Tulsa: Route 66

Hey everyone!

It’s been a long time. I’ve just been trying to figure out which topics I want to focus on writing on my blog. By not really having a focus, I was overwhelmed by all of the posts I could talk about on here. But that’s not what this post is about, it’s about my trip to Tulsa. Fingers crossed, I plan on writing a post each day that I am here, to show all that there is to do in and around Tulsa.

Yesterday I visited the neighborhood of Greenwood, which was formerly known as the Black Wall Street. In 1889, many people migrated to Oklahoma during the Oklahoma Land Run to establish themselves in a new land with new opportunities. One of the people that came to Oklahoma during this time was O.W. Gurley, who was a wealthy African American. He purchased 40 acres that only sold to other African Americans. In a matter of years, the area was thriving with businesses owned and operated by African Americans. However, when a young African American man was accused to raping a white woman (which was not an uncommon accusation against African American men), things turned to the worse. White men in Tulsa came to the neighborhood of Greenwood and burned down every home and business.

While the Greenwood Cultural Center is not the most interesting and interactive museum, it did hold a lot of information about before and after the riot. My favorite part of the museum was reading statements from some of the survivors of the riot. If you haven’t heard about Black Wall Street and/or are interesting in learning more about the history of the community, I would definitely encourage you to read more about it.

Then today, I decided to visit a bunch of places outside of Tulsa. First stop, the Mercantile aka the restaurant and store of THE Pioneer Woman. I love Pioneer Woman and I knew that the Mercantile would definitely be on my itinerary. If you go there during the off-peak season like I did (January -April), you wont’t have a problem getting a seat right away. I ordered the cheesy grits with a fried egg, and it came with two small biscuits. I also decided to get her Bourbon pecan sticky bun to go with me. Before I left the Mercantile, I shopped around her store. Perhaps I can do a video about my trip and show you som of the things I picked up.

Next, I decided to hit up some popular sites along the history Route 66 (cue “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flats). I saw the blue whale in Catoosa, which was originally created as an anniversary gift to a woman who loved whales. I then drove a little ways to see the Golden Driller, which is recognized as the sixth tallest statue in the United States.

The last placed that I ventured to, before heading back to the hotel, was the campus of Oral Roberts University. My friend recommended that I go to the campus to see the praying hands. The founder, Evangelist Oral Roberts believed in educating the whole person…in mind, spirit, and body. So the statue of the praying hands made sense; I saw it as showing what the school believed in for their students but now I’m also seeing it as how the school and students are always being prayed over.

Well that was my first two days in Tulsa. Stay tuned to hear how the rest of my trip is going. And if you have any suggestions of sites I should see or restaurants I should try, please let me know if the comment section below. Lastly, please be sure to like and share this post, and then subscribe to my blog. Thanks for reading!

Love,

Britt ❤