Siri, You Are Drunk!

I swear between Siri's navigating or the Ford navigational system, it's better to just put the electronics away and travel old school by using the placement of the sun. Today Siri, while trying to take us to a diner for breakfast, instead sent us to on a wild goose chase through backwoods Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama this morning. I swear I heard banjos.

When we left the hotel this morning, we wanted to find a diner for breakfast instead of having hotel food. Ford's system kept taking us to diners that didn't exist, or if they did every one of them were closed. We finally found one that was open before noon, but didn't get there til noon. Apparently, you can't get anything to eat around here until after church let's out.

Once we got back on the road, we followed more twisty, curvy, hilly, squirrelly roads that made my stomach drop and my heart stop on occasion. It was absolutely beautiful country, but it is not for the impatient or hurried. If the terrain didn't do it, the signage and ads let us know we aren't in Kansas anymore. One place, a gun club, had a sign that read "pistols? We got em! Come on y'all!" And that's just one example of the snorts that came out of Pop.

At this point, we have finished what we could of the Cherokee Trail. So we headed South and have stopped in Auburn, AL to stay with family before we explore our family's origin spot in Tallassee and Tuskegee. The family we are staying with tonight are both professors at Auburn and have friends who our quest is their field, so we'll try to meet up and learn something. From there, we expect to head to to Horseshoe Bend and then Fort Mitchell where the Creek Trail started or so we think. Hopefully, tomorrow will be our most educational.

So until next time...

Squirrelly Roads and Hippie Towns

We headed out this morning a whole lot earlier than we thought we would this morning. Our plan was just head out whenever we woke up and got around, no alarms or rush. Well, Pops old and I'm a light sleeper. We woke up around 7 AM and were on the road by 8:30. Im making it my goal to make my dad snort on his tea in every small town we go through. If you haven't been to northern Arkansas, let me tell you, it is small town after small town. I mean populations of 84, 167, 236, etc, and the roads are really curvy. Hill after hill, forest, and small towns and then we come across this small town that is so beautifully hippie. It had an old time downtown and almost every shop was occupied, and occupied with The Rainbow Cafe, MooMoo's Organic Creamery, Mother Earth's Healing, etc... It was fantastically bright and surprising.

There were very few markers saying we were on the right route according to our purpose, but then again, when our family came to Oklahoma 170 years ago there weren't roads to travel on then. But every once in awhile we would come across a sign telling us we were on the right track. And we were only on the interstate highway for about 5 miles heading in to Memphis, TN.

I've been to Memphis only once before and we didn't spend much time there then either, but after a plea for food options for lunch on Facebook we were directed towards Charles Vergo's Rendezvous. It was DELICIOUS! Dry rub ribs, brisket, slaw and a beer makes this one happy girl. Neither pop or I were hungry when it came time to dinner. But to avoid the food baby coma we took a walk around Beale St.

After, we got back on the road on a state highway we thought would be very well marked by the Trail Markers. We didn't see a one of them. But we know we're on the right track since we are right now only miles away from one of the museums on the NPS website. As we move further east the history just keeps piling up. There's a cemetery near the hotel we're staying at so we went to look around since it looked like old headstones. They were. People who were born when our family was traveling through this area and passing away at the turn of the century. The tombstones were remarkable and beautiful, displaying craftsmanship that doesn't exist today. Tomorrow we are hoping to get over to Fort Payne, Alabama, one of the starting points for the Cherokee Trail.

Stay tuned for more.

The Start of a Journey

Cole and Pop take father son trips all the time. I think it's their goal to visit every major league ball field in the US. It's good for them. It's a common interest and they bond over it. Mom and I spend a lot of time together just us even if we don't travel just us together, and if we did it would be a drunk road trip hitting wineries all along the way. But Pop and I don't travel much just he and I. So todayPop and I started out our journey to trace our family's heritage backwards on the Trail of Tears to Tuskegee, AL.

We started in Okmulgee, OK, one to update our citizenship roll cards and two to see if their archives would have anymore information for us regarding our family's movement westward. The citizenship cards were easy and painless. But when we got to the library, there wasn't a lot to search through. While the ladies there were helpful, there wasn't much for them to help on beyond finding my great great grandmother and her parents and siblings on the role sheets. So it's back to our drawing board.

The National Park Service has declared the Cherokee Trail of Tears route a national park. This is well and good, however, the family we can trace is Creek(Muscogee) not Cherokee. We know we had family on this route that is well marked, but it is not the particular branch of our tree we want to follow. But we'll take it on our way there allowing for interest spots along the way. I will finally put my history degree to good use while on this trip. We figured out we want to end up in Fort Mitchell, AL to start our way back, since it looks like that's were the government kept its "concentration camp" for tribes right before removal. There is a museum located there dedicated to the Creek Trail of Tears that hopefully can give us more information than what we have come across thus far.

Keep following us as we travel and discover. You never know what we might find.

Baby Journey

Most out there who personally know me, know my husband, Will, and I are trying to start a family.  Who would've thought that when you want kids, its actually a hard thing to create.  I mean teenagers and stupid people procreate all the time without even wanting to, but when smart people like my husband and I want a family, it takes a lot of time and heartache. 

