Now I know

I often wondered, driving west on Highway 70, "What would happen if I just kept going on past Ardmore? Where does this go?

It turns out: through a lot of really open, really empty ranch country. Until you get close to where you'd turn to go to Wichita Falls.

Lawton is far away. (I probably took the slightly longer route; a colleague recommended going to 35, up 35 for a while, and then west. But I hate driving on 35, there are some areas that are very poorly maintained and there are some people on there who drive like maniacs, so I opted for the longer but quieter route).

I will say I said to myself as I drove it, "Man, I'm glad I'm not doing this up in one of the Dakotas right now. One freak snowstorm and I'd be a statistic." Because there was so much nothing. (I also worried, vaguely, about what I'd do if my car broke down. I've never joined AAA, seeing as they have no local office to me, and my past experiences with their roadside assistance (in Illinois) were such that calling a friend for help was a lot faster). I suppose I could have called my insurance company and at the very least got the phone number of the sheriff for the county I was in, and called him (I think all the Oklahoma sherifim are male) and asked for help.

Anyway, I didn't need to test that out.

The meetings were fine. I went outside my field of expertise (Botany - I was chair of another section) because this year there were no talks that interested me in my field. So instead I sat in on a geography talk about labyrinths and a couple of geology talks. (I had been recruited to judge a student talk in that section. Geology is kind of outside my ken but the student did a good job of explaining his topic for the scientist-but-not-geologist).

The labyrinth talk was interesting. It was mainly about how they are becoming increasingly used in the US, both as a spiritual exercise (lots of churches, especially, it seems, Episcopal churches, have them) and as a relaxation technique (some hospitals have them available both for staff and patients/relatives of patients). But he also touched on the history a bit and made the assertion that the general form of the labyrinth, like the famous one at Chartes, is more or less common across cultures, even cultures that might not have had contact for thousands of years at the time they were building them. So either it's an idea far, far older than the 4000 years or so (his claim, I don't know that for sure) that the oldest ones known date back to, or else it's a common idea "in the air" that multiple cultures came up with. (Or, I suppose: there was a lot more cultural contact than what we know about. There are legends, for example, of the "lost years" of Jesus (between age 12 and age 30 or so) including time spent in what is now India.)

He also noted that in some Hopi and Navajo art, a similar form shows up and sometimes it is called "maze" or something similar. 

He also noted that they were set up so that there was no "wrong" way to do them. Heh. That struck me because I am always excessively worried, I think, about doing things the "correct" way. (Of course, labyrinth design is simple enough that you don't have to think to follow it - that's kind of the point). But he observes there's no set speed you're "supposed" to go (though the idea is to do it slowly) and no set time you're supposed to spend at the center.


After those talks I had to run off to my session, the one I was chairing. Only a few talks, so I scheduled them all after the break. (But the session I was judging ran late, so I got stiffed on being able to get a snack - they had donuts and I had specifically eaten less at breakfast, planning to have one - or even being able to take a restroom break). At least the talks went fairly smoothly and I found someone to take over being section chair for next year and the following one. (We are a small section, and usually the same people wind up cycling in and out as leadership)

I didn't sign up for the banquet at the end because of the cost, the length (I wanted to get back on the road home; I don't like driving in the dark if I can avoid it), and because I figured it would likely be hard to control sodium intake. (Also, one year, some years back, I got sick after the banquet. I don't think it was anything wrong with the food; I think there was some flavoring used in something that I'm sensitive to. I find that some of the synthetic garlic-like spices, or even just plain too much garlic, react badly with my stomach).

I stopped at a "Jimmy's Egg" on the way out of town. It's an omelet place, apparently a chain, though I'd never seen one before. They were very busy - nearly full lot with a line in the restaurant - so I figured they had to be okay.

I asked the server if they had a nutritional menu. She apologetically said they were "working" on one, and I said, "That's okay, I can probably guess what will work for me" but then she came scurrying back with a printed-out page with the information I needed on it (and anyway, my guess was right: a plain cheese omelet with no meat and with fruit as a side would be okay). I thanked her - she didn't have to do that, she could have just continued in the "sorry, no nutritional menu" information - and I gave her a larger tip (and I tend to tip generously to begin with, unless service is outright rude to me).

The omelet was good. Different from how I make 'em (mine are puffier and are a semicircle) but I'm sure that's the difference between one person standing over the stove watching their eggs cook and a short-order cook trying to keep up with a busy restaurant. (Also, I'm sure short-order cooks worry a lot more about food poisoning; if I undercook my eggs and get salmonella, it's my own dang fault; a short-order cook might lose his or her job over undercooked eggs.)

The toast (cinnamon raisin, and they boasted it was "homemade" bread) was probably the best part of the meal.

And then, the long drive home. (And the first part of it was windy. I don't like driving in heavy wind).

I did stop at a couple of Ardmore-vicinity places on the thought that breaking up the last leg of the trip was good (I was getting tired) and also, there were a couple places I wanted to go to, and well, I was already there. So I stopped at the Brown Paper Bag (sort of a gift-kitchenwares type store). Mainly to see if there was something that would work for the AAUW gift exchange. (I don't have the time or the inspiration to knit something this year). I did find something. It slightly exceeded the suggested price limit but I justify it by telling myself the retired ladies have more time to shop sales and get stuff on really good prices than I do.

And then I stopped at Landgraf Farms. This is a pecan orchard and they have a small store that's open in November or December (they also do mail order; my parents and I stopped in there years ago when they were down one year for Thanksgiving and my mom liked the pecans so well that she now mail orders them for baking every year). So I got my supply of pecans for fall and winter baking.

And then I stopped at the Peanut Inn and got some unsalted roasted (new crop) peanuts, and a jar of "spun honey" (which was expensive, but more and more, my "dessert" is a piece of toast with jam or honey on it).

And then home. I was glad to get home. It's funny; when I was a kid I used to love staying in hotels, I found it different and exciting but as an adult, most of the time, I'd much rather be at home at night. (The hotel I stayed in was okay except the bed was kind of hard. Then again, I have a softer mattress than normal at home). That may be because most of my staying-in-a-hotel experiences in the past 10 or so years have revolved around going to meetings (and therefore, more "duty" than "vacation") and also the fact that I'm paying for the room ("$80 plus tax to sleep one night, when I have a nicer bed at home for free?").