C'mon Spring!

Anticipating the warmer weather--and daylight lasting longer into the evening--we bought a pair of bicycles. One of our New Year's resolutions was to work out together, so we were going to the gym after I picked up Uchenna. But it was too much like work, which is the last thing you want after work.

Going for a little ride in the evening, or on a Saturday afternoon--now that's some exercise we can stick with.

We hear we have an extensive system of trails through the center of town, running both north and south and east and west. Actually a river runs down the middle of town, and it's a terrible flood plain. So they made it all a park with these trails. We're looking forward to exploring them.

It was a blustery day in February when we went shopping, but at least it wasn't raining, or snowing. With our tax refund in our hot little hands, we found a place in Tulsa touted as "the largest bike shop in Oklahoma."

Specialty shops are great--they know their stuff, and they really fix you up. The guy showed us how to attach the bike rack to our car, so we and the bikes could get safely home. I just hope we remember how to do it again ourselves when we decide to go farther afield than our own neighborhood and surrounding environs. Like over to those trails.

Bikes have come a long way since the last time I rode one, which I think was about 7th grade. Officially ours are called comfort bikes: for one thing, the distance from the seat to the handle bars lets you ride sitting up straight. We like that better. Also, they have larger seats, fat tires like a mountain bike, a ton of gears (more than I will probably ever use), and a front shock absorber. I thought my tire was a little flat--it had a certain familiar squishy feel as I was riding--but then I realized it was just the give from the shocks. So now we're ready to get in shape in style and comfort.

(It's the helmets that really make us stylin')

Of course, this being Oklahoma, the weather gods have an ironic sense of humor, to say the least. This was the scene on the first day of spring.

(We wouldn't be biking on this particular Saturday.)

Fortunately, the temperature bounced back up pretty quickly, so the snow didn't hang around long.

(By Monday, the only snow was the bit hiding in the shadows, and by afternoon even that was gone. Glad we didn't bother shoveling our driveway--bet those who did felt a little silly).

Our Big Holiday Trip -- Our Favorite Things

And now, to round up Orlando, here's a list of our favorite things at Disney World.

Probably most people are most familiar with The Magic Kingdom, the biggest of the three main parks, because that's the one that's like Disneyland. But Animal Kingdom and Epcot have enough to fill up your day, as well. Animal Kingdom is like the Disney version of a zoo (the Safari being the actual zoo part), while Epcot is more like a Disney-sized science and culture museum.

We had tickets that let us choose two parks, one for each day. Since I'd been to Disneyland before, Uchenna said we should branch out and experience new things. He didn't mind skipping The Magic Kingdom, because he figured it would be more fun once we could bring kids.

So the first day we went to Animal Kingdom, and the second day we spent at Epcot (on a legitimate ticket this time, after our little preview the night before when the nice Customer Relations guy took pity on us and let us into Epcot to get dinner--see the previous posting).

Our favorite things in Animal Kingdom were:

(Walking through the Everest Trading Station, getting ready to face the yetti.)

(a) Everest rollercoaster. We rushed the ride as soon as we got in the gate, so we didn't have to wait in line or mess with those fast pass things. It zoomed, the yeti had torn up the tracks so we had to go backwards and turn around (that crazy yeti), and we went through pitch-black tunnels through the mountain. It was Uchenna's first roller coaster, and he laughed the whole time.

(b) Kilimanjaro Safari. You ride in a truck to see animals (real, not animitronic) out in the open (not in cages). Rangers come over the radio and tell you to watch out for poachers, then you help shut down their operation and rescue the baby elephant. We took way too many pictures of animals. It was great.

(Can you find three animals? Look for the long-horned cow thing, the giraffe, and the baby dear)

(c) Festival of the Lion King show. Just about worth price of admission to the parks right there. Huge animitronic floats, lots of dancers, tumbling monkeys on trampoline, acrobatic ballet (in fabulous bird costumes), music, everything. Even the long wait was worth it. Plus we were on the second row. Ooooh aaaah.

(Me in my 3-D bug glasses, getting ready to see the bug show. I loved all the play posters, punning on Broadway shows.)

(d) It's Tough Being a Bug show. Lots of 3-D, full-sensory surprises. It was tucked under the roots of the big Tree of Life.

Our favorite things in Epcot were:

(Waiting in line to go into Spaceship Earth, aka that great big ball. In fact, there's the ball up close, hovering over us.)

(a) Spaceship Earth. That's the huge ball that's the icon of Epcot. The track takes you up and around the inside of the ball, through scenes of history (mostly history of communication), and into the future, where on computer you see yourself in your own futuristic vision (with pictures they took of you at the beginning). The line was really long though.

(The scenes showing the development of technology--or at least communications technology--throughout western history. That's a medieval monk snoozing at his desk.)

