Proof Museums Can Be Fun- Even For The Reluctant!

My first day in OKC ended with a visit to the American Banjo Museum. Let me add that I was not alone. I was with a fraternity brother and sorority sister who were less than enthused about visiting this museum, but they were humoring me I suppose. We had coupons and a Groupon that made it even more affordable to visit and made it even more difficult to argue against visiting.

The escape from the oppressive 105 degree heat into the museum's generous air conditioning alone was reason enough to pay a few bucks to enter, but (as I, the museum lover, tend to do) really enjoyed my visit here. Amazingly, my friends did too- even if they weren't convinced it was really worth their time.

When you first walk into the museum, you are introduced to the history of the banjo via an 8 minute presentation. It starts with the above grandfather and child having a conversation about the boy learning how to play the banjo. (Interesting fact, they were fashioned after the Henry O. Tanner painting "The Banjo Lesson".) From there you listen about the African roots the physical instrument has, and then move forward through it's place in American culture from slavery to minstrel shows to jazz to bluegrass.

From there you enter into a large, L shaped gallery that has some pictures and neat posters and information posted about the development and advancements in banjo manufacturing and musical influence, but what will stand out most are the dozens and dozens of beautifully ornate banjos. Seriously. When I thought of banjos previously, I thought about hillbillies and instruments made out of scrap metal. These were NOT that. See for yourself:

From there you walk past biographies of some of the more famous banjo players, and then head upstairs to find even more banjos including a very rare 1929 Gibson bass banjo.

There was a very catchy song playing on the second floor (it was actually The Gang That Sang "Heart of My Heart"). It came out of an exhibit that looked like an old school pizza parlor that talked about the band/restaurant named "Your Father's Mustache". It was an interesting surprise, but hilarious thanks to this sign here:

C'mon. THAT is FUNNY! And clever!

At the end, as we prepared our journeys off to Stillwater and Langston, we talked with the lovely woman at the front desk, who invited us to try our hand at playing one of the hands-on banjos at the front. It was a lot of musical fun that I was glad to share with my friends (especially as I gave them a semi-lecture of "See! You thought I was crazy but we enjoyed ourselves!).

More Oklahoma blog entries to come over the coming days. In the meantime, feel free to look at the rest of my Facebook photos from Oklahoma and all the states I've visited for the blog thus far. You can also check out a video I shot of a video in the museum (please don't hate me oh copyright lords and ladies!) and a photo of me awkwardly holding a banjo while my friend takes my picture.

Thank you so much for reading my blog, and as always, see you on the next adventure!

Ooooooooklahoma!

Greetings readers! I've been back a little over a week from my 3 day weekend in the state of Oklahoma where I got to visit the cities of Oklahoma City and Stillwater. I had a really great time in this state and have truly fallen in love with Oklahoma City. I sincerely hope everyone gets a chance to visit someday, but just as I did for Las Vegas, I want to give you guys some tips on surviving a touristy visit to OKC.

YOU NEED A CAR TO GET AROUND

You all know I am the Queen of Public Transportation. In nearly every state I've been to I've used a bus or train or subway or SOMETHING to get around at some point. Now, I was in Oklahoma for another sorority event (more on that later) and I met up with a soror in OKC who rented a car. That was how I got around Friday and Saturday (even though that had its own problems-- our car stopped AS IN TOTALLY CUT OFF on the highway headed to Stillwater! Apparently Chevy Malibus are not safe vehicles) but Sunday I was on my own. Sundays in general suck for public transportation, but it was even worse because NO buses run in OKC on Sundays- at least not near the airport or among the museums I visited- and Sunday was my super tourist day seeing as my flight didn't leave until 6:16pm to come home.

So how did I get around? Thankfully I hadn't spent all my money and gone tchotchke crazy while I was there, I took a cab everywhere (to the tune of about $100 when all was said and done). Perhaps it was fate though because my cutie cab driver Dan was super nice, NOT CREEPY (a big plus!), and stuck with me the entire rest of my stay in OKC. He picked me up and took me everywhere I asked. The coolest thing was he of course accepts cash, but also has a WORKING card machine in his Lincoln sedan, and he accepts BITCOIN! How awesome is that? He is officially the first cab driver I've ever seen in life that takes Bitcoin. If you need a cab while you are in Oklahoma City please give him a call or text at 405-838-5242 or follow him on Twitter. He was absolutely divine.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

The entire weekend I was there the weather was over 100 degrees. I'm talking 103 and 105 friends. This Yankee chick was not pleased to say the least. With a very bold sun and little to no shade to be found anywhere, you are going to sweat, and when you sweat as much as we did, you are gonna need water (or Gatorade, or anything cool and liquid that isn't alcohol) to stay hydrated.

