Day Six - Tulsa to Clinton

Ladies and Gentlemen, let's hear it for my future travel-buddy Kathleen Waldron who guessed S.E. Hinton as my Tulsa literary connection!

 

This hideous shack in a rather dicey neighborhood was the Curtis brothers' house in the movie THE OUTSIDERS and I choose to believe that S.E. Hinton picked it out for them because it was the actual house that the actual Ponyboy lived it.
I listened to THE OUTSIDERS on my ipad from Joplin to Tulsa and it was the first time I had "read" it as a parent. It is a truly terrifying story. I kept thinking of poor dead Mrs. Curtis looking down from heaven at Darry trying so hard and Ponyboy trying to stay gold. 

Excuse me, I have something in my eye...

According to Tulsa, it is the point where east meets west. And they can prove it with this statue. Seems believable to me! Who is going to doubt Tulsa?

 

The Rock Cafe in Stroud was my breakfast stop. And what is a more nutritious breakfast than peach cobbler, I ask? There is none! The owner of the cafe (who was not there) is said to be the inspiration for Sally in the CARS movie. So if you are reading this, Caleb, I nearly met Sally...

Here is a bad picture of the outside. They are currently refurbishing it and they have brand new bathrooms outside. I nearly used one of them on my way in. They aren't hooked up to the sewer yet. It would have been tremendously bad...

I went to the round barn, which is a famous Route 66 landmark. They should call it the barn that is hotter than satan's underpants. Because it is! But just as I was so hot that I could barely stand to not turn on the air-conditioner* -  like a beacon my salvation appeared in the distance...

 

 

POPS! It is a diner/gas station/land of sodas.

They seriously have glass bottles of every soda produced in the US. And it was blessedly cool. And I bought a bag of ice to restock the cooler. It was a magical place!

I soaked one of my scarves in the still-quite-icy former ice cube water before I dumped it out and made a snazzy cooling turban which I wore nearly all the way to Clinton. I am very fashion-forward.

*Don't worry, I've gotten over my dislike for driving with the AC on by now. I'm currently in New Mexico and it is 104.

Disclaimer: This picture is from the internet. The reason is because I wanted to cross this bridge, but one of my guidebooks said it was condemned. A different one said there was a group trying to get it fixed. I was getting mixed messages. So when I got to it, I paused. Iit appeared other people were going over it and living, so I got my phone out to document my possible near-death experience on video.

Except I didn't press the damn button.

And I wasn't going to risk my life again to recapture the moment. So just imagine me, in my turban, window open, screaming with fear as I crossed it. Pretty picture!

  This is the entrance to the Stafford Air and Space Museum. It is a fascinating museum that chronicles the life and career of Gemini and Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford. At least I am pretty sure it was fascinating. I just went to the gift shop to get a present for Rich and use the bathroom. Listen, it was getting late and I was tired and it was $7. I'll go to the next Air and Space Museum I run across...

This was the view from my hotel.

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A! O-K!

Aside from cooling me down, the stop at POPS also allowed me to make my dreams come true! I found Green River, the elusive soda pop from Chicago that I have been looking for. (Did I not tell you about that? It is a sad story. I was looking for this soda. And I couldn't find it.) 

 

But POPS had it!!

And they had Big Red in a glass bottle. I have been seeing that in 12 packs on my Green River foraging trips. (Yes, there have been several, I really wanted to try that soda!) But the glass bottle looks awesome. I already had a can of Vess. And when I had tried the other can I bought in St. Louis, I thought, “Meh...” so I didn't bother to look for it at POPS.

They give you a cardboard six-pack holder and you can fill it with singles of all the sodies. So I got regional favorites Green River, Big Red, Vernors (I haven't had it in a glass bottle since the 70s!)and Cheerwine. I also made two terrible mistakes. Mrs. Someonehorrible's Peaches and Cream soda and Saranac Shirley Temple. Blergh...

And once again, I have spent a REALLY long time talking about soda. Perhaps I have some sort of disorder.

I will leave you with this.

I am fairly sure that it is my greatest work.