Road Trip: Dallas to OKC
I was doing so well there, writing on this, and then work and life had to go and sap my creative energy for the last two weeks. But today I finally decided that enough was enough. (Plus, this takes us past the 15,000 word mark!)
Things I learned while writing this bit: Er. Nothing. However, according to google maps, there really is a vegetarian health food store/restaurant in Ardmore, OK. Also, with the trip to Oklahoma City, we've now entered the realm of places I have been to. And if you're ever there, you should totally go see the corral of buffaloes! (Actually, Brick Town, in general, is totally made of awesome.)
Brendon drives.
Or, rather, as they're leaving the lobby of the Hotel Lawrence, lugging their bags out to the Prius, Brendon holds out his hands for the keys and says, "My turn!" Like he hadn't been the one to drive them into Dallas two days before. Like he hadn't taken them *out* of Houston, either. Patrick doesn't say no, though. He hands Brendon the keys and slides into the passenger seat and, well, let's Brendon drive.
They take 77 north, and Patrick thinks okay, okay, imagines that they're going to eventually cut over to the 67, heading east, but when he opens his eyes again, almost an hour and a half later, they're pulling to a stop in the parking lot outside of--
"Holy fuck," he says, actually *rubbing his eyes*. "Is that what I think it is?" *That*, of course, being Veggie's Health Food Center (and Vegetarian Restaurant).
"I was poking around on the interwebs last night," Brendon says. "And I found this place. It's been *way too fucking long* since I've had anything that would qualify as vegan, you know?"
Patrick nods. Not that they haven't been making do--it's easier than ever these days to be a vegetarian and still eat out--but still, a whole restaurant isn't to be passed up. He opens the door, steps outside, and then Brendon says, "Oh, and welcome to Ardmore, Oklahoma!"
Patrick looks around; it doesn't look *so* much different from Texas, actually, but then again, they aren't that far over the border. Then they’re going through the front doors. The ‘restaurant’ is actually more of a grocery store, aisle after aisle of food that Patrick knows he can eat, suddenly *wants* to eat, and the next time that they all come through Oklahoma on tour, Patrick wouldn't be surprised if Andy makes them stop here.
The restaurant itself is more of a deli counter, with a few little tables off to the side to sit at, and when Patrick looks at the options in front of him, he sees so many things to eat that aren't salads, he doesn't quite know what to do with himself.
He senses that Brendon's feeling the same sort of pull, because when he gets to the counter he orders pizza and a wrap and a vegan cookie, and so Patrick gives in and gets the veggie burger and the pasta salad and a slice of the vegan chocolate cake. And then they eat, and eat, and when they're done, they take a trip through the store picking up snacks, and if they aren't careful, the back seat of Patrick's Prius is totally going to become a no man's land, lost to all of the *stuff* that they're hoarding.
It's not until they're back in the car, Patrick driving this time because Brendon looks about ready to drop into a food-induced coma, that he says, "So where were you heading?" He's expecting Brendon to name some random town with a funny name, or possibly to start talking about the world's biggest paper clip or something else that's an Oklahoma claim to fame, but Brendon shrugs.
"This is about as far as I got," he says. Then he yawns, stretches his arms as far up above his head as they can go, audibly pops his back, and pillows his head on a balled up sweatshirt. Which means, basically, it's up to Patrick. There are a few different ways he could go. He could start heading east, towards Arkansas, or he could continue north, to Oklahoma City, one of places in Oklahoma that he's actually already been to, even if it hasn’t been for long.
The last time he was there was in 2007, for the Young Wild Things tour, when they'd played at the Ford Center, and, well. They hadn't actually had much of a chance to look around, but from what he'd seen between the whole hundred feet he'd traveled from the back door of the Marriot to the back door of the venue, it was a nice place. So, he makes his choice and he drives.
He has to pull over at the south edge of the city so that he can pull a map up onto his phone. He's thinking the Marriot again, but once he actually makes it to Brick Town and finds the Ford Center, he keeps driving a block north to see what's around, which his how he finds himself pulling into the parking lot beside the Colcord Hotel. It's a white building, several stories tall, and Patrick stares up at the red sign for a few long moments before turning off the car.
