Driving Oklahoma...experienced by Mel

I left Wichita Falls to drive to Oklahoma City on Friday afternoon. I was going because I was meeting Trey up there and he was flying with one of his students. The student needed to take a cross country flight (a required part of their flight training) and wanted to go to Oklahoma City. That works out awesome for us because Bear and I get to drive up there and meet him for a weekend away, and the government pays the hotel bill.

As some of you may know, I am not the best highway driver. I tend to fall asleep before reaching the two hour mark behind the wheel. However, there must be something about Oklahoma that intrigued me because I didn’t even get drowsy on the 2.5 hour drive. I did notice some big differences between Texas and Oklahoma driving, some good and some bad. First of all was the landscape, the big beautiful green trees that showed up just after passing Lawton. There aren’t many of those in this part of Texas. The roadside picnic areas are also much nicer, they are brightly coloured and are not in the shape of oil derricks! The second thing I became aware of were the drivers, they actually use signal lights, it really is amazing. They didn’t even try to cut me off when I used my signal to change lanes, as is customary in Texas. Third was the generous speed limit, though I didn’t take advantage of it because we figured out that our fuel economy is significantly better at speeds around 110km/h (about 65ish mph). The worst thing I noticed, which I am sure everyone does, since it is impossible and also unlawful to miss, are the toll booths. $1.50 here, $1.25 there, another $1.50 and if you need to leave to the “motorway” (as Borat says) to get gas or food you have to pay another 50 cents each time! In Kazakhstan, only thing they pay for on street is woman! I wouldn’t mind paying the tolls so much if the roads were in super condition, but they are not. The left lane seemed to be the best. It had a whole lot less tar filled cracks on it, which I assume is because Oklahomans actually drive in the right lane except to pass, like they are supposed to! Due to my “slow” or “fuel efficient” driving, I did not get to experience the left lane. I gave every other driver on the road the opportunity to use it though!

Maybe it was the excitement of seeing new landscape or going to a new city, maybe it was Bear flopping her ears every couple of minutes, but I think what really kept me awake and alert was the comfort of Borat giving me driving directions and telling me about the ‘points of interest’ along the route through our new GPS. I love the new GPS, perhaps I won’t get lost anymore, but I know for sure that Borat will at least keep me entertained. Knowing that when I reach my destination he will say, “You have reached destination. You drive like you are drinking fermented horse urine. Wa wa we wa, high five!” is enough incentive to pay attention to the road and get where I intend to go!

I have to admit that the drive home was not quite as successful. Bear needed to 'do her business,' twice, and I was in need of a quick nap and a short walk. The 2.5 hour drive turned into almost four hours, but we weren't in a big hurry to get back anyways. We all had a good time, and I am sure Trey will fill you in on the details of Oklahoma City, which by the way, I have absolutley fallen in love with!