First, the biggest difference between driving out west and along the east coast is the layout of the highways. Throughout the entire state of Oklahoma, the highway might have curved a dozen times. There's also just a different feel driving out there. The further we got into the middle of nowhere, the more serene and relaxed we
felt. It's really difficult to explain, but quite amazing.On the way up, we stopped at the new Chabad center in Oklahoma City. This is the nearest Jewish community to where we will live, about an hour and a half drive from the Air Force Base. A good bit of Divine Providence made itself apparent upon this visit. After ten years of developing a community base in the city, next week Chabad is opening their brand new center - where they will hold Shabbat davening and events. Even more, inside they built a brand new mikvah.
They also told us of another officer at Vance Air Force Base in Enid who comes to them most weekends for Shabbat. The Rabbi did not want to divulge too much information, so he just gave us the other guy's name and told us to keep an eye out for him.
Well.... lo and behold, at our second main stop once we arrived in Enid - The Walmart Supercenter, of course - a young man approached us inquiring as to where we're from (after seeing Yoni's kippah). We explained where we're from and why we were visiting, and it turns out that he was the guy the Rabbi had told us about. So we got all of his contact information and we now know someone in Enid!
While in the town, we stayed at a really adorable Bed and Breakfast. A couple owns multiple
houses with nice rooms which they rent out, and keep really well. Each room has a different theme as well. Our room was the Black and Gold Suite (symbolic of the Oklahoma oil industry). Yoni even wore his black and gold G&L shirt to match our decor.The bed and breakfast is located right near the town squa
re, so we got to do a lot of sightseeing by foot. The town square itself is really cute - there's the typical courthouse with a clocktower and gazebo out front and the post office directly behind it. Also, all around the square there are lots of little Mom and Pop specialty shops. One of the coolest was this little salon with really cool, different head coverings. We stopped and went in to speak with the people there, to try to be friendly. They were very sweet, and invited us to their church within two minutes. Supposedly they have quite the Christmas pageant. Needless to say, it is a very religious town, but that comes across in the genuine kindness in the people that we met there.The second day there we visited the base. Every minute if you look up into the sky, at least two or three planes fly overhead. This base primarily operates as a pilot training base - for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. It's a beautiful area with simple, yet nice buildings and scenery. We can easily envision happiness and contentment in that environment.
We drove back to Dallas in just about four hours and then returned to Baltimore. A few more months of married life (and honeymoon in September) and then we are quite excited to move out west!
Cheapest Gas: $3.31