Brendon makes a sort of 'buz-hua?' noise when Patrick shakes his shoulder, waking him up, but then he's sitting up, far too awake already. "We're here?" he asks, and when Patrick nods, he practically pops out of the car. They walk across the parking lot and head down the stairs to the lobby of the hotel, and when they walk in, Patrick sees marble. Lots of marble. White and black, their sneakers squeaking as they walk over it. There's a girl standing behind the concierge desk, and she smiles a perfectly lip sticked smile. "Two?" she asks, and when they nod, she sends them up to the 7th floor.
The room is nice: two queen beds, marble sinks, a flat screen TV. Patrick claims the bed by the door, and when he sits down, he thinks, never moving again! Except that he's been sitting for most of the past four hours, and also, a four hour drive is pretty much nothing compared to some of the drives that they've done recently. So, he's standing up again almost immediately, looking through the binder of local attractions that the hotel has provided.
There are restaurants--lots and lots and lots of restaurants--but when Brendon asks, "Find anything?" Patrick shakes his head. Which is how they end up walking Brick Town. Which is how they end up walking east on Main out of the hotel, towards the railroad tracks.
Which is how they end up finding the corral of painted buffalo on the other side--totally a rip-off of the Chicago painted cows, but still, buffalo!
Which is how Patrick ends up filming Brendon as he does an acapella rendition of Buffalo Springfield's ‘For What It's Worth', which is going just fine until Brendon stops in the middle of the first verse and flags down a passing business man, complete with suit and tie, and says, "Hey, hey, my friend and I, we're doing this road trip project thing, and we sort of *both* need to be in this. Would you mind...?"
So, Patrick ends up doing the vocal version of the 'doo-doo's while Brendon sings, "There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear. There's a man with a gun over there, a'telling me I got to beware." At Brendon’s look of encouragement, Patrick joins in on the "I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound, everybody look what's going down,” and then they finish the song together.
The moment they stop, the business man hands Brendon's phone back to him, and Brendon starts looking around again--at the buffalo, at the little stores lining the street. Then he looks at Patrick and says, "So where to next?"
Patrick shrugs, looks around, and after a moment, they start walking again.
Things I learned while writing this bit: Er. Nothing. However, according to google maps, there really is a vegetarian health food store/restaurant in Ardmore, OK. Also, with the trip to Oklahoma City, we've now entered the realm of places I have been to. And if you're ever there, you should totally go see the corral of buffaloes! (Actually, Brick Town, in general, is totally made of awesome.)
Brendon drives.
Or, rather, as they're leaving the lobby of the Hotel Lawrence, lugging their bags out to the Prius, Brendon holds out his hands for the keys and says, "My turn!" Like he hadn't been the one to drive them into Dallas two days before. Like he hadn't taken them *out* of Houston, either. Patrick doesn't say no, though. He hands Brendon the keys and slides into the passenger seat and, well, let's Brendon drive.
They take 77 north, and Patrick thinks okay, okay, imagines that they're going to eventually cut over to the 67, heading east, but when he opens his eyes again, almost an hour and a half later, they're pulling to a stop in the parking lot outside of--
"Holy fuck," he says, actually *rubbing his eyes*. "Is that what I think it is?" *That*, of course, being Veggie's Health Food Center (and Vegetarian Restaurant).
"I was poking around on the interwebs last night," Brendon says. "And I found this place. It's been *way too fucking long* since I've had anything that would qualify as vegan, you know?"
Patrick nods. Not that they haven't been making do--it's easier than ever these days to be a vegetarian and still eat out--but still, a whole restaurant isn't to be passed up. He opens the door, steps outside, and then Brendon says, "Oh, and welcome to Ardmore, Oklahoma!"
Patrick looks around; it doesn't look *so* much different from Texas, actually, but then again, they aren't that far over the border. Then they’re going through the front doors. The ‘restaurant’ is actually more of a grocery store, aisle after aisle of food that Patrick knows he can eat, suddenly *wants* to eat, and the next time that they all come through Oklahoma on tour, Patrick wouldn't be surprised if Andy makes them stop here.
