A Clear Day in Tulsa

The view from the top of Tulsa's Cityplex Towers is spectacular on a clear September day. Built near 81st and Lewis in 1981 as the City of Faith by evangelist Oral Roberts, it operated as a medical center and school for 8 years. Since 1989 it has leased space to a number of services, primarily medical offices. I took my camera along for a doctor's appointment this morning and enjoyed the view.






Looking South we see the Creek Turnpike and 96th Street bridges linking Riverside Drive across the Arkansas River to Jenks. Just across the river is the Riverwalk complex and South of that is the new Jenks Aquarium.


Looking West is the intersection of 81st and Riverside. Across Riverside is the Creek Nation Casino. East on the NW corner of 81st and Lewis is the Walmart Supercenter. In the foreground is the The Plaza shopping center.


To the North is downtown Tulsa and the I44 bridge across the Arkansas.


To the Northeast is the St. Francis Medical complex at 61st and Yale.


A little further to the East North East is 41st and Sheridan.


I couldn't find a window that looked due East. That's all folks.

Gulf Shores, Alabama

Susan and I drove from Tulsa to Gulf Shores, Alabama the weekend after Labor Day to visit our friends Matt and Julie Warden. Their two children Joshua, 3 and Hope 1, are our godchildren and we have not seen them since they moved to Alabam last March. We took Smokey the wonderdog along for the drive and had a very enjoyable visit. Friends of Matt and Julie will be pleased to know that they are doing fantastic and have transplanted very well.



Hope is walking.


Joshua is full of mischief.


The first order of business was to visit the beach.






We hoped that Smokey would enjoy the surf but he wanted no part of it. As you can see, he stayed back as far as the leash would allow.


Gulf Shores is a long island just off the Southern tip of Alabama and is like a smaller version of Miami Beach - lots of Hotels and Condominiums. Everything is built on stilts to allow for the surge of high water during a storm.




Matt and Julie are in a condominium temporarily and will buy a house in Foley as soon as the old place in Oklahoma is sold.


They enjoy a private swimming pool and are just across the road from a nice stretch of private beach.




Matt is managing a Shake's Frozen Custard store in Foley. Julie is working half time as a bank teller. They have arranged their schedules so that they don't need day care for the kids.


We went shopping for souveniers.


We enjoyed a fine dinner at the Original Oyster House.


We worshiped together at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church.






What we enjoyed most was time spent with the family.








We started home at 7 AM Monday morning and arrived in Tulsa at 9 PM. It was a nice drive and a wonderful visit. Smokey had a great time.