OKC Tidbits

I've just returned from a trip to Oklahoma City, where my husband presented a paper at an eighteenth-century literary conference. It was nice to get away and see some new things.

Here are some of the stories:

We checked into our hotel and then walked back to the parking garage to get our bags. We got into the elevator with two other people who were journalists of some type: he had a handheld video camera and she held a microphone like those you see on TV news. Another man also got on at the same time. We rode down a floor and the doors opened to reveal five or six Japanese students, as well as three long, narrow drums. Those of us in the small elevator were ready to go on without them because it was already almost full, but the students laughed and piled on. We were really crammed in there and I was thinking about weight limits. The female journalist tried to interview the students but barely got past her name and "reporting live from Oklahoma City" before the doors opened and we all spilled out. You never know who you're going to share an elevator with.

When we went to the room where the panel would be held, another professor and my husband decided to set up the screen for their presentations. It was one of those old-fashioned pull-down screens on a tripod, and I had to smile as they juggled the whole thing and tried to work out how to get the screen unfurled and the legs spread out. At one point, the other professor said, "How many PhDs does it take...?" They got it figured out, though.

After the conference, we walked to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, which has an impressive collection of works by Dale Chihuly. He does incredible things with glass and color, including the work shown below in an OKCMOA postcard. It's 55 feet high!

Postcard of Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Inside the museum, there's a section of clear glass ceiling about 15-20 feet long, and resting on top of the ceiling is an assortment of glass in all shapes and colors. The light came through and it was like walking under a stained glass window. There was a wooden boat full of glass globes, each with a unique pattern of color, and they all looked like exotic planets to me. There were glass bowls, sculptures and abstract shapes. All of the works in the collection were displayed with carefully arranged lighting to make them stand out. It was an amazing exhibit.

We also visited Bricktown (including a terrific lunch at TapWerks), Myriad Botanical Gardens and the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory (butterflies and orchids in February!). The conference was at the Skirvin Hotel, which is a place worth visiting itself: amazing architecture, beautiful furnishings, an incredible assortment of crystal chandeliers, something to see at every turn.

We did a lot of walking (my thighs are still speaking to me about that), ate some wonderful food and had a good time. It was a short trip (a little over two days) but well worth it.

I'm already wondering where we can go next!