Ramayana Blog

My days off this week, as were Lauren's, were Tuesday and Wednesday this week. It's kinda fun having days off in the middle of the week when the rest of the world is at work. Our days will be changing to Friday and Saturday soon, but for the last two weeks it's been fun to have days off in the middle of the week.


Yesterday, Lauren and Chris invited me to their apartment in Ardmore, OK. I was eager to see their apartment and to head south from Sulphur to new territory. They live in a cute little loft in an apartment building that has been recently redone--very, very cute and trendy.


Not long after arriving we went to the Hamburger Inn for lunch. It's this great throwback to the 1950s--a little greasy diner with great sandwiches, fries with the skins on them, and non-stop soda refills. Super lunch. I opted for the grilled cheese and Lauren and Chris both ordered Tamale Pie which I'm pretty sure my mom made a rendition of growing up (Frito's on the bottom, chili, then a layer of lettuce, tomatoes and cheese). Lauren and Chris suggested that sour cream come with it (and I agree!) but that's not the case there--the waitress was afraid the sour cream would not be used before expiration and would be a waste--I support that. It was a great lunch time spot and super fun.


After lunch we picked up their car from the dealership and were back in the apartment packing up refrigerator bags to go on a shopping trip first to Frisco, TX and then onward to Plano, TX. When I was not yet in OK, Lauren told me about these trips she and Chris would take to TX to grocery shop. She described a little piece of "heaven" as they spent hours leisurely strolling the isles of Whole Foods, sampling, browsing, drinking chilled coffee drinks.... At the time I thought it was a little insane to drive an hour and a half for produce and other goodies from Whole Foods. I mean, I like Whole Foods, but really? A three hour round trip driving expedition was needed? Hmmmm..... I was skeptical, but yet intrigued.

So, when I was invited on such an expedition I was quick to say "yes." How could I not? It entailed a road trip, a visit to somewhere new, time with friends, and an opportunity to see how this trip to Whole Foods would go.

Back in the apartment Lauren packed up the freezer bags and frozen packs to bring back the frozen foods, dairy products and other goods that need refrigeration. Chris had a paper to write so he stayed back. It was a girls only road trip. We jumped in my rental, Lucky Lucy (the tags are from Nevada and Mark came up with the appropriate name), and off we were to Texas. Driving into Texas I was alarmed that the first exit was exit number 502. Really? And I thought Tennessee was a long state. 502 takes the cake.

The drive went quickly. It was fun and easy to talk with Lauren. Between the good conversation and my lead foot, we arrived at our shopping destinations in a little over an hour and a half. During our time in Texas we went to two malls, Jimmy John's for dinner (YUM!), REI and Whole Foods. Our goal at the malls?--mission wedding. Lauren and Chris are engaged to be married in October and there are a lot of exciting wedding decisions and details to take care of. We looked for shoes to wear under the dress, found hair clips for the bridesmaids, saw the wedding band ring at the jewelers....very, very exciting! In between that we did casual shopping including at my personal fave, Ann Taylor Loft.

Our final stop for the night was Whole Foods. At 9 pm we pull into the parking lot. We have one hour before they close. We set out.


Lauren started to shop while I took care of the coffee drinks---I was waiting all day for the espresso bar....they technically were closed but the gentleman was kind and took pity on me and fixed our drinks anyway. Yummy.

We shopped....

And shopped ...

And shopped a little more...


Finally, it was time to check out. Lauren mentioned that we were from southern Oklahoma and the cashier and bag boy got her little bags of ice to use to put with the freezer bags. I was stunned. It was fascinating to experience the whole process.



We left the store at 10 pm, put the groceries in the car, stopped for gas and were on our way home. We pulled into Lauren and Chris' apartment parking at 11:30 pm, unloaded, said good bye and I headed back to Sulphur. I got there at 12:30 am. It was an awesome day. I can see why they drive to Texas for shopping outings.

All of this said, I should tell you that I am writing this from a Starbucks in Norman. I drove an hour to have Starbucks and consistent wi-fi. Lauren texted me and reminded me of my large eyes a few weeks ago when I was told of stories of driving to Norman or Texas for goods. I guess all things are relative.