(b) Mission SPACE Training. A spaceship simulator. We chose the less intense version, but it was fun in our little, bouncing-around space ship, each of us with a job to do (I wonder what would happen if we didn't push our buttons at the right time), and almost falling off the Martian cliff. Shwew.

(Looking at the big ball from the China pavilion, across the lake)

(c) The German shop. Cuckoo clocks, steins, beautiful glass, soccer shirts--stuff that kept making me go, "oh I remember these!"

(d) The street musicians of various types, from violins and belly dancers to drummer ensembles

Our Big Holiday Trip -- What We Learned

So, as I promised last time, here are some things we learned from our Orlando vacation:

1. Travel is tiring; fun is tiring. So don't try to go full-steam-ahead the whole time. We got in late Saturday, so Sunday gave us a good post-flight recovery. We also took some time on Monday to figure out what exactly we were going to do. Then Tuesday and Wednesday we had very long Disney days, and flew out Thursday. If (when?) we go again, we'll mix quiet days into the travel-park mix. Maybe stick Sunday right in the middle. Something like that.

(At Universal Studios' City Walk)

2. There is SO MUCH to do in Orlando that unless you have a good couple of weeks, you'll want to be selective. Pick a focus. Either spend your time at Disney World or go with a Universal Studios/Sea World combination. We ate at Universal Studios City Walk (that's a lot like Downtown Disney) when we first got in, but the rest of the time we spent at Disney.

(The City Walk is a space between the rides areas with restaurants, clubs, and general park atmosphere)

3. Choose your hotel according to your focus. If you go for a Disney vacation, you may actually want to look into a Disney hotel. That way you could go back to your room and rest in the afternoon when you're worn out and the parks are most crowded (then maybe you wouldn't need a whole quiet day).

Plus you wouldn't have to schedule your time around a shuttle. One night we missed the early shuttle back to our hotel and had to wait for the later one. We didn't have tickets into Epicot, where all the buses and shuttles meet. The hour and a half until the next shuttle wasn't really enough time to go back to Animal Kingdom for dinner, or to Downtown Disney, which doesn't require tickets. But I asked the very nice Customer Relations guy for any suggestions (ie a nearby restaurant outside the gates?) and he gave me tickets into Epcot, telling us about restaurants just inside the gate. This all brings us to point 4, which is

4. Disney World is a whole city of several neighborhoods linked by big highways. Buses run to every part, so you can get around. But figure in the travel time. If, say, you're going from Epcot to Animal Kingdom, figure it will be a good 20 to 30 minutes each way. To me, then, it wouldn't be worth paying an extra $50 per ticket per day for the park hopper. Unlike at Disneyland, you'd lose a lot of time in transit. Plus, there's plenty to do at any single park, I think, especially if you're new to it all, as we were.

(Waiting for either the Everest roller coaster or the Kilimanjaro Safari. All lines look about the same)

5. Don't get so caught up in having fun that you only remember to take pictures while you're waiting in line or sitting in the restaurant. And don’t forget to keep your camera batteries charged, or have back-ups.

(Waiting for our food at the Rainforest Cafe. Every 20 minutes they have a storm--thunder and lightening--and all the animals come to life. Lots of fun, not exactly low-key and quiet)

6. The week before Christmas is actually a good time to go because

(a) even though Orlando can get chilly (bring jackets for the evening!), it's mostly warm and beautifully green--which, if you live some place like Oklahoma, is refreshing 'round about December.

(b) the place is decorated for Christmas, and at Epicot they have Christmas concerts and storytelling.

(a soulful Christmas concert)

(c) it's probably more crowded than, say, in the middle of November, but most people planning a Christmas Disney vacation will be coming the week AFTER Christmas. The waitress at Rainforest Cafe told us that Tuesday the Animal Kingdom attendance was 37,000, which was down from the weekend and would be even less the next day. But the following week they would probably be at capacity, which is 45,000. That's just in Animal Kingdom, which is the smallest of the three main parks. Imagine what the total attendance must be.

(a traditional, Christmas-eve church service style concert)

Big Holiday Trip -- Getting Started

Boy, if I don't get going, it'll be next Christmas before I tell you about our Big Holiday Trip.

Uchenna had to use up two weeks of vacation by the end of the year or lose them forever. Rather than hang around Oklahoma for that time, he opted to go somewhere warm. I agreed that was a very good plan. So the week before Christmas we went to Orlando. Then, for Christmas itself, plus a few days after, we spent with family in Dallas.

I sometimes forget how much work it is to plan a good vacation, especially if you're trying to be economically efficient while still having a good time. Then, throw in a couple different locations, and you end up with a lot of moving parts. But then we did go, and it was great!

I'd been to Disneyland, but Uchenna hadn't. I'd never been to Orlando, but Uchenna had a conference there a few years ago. It's a big place, so rather than a blow-by-blow, I'll tell you what we learned. Keep reading to find out!

