrento, and he gave us a waiter's ticket full of recommendations on places to go.  "tell the folks in positano that cosimo sent you," he told us. 

though we only budgeted a few hours stop off the road, our stay in santa barbara proved to be a well worth the stopover. this is the kind of unplanned and unexpected fun road trips are made of.

Los Angeles

After several days on back roads in the mountains with spotty internet access and lots of one or two stoplight towns, Steve and I were visibly excited to pull into L.A. in rush hour traffic. Ubiquitous wireless access and more than one street to comb for Yelp recommendations - life is good!

L.A. is a sprawling patchwork of neighborhoods connected by a maze of freeways. Steve and I first visited together two years ago for a friend's wedding, and Kate gave us an excellent intro to the city. I was surprised how much we fell in love with L.A. on that visit, and we were both eager to do and see more of what it has to offer. 

When getting to know a new city, we like to get a feel for the distinct personalities each district has to offer. Kate took a "sick day" Tuesday to tour us around town, navigating us through traffic like a champ. This visit we explored Los Feliz (curiously pronounced "Los Feeeee-les" by locals according to Kate), Highland Park, and Hollywood. No celebrities spotted, but Steve did point out Justin Theroux's motorcycle. It looked familiar anyway.

Two of the highlights from our stay were our visit to Griffith Observatory, a beautiful deco building with a spectacular view of the L.A. skyline and sprawl, and a night stroll through LACMA's outdoor light exhibit. A few shots are below. Thank you, Kate, for another quality hang in a quality town!

zion

zion national park is spectacular.  its canyons are colorful and lush. the virgin river, which runs through the park and carved the canyons over thousands of years, is iridescent and gentle.  the tiny town outside zion's southern gate, springdale, is cute and quaint. we had great experiences in our two days at the park: driving in on route 9, exploring the bottom of the canyon and river, and ending our time at the park with a white-knuckle hike called angels landing.

the drive into the park from the east on route 9, even after the crazy drive we had through colorado and utah, was special.  all of zion evokes a john williams' score, but the drive in feels like entering jurassic park for the first time.  one of zion's iconic sites, the checkerboard mesa, is on the ride in. our pic is above.  also on the ride in is a drive through the mile-long zion-mt. carmel tunnel through the sandstone mesa built in the 1930s - a very cool experience.

on our first day we explored the zion human history museum, a good extension to the visitors center, and the canyons from the bottom, hiking along the virgin river for a couple miles.  first thing  monday morning we hiked angels landing - a steep (nearly 1500 ft ascent) and narrow hike up the side of one mesa and then out to the edge.  the last half mile is very narrow and rocky.  chains through the middle of the path help keep hikers on the path.  it was a bit nerve racking, as several hikers have died on the trail in the last five years, but the views were amazing.

zion was a special place - an incredible experience for whitney and me.

  

Routes 12 and 89

we took routes 12 and 89 southwest from just inside utah's eastern border through capitol reef national park, escalante petrified forest, red canyon, dixie national forest, bryce canyon national park, and to the door of zion. It's an incredible drive – otherworldly, incredible canyon walls and peaks on all sides, fantastic colors.  whit and i spent the whole route exchanging, “wow, look at this.” a few shots, which don't begin to capture the scale, are below.

Curiosity at work

Steve mentioned in a previous post the great hospitality that his cousins, Tony and Lydia, showed us  during our stay in Colorado. Our two nights at their home on the outskirts of Boulder were a perfect start to our journey. Their balanced, honest approach to living and building a home is a model for us to draw inspiration from as we start our own lives together.

We admired right away that though both have engaging careers, they also have hobbies that push them to try and learn new things. Lydia is a gifted artist worthy of her own gallery space. She has a studio space off the living room, and many of her watercolors displayed throughout the house are gorgeous renderings of images has collected from her travels.

We loved the tour Tony gave us of the work spaces he has created for his many hobbies. He has a shop that he uses to restore antique cars and tractors. He used the old Chevy below on his birthday to load and haul three massive loads of wood to dry for winter.