The restaurant itself is more of a deli counter, with a few little tables off to the side to sit at, and when Patrick looks at the options in front of him, he sees so many things to eat that aren't salads, he doesn't quite know what to do with himself.
He senses that Brendon's feeling the same sort of pull, because when he gets to the counter he orders pizza and a wrap and a vegan cookie, and so Patrick gives in and gets the veggie burger and the pasta salad and a slice of the vegan chocolate cake. And then they eat, and eat, and when they're done, they take a trip through the store picking up snacks, and if they aren't careful, the back seat of Patrick's Prius is totally going to become a no man's land, lost to all of the *stuff* that they're hoarding.
It's not until they're back in the car, Patrick driving this time because Brendon looks about ready to drop into a food-induced coma, that he says, "So where were you heading?" He's expecting Brendon to name some random town with a funny name, or possibly to start talking about the world's biggest paper clip or something else that's an Oklahoma claim to fame, but Brendon shrugs.
"This is about as far as I got," he says. Then he yawns, stretches his arms as far up above his head as they can go, audibly pops his back, and pillows his head on a balled up sweatshirt. Which means, basically, it's up to Patrick. There are a few different ways he could go. He could start heading east, towards Arkansas, or he could continue north, to Oklahoma City, one of places in Oklahoma that he's actually already been to, even if it hasn’t been for long.
The last time he was there was in 2007, for the Young Wild Things tour, when they'd played at the Ford Center, and, well. They hadn't actually had much of a chance to look around, but from what he'd seen between the whole hundred feet he'd traveled from the back door of the Marriot to the back door of the venue, it was a nice place. So, he makes his choice and he drives.
He has to pull over at the south edge of the city so that he can pull a map up onto his phone. He's thinking the Marriot again, but once he actually makes it to Brick Town and finds the Ford Center, he keeps driving a block north to see what's around, which his how he finds himself pulling into the parking lot beside the Colcord Hotel. It's a white building, several stories tall, and Patrick stares up at the red sign for a few long moments before turning off the car.
Brendon makes a sort of 'buz-hua?' noise when Patrick shakes his shoulder, waking him up, but then he's sitting up, far too awake already. "We're here?" he asks, and when Patrick nods, he practically pops out of the car. They walk across the parking lot and head down the stairs to the lobby of the hotel, and when they walk in, Patrick sees marble. Lots of marble. White and black, their sneakers squeaking as they walk over it. There's a girl standing behind the concierge desk, and she smiles a perfectly lip sticked smile. "Two?" she asks, and when they nod, she sends them up to the 7th floor.
The room is nice: two queen beds, marble sinks, a flat screen TV. Patrick claims the bed by the door, and when he sits down, he thinks, never moving again! Except that he's been sitting for most of the past four hours, and also, a four hour drive is pretty much nothing compared to some of the drives that they've done recently. So, he's standing up again almost immediately, looking through the binder of local attractions that the hotel has provided.
There are restaurants--lots and lots and lots of restaurants--but when Brendon asks, "Find anything?" Patrick shakes his head. Which is how they end up walking Brick Town. Which is how they end up walking east on Main out of the hotel, towards the railroad tracks.
Which is how they end up finding the corral of painted buffalo on the other side--totally a rip-off of the Chicago painted cows, but still, buffalo!
Which is how Patrick ends up filming Brendon as he does an acapella rendition of Buffalo Springfield's ‘For What It's Worth', which is going just fine until Brendon stops in the middle of the first verse and flags down a passing business man, complete with suit and tie, and says, "Hey, hey, my friend and I, we're doing this road trip project thing, and we sort of *both* need to be in this. Would you mind...?"
So, Patrick ends up doing the vocal version of the 'doo-doo's while Brendon sings, "There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear. There's a man with a gun over there, a'telling me I got to beware." At Brendon’s look of encouragement, Patrick joins in on the "I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound, everybody look what's going down,” and then they finish the song together.
The moment they stop, the business man hands Brendon's phone back to him, and Brendon starts looking around again--at the buffalo, at the little stores lining the street. Then he looks at Patrick and says, "So where to next?"
Patrick shrugs, looks around, and after a moment, they start walking again.