Holiday Review

We had a lovely, restful New Year. To know why restful was lovely, you need a sense of our holiday season.

(A new house provides a new setting for your old decorations, so they can look both familar and fresh)

Okay, the first part of the season was the normal holiday craziness. For instance, we invited a couple of couples over for Thanksgiving. This is a first in our married life--we've always been the guests. We're pretty good at being guests. This time we tackled the turkey.

The smallest turkey I found was a 13-pounder. We could've gone for just a turkey breast (I realize now), but we like the dark meat best anyway. We decided to brine it, but even in our largest bowl, major portions of bird stuck out. So we invested in a stock pot (and shoot, since we were getting specialized kitchen equipment, we also got an electric knife. Power tools for the kitchen. Can you tell Uchenna was the driving force behind these purchases?). The next step, of course, was finding a place for the big pot in our fridge, along with all the other feast food. It took some rearranging, including removing the fruit and vegetable drawers, but we made it fit.

(The big pot is resting on the floor of the fridge. Turkey + brine = too heavy for fridge shelves.)

I think it took another week to eat all that food. Uchenna doesn't want to see any more turkey, not even hidden in tetrazinni, until at least next year. At least.

For another first, we put up Christmas lights outside our house. This turned out to a project. To prepare, I bought lights and an outdoor timer socket to plug them into. Pretty snazzy.

So the first Saturday in December we got up bright and early to create our masterpiece in lights. As soon as we walked outside we realized why everyone on our block had put up their lights the week before. Okay, they probably hadn't known that while Thanksgiving weekend was beautiful and balmy, the following Saturday would be grey, freezing, and WINDY. But that's how it was. We perservered.

(Turns out this random pipe sticking out goes to the sprinkler system. Not exactly insulated.)

(See on that short, fat bit of pipe pointing down to the right, the line along the top? That's a crack, that's not supposed to be there. We'll have to replace that nobbly thing before spring watering.)

Actually, the first thing we saw as we stepped out the door was water spraying everywhere.Did I mention it was freezing out? I mean that literally, because the water in our sprinkler system had frozen and burst its pipe. Turns out you have to shut off the water and drain the pipe BEFORE the first hard freeze. Just when we think we've got this homeowner-thing down, we get new opportunities for learning.

Anyway, after that, and discussing our different creative visions, we put the LED lights around the two little trees, and the traditional lights along the bushes (it seems the different kinds of lights have different color palattes). It was immediately apparant that we needed more lights, more extension cords, and--I think--about three trips to the store. We never did get the string of snowflake lights to attach to the brick arch. It was a long day, but we liked the result.

And finally (I don't mean finally for the holiday, just for this posting, which is getting out of hand), we went to the company's Christmas concert by Aaron Neville, which was a lot of fun, especially from our second-row seats.

(Our local Community Center, with a large and lovely auditorium. It reminds me of the auditorium at T.J. High, which you may recall was impressively large and professional-looking for a high school)

I think one of the best musical deals around is a hitman who hasn't brought out a hit for a while: they're seasoned, professional showmen, but they don't command an exorbitant ticket price in some huge arena. So the audience gets good music for a lower price in a more intimate setting. And since the company hosted, it was free for us. Even better. There were a few Christmas songs thrown in, but mostly this was a jazz concert. The saxaphonist (Aaron Neville's brother, apparantly) was especially awesome. So not a typical Christmas concert, but great fun.

Stay tuned for our next exciting episode, in which we take our Big Holiday Trip.

Happy Anniversary

I sure am getting behind--I keep meaning to write about our fun anniversary, and that was over a month ago now.

The anniversary itself was on a Thursday, so we kept it simple (to start with) and went to Tulsa for dinner. I had to show Uchenna the online menu to convince him that the Cheesecake Factory served more than desserts, but once we got there we both quite liked it. Perhaps a tad pricier than our usual, but good for a special occasion.

Since we were by a full-sized mall (not a common occurance) we perused the sales for anniversary gifts. You can't beat coming home with yummy left-overs and a new red sweater.

Uchenna had taken Friday off, so we slept in the next morning, then took off again, this time for Oklahoma City. It takes 2 1/2 hours to get there, which somehow feels significantly longer than the two hours it takes from Ponca.

There's stuff to do in Tulsa, surely, but we know OKC better and besides, that's where the temple is (which we've tried to make an anniversary tradition). After the temple Friday night we wanted to find a cool little place with live jazz, but apparently we don't know OKC that well after all.

The next morning we went downtown to the Crystal Bridge, a tropical and cylindrical green house. True to its name, it has a bridge through the treetops two stories up. It also has a waterfall. Pretty darn cool.