To be fair, we have only been trying for 5 months.  That is not a long time compared to some couples who have been trying for years.  But it is a long time to me.  I can see 30 approaching way too quickly, and I don't like it.  I'm not afraid of 30 persay, but more afraid of giving birth after 30.  I want to do this naturally; I do NOT want a c-section.  For some women that is the right path, but I do not want that to be our path.  I turn 28 in 2 weeks.  Sure that's still 2 years away from 30, but I have to spend 9 months of that cooking the little bugger before I can give birth.  2 years is not a lot of time. 

I know we would be great parents.  We both had some pretty good examples of what to do and what not to do.  But first we have to get pregnant.  I promise we're trying.  Really hard too.  I'm reading every article I can about how to get pregnant, how to ensure conception, which days are best, when I'm most fertile, etc...  Since I'm not pregnant yet, I can't help but feel like a failure, like I can't provide this family we imagine.  Again, I know it s only been 5 months and I shouldn't let it bother me so much, but I can't help it. 

That's all I have for now.  I feel like I'm about to start crying, so I'm stopping.

Apologies?

Let me start with I am not fired up over either candidate for President.  I think a politician is a politician and none of them can be the Savior of the United States.  That said, I have to agree that apologizing for the video was the right move to make by President Obama.  He wasn't apologizing for America and it's practices, he was saying that this one video doesn't represent all Americans.  That retaliatory actions taken over this video were wrong because it does not represent America.  The peaceful ambassador who was killed did represent America.  I believe the President made the right call.  Being a leader means taking responsibility for your team, followers, citizens, whether you actually agree with them or not.  A true leader admits mistakes whether he/she committed them or not.  A leader takes on the burdens of others to lighten the load for those for whom he/she stands up.

Mr. Romney, President Obama won this round.  The ball is in your court to show that you are a leader not a puppet of the party.

Big City Woes

Ok OKC. Here's the deal. We are now a big league city. Have been for a few years, but this year, it truly feels like it. I know some of you who read this in other, bigger cities might not understand from where I'm coming, and that's ok. That's what makes us different from other cities. We have a A relatively high crime in this city, in OKC proper, yet I rarely feel unsafe. Maybe it's just my personality that makes me unafraid, but there are no areas in this city I am afraid to go. Sure there are some I avoid but not out of fear but rather out of no need to be there. I'll go to the East side looking for BoBo's, to the south side for a good taqueria, to the NW side for work, and yes sometimes even Edmond when I'm forced. West of Automobile Alley isnt that great, but I'll go when needed I'm not afraid of these areas, I just rarely go there. That being said Bricktown is one of the safest areas in the city. The area I live in is one of the least safest in the city, and I do not feel unsafe. I am saddened by what happened in our city after such a victorious night for us. When I saw the shots above Thunder Alley, my first thought was crazy people, that is riot central. But I never thought it would actually happen. Sure the shooting could have had nothing to do with the ball game. But 6000-8000 people crammed together in a space smaller than one city block does not sound like a good idea to me. If you are drinking down there you are breaking open container laws and flaunting it. Be smarter people. If you want to drink, go to a bar, preferably locally owned and infuse the economy with your team spirit. Stay at home with friends or family, enjoy a beer or two, maybe a brat, wear your blue and orange wherever you are, but please remember that while a win is frickin awesome and a loss sucks, it is still just a game. Don't make yourself sick, physically or metaphysically. It's not worth it. There is no reason to open fire on our brothers and sisters. Violence is never the answer. To clarify, the primary roles of LOVE are not to heal, fix, or mend. Not to soothe, cure, or ease. Not even to refresh, rejuvenate, or restore. Hardly. The primary roles of LOVE are to "Yahoo!" "Yeehaa!" and "Whoohooo!" So get your love on, people. For the wounded, our brothers and sisters, Thunder, and OKC. LOVE.

10 years of memories

There are so many thoughts that are running through my head and emotions through my heart.  Memories, reactions at the time, thoughts now, emotions that are residual, all are swimming inside of of me being stirred up on this 10th anniversary of that fateful day.

I can mark this day 10 years ago as the turning point in my theology and politics.  As a junior in high school, I began truly embracing a more liberal open way of life.  I opened myself to many and all experiences I could.  Instead of holding fast to what I "knew" was right and true, I questioned all of it.  I effectively got kicked out of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes because I questioned and voiced my different beliefs of God.  I ostracized myself by sharing my political beliefs which were much more liberal than those around me.

Now as an adult, I look back at both 9/11 and the OKC bombing.  I look at the reasons and responses to both events.  Timothy McVeigh may not have been a suicide bomber fighting for Allah, but both parties that attacked on US soil did so to bring the US to its knees.  Neither did.  Before you start to think that I'm getting all "Merica!" don't worry; I'm not.  There are so many things that I am not happy with in this country.  However, our people, all within our borders, are a different story.  There are many who believe that all Muslims are extremists fighting against us subversively, but there are many more who embrace the diversity of this nation, who open their arms and hearts to their neighbors no matter who they call God or who they love.

In OKC, people responded to our tragedy with love and open arms and hearts.  The phrase 'Oklahoma Standard' was coined because we showed a new level of care and compassion after the bomb ripped through our city.  On September 11, 2001, our care and concern didn't waver.  It carried itself to New York.  We showed the world how people freshly hurt can respond with love, how love is so engrained in our being that it is the only reaction that prevailed at the moment.

How we move forward now in the next 10 years is what's important.  Do we open ourselves up to love our neighbors, or do we go right back to how we lived prior to this event?  That decision is on each of us.

This is probably a to be continued...