Going Walkabout - what I did on my vacation

When I decided to retire smack in the middle of Iowa winter, I knew that date wasn't ideal for basking in my home state during my new found idle time. So Paul and I began plotting our escape (mostly Paul). He planned while I finished up my last few weeks of work. As we put together our itinerary, we tried to emulate our daughter-in-law Kara, trip planner supreme to figure out where we'd go, hotels (or friends to visit), what, and even food ideas!

We were going Walkabout (from the dictionary: a journey on foot undertaken by an Australian Aboriginal in order to live in the traditional manner.
Sure we drove, and we are not Australian Aboriginals - but you get the idea. When you drive places, you get a better idea of how people live in the places you visit.

Our trip was planned for places south - from January 16 to around January 29. After travel scares (highway 360, unplanned overnights), in early adulthood, Paul always keeps a close eye on is the weather. We are not those who plunge into icy snowy conditions unprepared. In fact, we don't plunge at all! We are Scout travelers who utilize today's technology to plan ahead. Now retired, we have the luxury of flexibility - yippy!

Our windshield crack - it grew during our trip! 

We left a day early to beat the snow, rain, ice that hit Iowa on Thursday. We noted the stuff never left Des Moines while we were gone. Good move! Just south of Kansas City, some jerk who had the nerve to drive in front of us kicked up a tiny missile that cracked our windshield. Ugh!

The first stop was Wichita. We decided later that we could have made it to Oklahoma City, but now we've seen Wichita. That night we checked out a local place - Bite Me Barbecue, downtown. The place got an A for atmosphere, but the food was not fabulous. But hey, the beer was cold!

Downtown art - OKC

On to Oklahoma City (OKC) on Thursday the 16th - a mere 2.5 hours south. I started booking all our motels on Hotels.com. Once I got everything set up on the mobile app, it was pretty simple. Plus after 10 stays, you get a free stay. We're up to 7 after that trip! We didn't book most until the day we arrived for the night before - most billed the card upon booking. I did notice that we didn't get the primo room assignments - welcome to the room by the elevator/ice maker.

Oklahoma City National Monument

We really enjoyed OKC  - despite some soggy weather, staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in Brick Town 2 nights. After we arrived we walked to the Oklahoma City National Monument, which honors all affected by the bombing of the federal building on April 19, 1995. It is so informative and well-done - showing with such pride how well the people of this city stepped up to meet the terrible crisis head-on. Just like 9/11, the country rushed in to help and to hold those who needed holding in their arms. There are videos, interactive displays, information about victims and perpetrators and evidence on how they built the case against them. It was cold and a bit rainy so we didn't get to spend as much time out in the actual site of the former federal building - it was beautiful.

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

On day two we visited the Jim Thorpe Museum and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in the morning - just around the corner from our motel. It was free (donation) and we spent over an hour there. We now realize we need to get to the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame soon.

That afternoon we took an Uber to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. It was very cool and is in the process of adding an outdoor interactive area that is sure to draw a younger crowd. If you are a fan of movie westerns, native American art, western art, settlers, Native Americans history, and more - this is for you. We spent several hours there and could have spent more, but our brains were bursting and we were hungry. It was interesting talking with Uber drivers about the economy and their stories of what the area was like. The hotel had a nice bar/restaurant. We sat at the bar one night and had a nice conversation with a woman from Stillwater. It's interesting to hear what life is like in Oklahoma.

That night we took in an OKC Thunder pro basketball game - two ISU basketball players are on that team though one is injured. Deonte Burton didn't score but played. It was fun, though pro hoops will never replace college ball in my viewpoint. The Bricktown area has a riverwalk - filled with cool eateries. Due to the rainy weather, we didn't get to investigate the riverwalk area, but it looks like fun!

Then we were off to Austin, Texas on Saturday. It's amazing how from the Texas border on, it seems to be a continuous city. We had no idea that Waco is on the road to Fort Worth. We drove smack through the Baylor campus and pictured the MacLane Stadium (where Baylor plays) featuring shiplap.

There are no toll roads in Iowa. Kansas does - and they make sense to me, you get a ticket when you enter and pay at the end. Hmmm. Not in Texas! We followed Google around/through Austin and ended up on a fancy road where fancy cameras took our car's picture. I suppose we'll get a bill from the Great Republic soon so I'm looking forward to that. Not. It did take us very nicely to our friend Paula Bacon's house.

Did I mention the weather? By then, it was over 60 degrees and sunny. The sun followed us the rest of our trip until just north of Wichita on the day we returned. In the meantime, Iowa was getting hit with white stuff over and over.

Austin is a wonderful place. That blog is up next!

Leslie Goldsmith - Retired

It's my first real day of retirement. What day is it again? Haha, just kidding. It will take me at least a week before I get confused about what day it is.

Yesterday was my last day as a Department Natural Resources employee. I've quit jobs before. It's always hard as I'm bad at transitions. I get tucked into my work, even when it's not the best fit for me. I like the people and the routine. In this case - the job was a great fit. It was a job made for me.

I turned in my state ID - photo taken 11 years ago. I took down all my cubicle decorations. Amy Wilken has decided to move 1 door down into my space. It's a good one - once used by Jim Bodensteiner - such a great guy.

Okay, there may have been a bit too much on the bureaucracy stuff. I preferred the helpful side, meeting with stakeholders - instead of the get fifteen signatures for a document thing. My favorite part of the job was meeting people around the state of Iowa.

My co-workers took me to lunch yesterday at the Continental - one of my long-time favorites. It's been around since before my time working in DSM - 11 years. The blackened chicken sandwich is delish! Back when I still worked in Creston there weren't very many restaurants in the East Village - now there are lots! My co-workers gave me a gift card for one of them. And I got a nice plaque from the State of Iowa - to commemorate my service. That's nice after 11 years in Creston and 11 years here. It was pointed out that the back might be used as a cutting board - haha.

I cut out after lunch - not much on goodbyes. Meanwhile...back at the ranch, Paul was slaving away on food for the retirement partay! Good thing tailgating has prepared us for just such events. He made 36 Hawaiian roll sandwiches - turkey, ham, roast beef with cheese. I had made a spicy snack mix on Sunday. Add chips, a veggie platter, and hummus. Don't forget the delicious Every Thing Bundt Cake - red velvet. We were ready to take over Peace Tree Brewing in the East Village.

We got there about 3:30 PM and started setting up. Every Thursday retired federal employees have "Team Building" at some DSM establishment. They showed up right on time. Then others started trickling in. It was kind of like getting married - my worlds collided. The feds, our Creston homies plus the Roses - transplanted DSM Crestonites, tailgating friends, my college roomie Jane her sis Susan and buddy Barb, our niece Barb, Joan - who I lived with part-time for 4 years when I first started working in DSM, and the DNR co-workers. It was a grand group - all to celebrate the end of something. And the beginning!

It's exciting! The next five months are set with some cool trips. And eventually, I plan to get a part time gig to earn some money somehow. I'll worry about that later.