(An outside view of the glass-clad cylinder that is the Crystal Bridge. It has a bridge inside, but the building itself is also a bridge in that it spans a pond; as you walk around the pond, you walk right underneath the building.)

Uchenna pointed out lots of plants he knew from home--it was like a reunion of old friends. We saw banana trees, cocoyam, pineapple plants, opetemmuo (that's the Igbo name, we're not sure it has an English name), big bamboo trees, and others too numerous to mention. Uche told me how each one grows and how they're used. Like the enormous cocoyam leaf that can act as an umbrella in a pinch. Now I know what to expect when we go to Nigeria.

(We're sitting in front of the opetemmuo--the long stalky plant on our left. On our right is a little thatched hut. On the bench you can see our coats, which we needed outside but which were too warm inside the green house. That's how you keep tropical plants happy, I guess.)

(Up on the bridge amidst the tops of the trees--can you see the coconuts in the tree behind me? I'm squinting because it was so bright up there.)

(Back outside. There's Uchenna at the end of the bridge. And if you look carefully, on the right you can see the sillouette of a person walking along the water, under the building. And you can see daylight from the other side.)

Afterwards we walked around the park outside and enjoyed the crisp weather and fall colors--a perfect fall day, just like the day we got married.

(Fall foilage, with a tall building in the background to remind you that you're still in the city.)

Boy, are we safe

As much as we like Spring--weather turning warmer, days getting longer, foilage coming back to life--the threat of tornados ruins it for us.

When we went to buy a new house Uchenna was determined to safeguard his family and his peace of mind. But there are very few basements around here. In Ponca, they said it was due to high water table; here in Bartlesville, it's because you hit bedrock pretty quick. Apparently, excavating through bedrock is incredibly costly. In spite of these challenges, Uchenna found a solution: he negotiated for a steel safe room to be installed in the garage. Just keep that in mind if you ever have to strike a deal with him--he can sure barGAIN (as he says).

So a week after we moved in, the safe room company rep came to check out our premises. He declared our site acceptable, with good concrete and plenty of space. It's a relief to know we have good concrete, since that isn't usually addressed in the inspection (light sarcasm), but we didn't quite believe him about the space. Because once we pulled the car in (which we somehow neglected to do while shopping for the house), the garage shrunk dramatically.

After he left, we kept measuring. I set up a box so that it created a wall four feet out from the back of the garage--the alleged size of the safe room--then pulled in the car and made sure the garage door would close without taking off the back bumper. It was good, but barely. No room for crooked parking.

Then a couple of weeks later, the safe room itself showed up. The installers had to push back the appointment by a day, because the day before we'd had torrential (and I don't use that word lightly) rains. Our appointment was in the afternoon, while the morning appointment was at a new construction site. They had tried to talk that guy into rescheduling, but I guess he had to keep to his construction deadlines. Anyway, the equipment got impossibly mired in all the mud and took the rest of the day to get unstuck.

So the next morning two guys brought the safe room. Basically it's exactly what it says it is: a steel safe the size of a small room. More like a closet, actually, but "safe closet" is unweildy to say. Also it has a deadbolt rather than a combination lock, but more on that later.

They maneuvered the shiny white box, still smelling of fresh spray paint, into the before-determined spot and bolted it into place. It looked like heavy work--pushing the heavily laden dolly, drilling through concrete, pounding the bolts into place, and vacuuming up all the concrete dust (okay, that last one was more like the cool-down).

(He's using a version of a stud finder to find possible rebar. There wasn't any, but the concrete was at least a couple of inches thick, so it was all good.)

They gave me my briefing. Let's just say they take security very seriously. The safe room and its location are registered with the American Storm Shelter Association, so if a devastating event occurs, the Association can alert first responders to the site of possible survivors. That's almost a direct quote.

(On the top you can see the air vents and at the back you can see an electrical input. You can plug in an extension cord on the outside and a light or a fan on the inside. But as the installer pointed out, during a storm you often lose power anyway.)

Then there are the deadbolts: three of them, with a ledge on the outside of the door that makes the bolts impossible to reach and therefore cut through. Also the keys can only be duplicated at one particular locksmith shop in Tulsa, and then only by those people previously authorized (Uchenna and myself--I had to write our names on a little card that they'll apparently keep on file). So we can be sure that in the event of damaging winds (including tornado) or human attack (which we're not concerned about out here but, hey, it's good to know), we'll be safe in our safe room.

One final note, we really do have enough room to park the car. Shwew. We aim for that gap to the left of the steel closet and drive in slowly. If we remember to stand up that black plastic tube (an attachement to our leaf blower), we inch forward until we knock it over. Otherwise we just guess. We could also bump right up against the wall of the safe room, but as I said before, that doesn't leave much room for error (about an inch and a half leeway when you line it up straight). And as the very presence of the safe room attests, we aren't interested in risk.