He built a chicken coop he and Lydia use to raise hens that produce the most colorful and delicious eggs I've had.

He uses an old tractor he found on Craigslist and restored to plow a plot of land and grow an assortment of vegetables, including tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, garlic, beets, and potatoes. Yield from this crop is used to make homemade canned spaghetti sauces and tomatillo salsa. They have also planted a veritable orchard to boot with peach, apple, and now currant trees that all bear fruit or soon will.

And when we thought they couldn't get any cooler, they did. They're beekeepers, too, raising boxes of bees they use to make their own honey.

All of these major "side-projects" are manifestations of their curiosity at work. When we asked Tony how they learned how to do all of these fascinating things, he said he learned it all from reading books.

Thanks again for sharing your home with us, Tony and Lydia. Steve and I have lots of reading to do!

boulder --> boulder

tony made some great omelets for breakfast, we packed up and hit the road today for boulder, utah. It's 8ish hours from boulder, co and tony had a great recommendation on a place to stay. the journey has been so scenic. the contrast with the plains is stunning. we're about to cross into utah heading west on i-70. the transition from mountains to mesas is amazing.

palisade, colorado is an interesting place. it's a little wine and peach village on the colorado river maybe 30 min east of grand junction. we drove by and had no idea what we were seeing. a little internet research – 182 day growing season, 78% sunshine, its the peach capital of colorado. there were also a number of wineries.

we've had our first injury of the trip. whitney slammed her right thumb in the door when we stopped for gas. it has put a damper on her day. our moms both had the same nursing advice and we are going to work on it tonight. thanks, moms!

boulder, co

our first destination was boulder, co and it was great. we stayed with lydia and tony, my cousins technically i think. in any case, they showed us great hospitality. lydia made a thai meal of tom ka gai meal and we had an engaging conversation about education in the state and tony's non-profit's work in that area. friday was a day of exploration. we went all over urban boulder, looking in shops, drinking great coffee at the unseen bean cafe and beer at mountain sun brewery. in the afternoon we took a small hike at the base of boulder's famous flatiron mountains. these are spectacular and we found ourselves staring up at them for much of the afternoon.  the first picture below is from our hike. we also drove up the mountain to see boulder from above, the second picture below. friday evening we had dinner at mateo in downtown boulder, a generous wedding gift from tony and lydia. the food and ambiance were fantastic.

gettin' out of dodge

we made it to witchita, ks after leaving arkansas on wednesday.  thursday left the long slog through kansas in route to our first destination boulder, co.  there is not much in kansas.  the photo below is a good shot of what we saw for much of the way.  we took a more southerly route, also known as the santa fe trail, as opposed to the main artery i-70 to avoid some odd late season winter weather.  this route took us through dodge city and garden city. the official motto of dodge city is "get the heck into dodge" but we were pleased to move through it without stopping.  on the way into dodge, right before we snapped the second picture, a tumbleweed passed in front of our car.  no kidding.  the air in this part of kansas is thick with the stench feed lots and the intendent smell of death at the end of that process.  a beautiful sky in kansas all else aside.

Art in our backyard

After a whirlwind Timberlake wedding weekend and with final hugs, kisses, and godspeeds, Steve and I packed up Claude, our tired but trusted Hyundai Tucson, and struck out on our big adventure (albeit a half-day behind schedule). A few hours down I-40 later we made our first stop - Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Steve and I had read a lot about this museum and have seen our fair share living in D.C. and through our travels abroad. This one, buried behind a standard issue cul-de-sac in Northwest Arkansas suburbia, can compete with them all. The architecture and ambiance of the place rivals the Getty in Los Angeles, and the diversity of Alice Walton's collection was impressive. Our visit was well worth the side trip, even if it meant we had to plow through Oklahoman thunderstorms past midnight to stick to our driving schedule. We look forward to picnicking on the grounds on our next trip!