My husband and I are going to Tulsa Aug 13-16. Our son has a summer internship with a company there, so we're eager to see him and his temporary home! I realize it's going to be HOT while we're there!
I'm looking for suggestions of things my husband and I to do on the Monday while our son is at work - probably something air conditioned! I originally thought about the 2 museums that are highly rated (Gilcrease and Philbrook) but they're both closed on Mondays. We will have a car available.
Also, any recommendations for our day on Sunday with our son - again either in A/C or water (his complex has a nice pool but we'd like something more local - river or lake maybe?). This is our first visit to OK, so all suggestions are appreciated.
Tulsa in August - Need Suggestions
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So I was going to suggest going to Bartlesville to see the Price Tower and then onto Woolaroc, but they are also both closed on Monday. Drat.
The Tulsa Zoo is nice but it's also outdoors, so probably not a good idea. The Oklahoma Aquarium is open on Mondays, and it's not bad ... kind of a nice diversion for an hour or two.
If all else fails, the malls are open and are nice and cool. If you like to gamble, there are tons of casinos.
No possible sane answer from me except going to a movie.
Bill in Boston
Maybe you could go to Claremore to the Will Rogers Museum and drive some of Route 66. I didn't realize so many attractions were closed on Monday. Some of the other things I thought of are closed too.
We have been having lots of algae problems at local lakes. The closest scenic river would be in Tahlequah, but I bet the river is way down because of the lack of rain.
We are needing this heatwave to break and lots of rain.
Thanks for the help so far....I think we'll do the Will Rogers Museum (thanks for that suggestion!) in the morning and either the Aquarium or a movie in the afternoon. We've been to a lot of top-rated aquariums so am a bit hesitant. The company our son is interning with is having a corporate event at the aquarium tomorrow evening, so he said he'll let us know what he thinks.
Maybe we can do 1 museum Sunday - not sure our son (22 yo) will be that interested tho. Which would you recommend - Gilcrease or Philbrook?
Malls and casinos would not be top choices. Any other suggestions??
If you are up to a road trip to Oklahoma City, about 2 hours each way, on a Monday you can visit
Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum (EXCELLENT museum and moving memorial) http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (a good choice if you like western history and art) http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/
Oklahoma History Center (interesting info on the state's history, and their current special exhibits look good) http://www.okhistorycenter.org/ - the State Capitol is nearby as well
Red Earth Museum (Native American art) http://www.redearth.org/red-earth-museum/
Some more offbeat choices include the Museum of Osteology ("America's ONLY Skeleton Museum!" - http://www.museumofosteology.org/), the Oklahoma Museum of Telephone History, the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum (http://www.osfa.info/), World of Wings Pigeon Center (http://www.pigeoncenter.org/), the World Organization of China Painters Museum (http://www.theshop.net/wocporg/), and Halls of Fame for gymnastics (http://www.ighof.com/) and softball (http://www.asasoftball.com/).
You can't go wrong with either museum. I guess my first choice would be Gilcrease for the collection. Philbrook is in a beautiful italian villa though, with beautiful grounds.
If it's not too hot, I'd say Philbrook. But Gilcrease is a better museum. However, I do really like Woolaroc. It would be worth traveling to Bartlesville to see that and the Price Tower on Sunday. And you could eat lunch at Murphy's, which has the best hamburgers in northeastern Oklahoma.
Our trip to Tulsa was wonderful and we managed to be there during the “cool spell” as temps were in the 80s and 90s. We arrived On Sat 8/13 and ate an early dinner at the Outback (son’s request). Then we went to the Riverwalk area which was fairly quiet except for Los Cabos a Mexican restaurant. They had a live band which was really enjoyable, so we had a few drinks there.
Sunday morning we headed up to Woolaroc based on many recommendations. This was wonderful and our favorite sight-seeing activity. It’s hilly and green with many animals, a great museum (Native Americans, pioneers, cowboys, etc) and a beautiful ranch home of the Phillips family. Admission was $8 per person and well worth it – I highly recommend it. We drove by Price Tower but didn’t go inside. For lunch we stopped at Murphy’s Steak House in Bartlesville for their special “hot hamburger”. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside is a nice diner-style restaurant. As we were waiting for a table, 2 locals helped us learn what to order – they were so excited for us to try this meal! A hot hamburger is an open-face burger: Texas toast topped with a burger (with or without cheese), topped with fries and “gravy over all”. It was interesting to say the least – my husband and son were in heaven! They also have a delicious house salad dressing – garlic – which our waitress gave us to try on some crackers. What a fun place!
We spent the afternoon by the pool, took our son grocery shopping and decided we were too full to eat dinner. So we headed to McNellie’s Irish Pub for a few beers and appetizers. With many (over 100) beers on tap, including local brews, it was perfect for us. Our server was very knowledgeable about the beers and our only disappointment was that the cask-conditioned IPA was not available. I highly recommend McNellies if you like good beer!
Monday was the tricky day since most museums are closed. We had our son’s car while he was at work, so we decided to drive up to Claremore to the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. The admission is a suggested donation of $5, which is what we chose to do. We didn’t know much about Will Rogers going into this, but are impressed with all he accomplished in his lifetime. The museum is very well done with films, newspapers, radio broadcasts, telegraphs and more. My favorite was a video called “The Ropin’ Fool” narrated by his son which showcases his incredible roping skills.
The Hammett House Restaurant was recommended for lunch, but of course they’re closed on Monday. We had lunch at the Boomarang Diner in town which was really good (best BLT I’ve had – it’s on Texas toast), very reasonable prices and obviously the locals eat there. On our drive back to Tulsa we stopped to see the Blue Whale in Catoosa – a famous Route 66 icon.
We drove to Oral Roberts University to see the enormous praying hands sculpture. The university is also quite a sight – all white and shiny gold and very futuristic architecture. Our hotel had a surprisingly decent sports bar so we went there for happy hour to wait for our son to finish work. We had hoped to go to Big Daddy’s All-American BarBQue for dinner, but it’s closed on Monday! UGH!!! We ended up at Wilsons Bar-B-Que “You need no teeth to eat our beef!” We ordered a slab of ribs to share and a few side dishes and drinks – our bill was only $35! Next stop was Braums for ice cream and we called it a night!
We stayed at the Clarion Hotel in Broken Arrow which was very close to our son’s apartment and only $60 per night. The room was spacious and clean, the breakfast was very good (sausage biscuits and gravy, waffle station, etc). We would definitely stay here again.
We would have loved to go to a Drillers game (the stadium looks awesome!) but they weren’t in town. We’d also love to go to the Gilcrease or Philbook museums someday.
We had a great time in Tulsa, but would avoid going on a Monday next time! People were amazingly friendly and the cost of living is so much more reasonable than in MA. Hilti will fly our son back to Tulsa in Sept to do a presentation about his internship and it also serves as a job interview! So, who knows, we may be visiting Tulsa again in the near future! Thanks to everyone who made suggestions for our trip – it really helped!