The Oklahoma state meal
photo from http://www.mysanantonio.com/food/slideshow/State-foods-and-drinks-85355/photo-6270094.php

COME HUNGRY

I didn't get to eat nearly as much food as I would have liked, but what I did get to eat I'll highlight on a later post. I was a bit disappointed by not being able to see all the restaurants I wanted to because everything I read about Oklahoma mentioned great barbecue, onion burgers (I did have one of those), and the super full plate that the official Oklahoma state meal consists of. Do me a favor, go, get some chicken fried steak, and tell me about it!

RIDE THE BRICKTOWN WATER TAXI

$9.50 gets you all day access to this fun and potentially romantic attraction in the heart of the city's Bricktown neighborhood (where you'll find lots of shops, restaurants, and a few sports stadiums). Unfortunately because we had to get to Stillwater we weren't able to ride at night (and it was super duper hot out) but I still really enjoyed myself. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable about Oklahoma and OKC and gave us all sorts of fun historic tidbits (like the difference between a Boomer and a Sooner... and why there was a slight beef between them for decades). This is told around the part of the tour where you pass the famous Land Run Monument.

Detail of the Land Run Monument

I won't bore you to death with details, but I WILL let you look at my YouTube videos so you can get a sense of it for yourself.

Many blog entries to come about my time in Oklahoma, just have to get the time to type them out. In the meantime please feel free to visit my Facebook page and browse my photos and give me a "like" while you're at it. Thank you so much for following me on my travels, and as always, I will see you on the next adventure!

From Bombshells To Just...Well...Bombs

Greetings readers! I apologize for the delay in this, my final entry for my trip to Nevada in May. I've had a lot going on for the month of June, so this is truly the first moment I've had to tell you about my time at the National Atomic Testing Museum.

Above the ticket booth inside the museum

This was my sister's choice for a museum outing- I personally was not interested in the atomic bomb testings or on those kooky 1950s stories about aliens and UFO crashings. However, since she picked it, we went there. It was accessible via the Deuce Bus (you'll need to transfer) and took about 20-25 minutes total in traffic to get there from the MGM. This museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate, and as I also work at a Smithsonian Affiliate institution I received a nice discount on admission (half price if I remember correctly). When you first walk in, it seems as if this place is going to be a weird homage to aliens and pie-tin flying saucer movies (as you can see from the picture above) but thankfully the entire museum wasn't like that.

Display case showing all of the products marketed using an atomic theme

Essentially, the museum touched on both the scientific and cultural impact America's nuclear testing had on history. Admittedly, some of the more boring parts (to me) were the scientific areas- while it is cool to see actual bombs and replicas of the parts, reading about technical achievements weren't exactly up my alley.

Try and contain your enthusiasm folks...

I did, however, learn a lot from the cultural aspects of the museum. Like the JC Penney fall out shelters (maybe those would help boost sales for them now), the economic impact the testing companies had on the region, and the tourism sparked by mushroom cloud viewings and bomb parties. Those sort of tidbits make the time seem relatable, more than a 1:18 scale model ever could.

Take that Walmart! We sell bomb shelters!

There was an "Area 51" section that you have to pay extra money to enter, which we did not. Also, there was a seemingly out of place display about September 11th that had pieces of actual building in it. Upon further inspection you find out that it is dedicated to men and women from the area that have lost their lives to tragedies such as that.

Piece of steel from the Twin Towers after September 11th

My only negative from my time here actually came from my sister. She picked this museum, and wasn't taking time to read or learn or interact with the exhibits. Just kinda breezing through and rushing me as if she was doing ME a favor. Folks, museums are places to immerse yourself in a particular topic, or art, or history, or whatever-- just running through everything (unless you are an expert museum goer such as myself) pretty much misses the point. She slowed down a bit once I told her we didn't have to rush or be anywhere by a certain time. It was a reminder to me that not everyone frequents museums the way I do, so some things just don't occur to them.

A hallway in the museum designed to look like it's underground
with my sister prepping to take a picture

Well, that (finally) wraps up Nevada. I leave for Oklahoma in just over 2 weeks, and you know I've got my itinerary ready! I can say this- I'm excited most about the food! Chicken fried steak, barbecue, and whatever the heck an onion burger is are all things I've read are must haves!

Still working on finalizing a few more travel plans for August, September, and October (Georgia, New Jersey and/or New York, and Michigan, respectively) but I really need to see what my life and wallet are looking like at that time. Also, some other things on the horizon that may hinder my blog goal- but we'll get more into those if they become an actual factor.

As always, thank you for reading my blog, and I'll see you on the next adventure!