Retirement Bucket List: The Mercantile, Pawhuska, OK

Retirement brings an opportunity to do the many things I put off while I was working because I didn't "have time." Little did I realize, some of the things that I now have the free time to do, would still need to be planned around work schedules.  Not mine... my family's! Visiting Pawhuska, Oklahoma to shop at Ree Drummond's shops is no longer on my retirement bucket list.

I have been a fan of The Pioneer Woman since Ron bought me an eReader for my birthday several years ago. Her biography was one of the free books that came on the device. When I read her story, I was impressed with her can do attitude and generous spirit. That led to following her blog and watching her from time to time on television. When she released her kitchen line through Wal-Mart, I fell in love with her choice of colors and patterns. I don't have a lot of her things; but, what I do own, I love.

Going to Pawhuska with Ron didn't really seem like a lot of fun, so I never suggested it as a stop on any of our road trips. The women in our family have talked about taking a girls trip so I thought my birthday would be a great weekend to plan this particular trip.  I posted it on our family Facebook page and hoped for the best. Sadly, work and scheduling conflicts kept Rebecca and Jamie from going. But, Leslie gave up one of her weekends to tag along.

If you have ever driven in North Texas, around the Ft. Worth/Dallas area, you know you can't count on Yahoo Maps prediction of a 5 1/2 hour drive time actually working out. We left Leslie's house in Ft. Worth around 1:45 on a Friday afternoon, expecting to arrive in Bartlesville around 6:00 - 6:30. Ha! We rolled in closer to 8:00 because of the crazy traffic. Luckily, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

I had though we would have time to head over from Bartlesville from Pawhuska and get a head start on our sight seeing/shopping Friday evening. Since that didn't work out, we left Saturday morning, earlier than planned. Here is the blessing part. The Mercantile opens at 7:00 a.m. so when we got there, there was hardly anyone there at all!! We browsed through the store, got an idea of what we wanted to actually buy, then ate breakfast in The Bakery. I had the pumpkin scone and hot chocolate and Leslie has The Everything Croissant. Everything was so good!! We didn't eat lunch in the restaurant because by the time we check on making a reservation, they had a 2 1/2 hour waiting list. Instead, we hit Main Street to see the sites and do some shopping.
There are several unique shops in town; all in older, original buildings. Everything has a quaint feel; but is very tourist centered. Lots of iron work, Western themed items, candles, jewelry, clothing, and antiques.  We decided to go back to The Mercantile and make our final purchases, then head back to the hotel to check out early. Sweet Leslie paid for what I had picked out as a birthday gift. Thanks, Leslie!
I'm sure there are lots of other things to do in the area. But, we didn't do any research beforehand; and, I really just wanted to see The Mercantile, The Bakery, and Charlie's Sweet Shop. Check, check, and check.
I still haven't replaced my camera (it has a huge scratch on the lens) so had to take pics with the iPad. Sadly, there aren't many to share.

This had to be the most delicious scone I've ever tasted. The hot chocolate was amazingly creamy and rich. Neither one was in any way a disappointment.

The end of the bakery counter has an assortment of kid friendly bake ware. Such cute things!
Around the corner is a set of windows where you can stand and actually watch the bakery items being made. 

One of the most interesting buildings in town was the Triangle Building.
Don't know the history or story of the current use; just thought it was cool.

The Mercantile and Bakery are in the same building. The bakery is upstairs;
and, the restaurant and store are downstairs.

There was a really old, run down building on the top of a hill
across the street from the main shopping area. I found out once I got home
that is used to be the Osage County Courthouse.
Such a cool building just falling apart!

The Mercantile has just about everything you could possibly want for your kitchen. I didn't see many rugs or place mats, like the ones I bought from Wal-Mart. But, they have the most
adorable collection of dish towels!

Living in an RV is a choice I have not regretted. It does impact what I buy though. Everything must be lightweight, small, durable, and absolutely necessary. I've been trying to get buy with one plastic measuring cup. That doesn't really work, so I picked up her cute stainless steel set. I also got rid of our large plastic strainer and replaced it with the sweet, tiny one. My favorite, which isn't absolutely necessary, is the sifter. Isn't it too cute???
Thank you again, Leslie.

So, our trip wasn't as well attended as I had hoped, took a more adventurous drive than expected, and was much shorter than planned. But, I loved every minute of it. Next stop, Missouri Star Quilting Company, Hamilton MO!!! Who wants to go along?

Oklahoma City National Memorial

Ron and I decided to spend an extra day in Oklahoma City on our way home from South Dakota.  We have driven past the city numerous times while on our way to visit family. We've just never made the effort or taken the time to stop and see the memorial. It is certainly an emotional experience. I really don't know how anyone can mentally prepare for the visit. I had gone to the web site and ended up questioning whether or not I'd be able to handle it. But, we had already made the plans to go; so I "girded my loins" with prayer and hoped for the best.
There is an app that you can download so you have a walking tour of the memorial to listen to. There are several National Park Rangers on site to answer any questions. I'm such a blubbering cry baby, that I preferred the walking tour!

There are 3 bronze gates at the memorial, called The
Gates of Time. They bookend the memorial and remind
visitors of the time the bomb went off, the time the first
responders arrived, and the time recovery began.

                           

The Field of Empty Chairs is powerful! There are
9 rows; representing the 9 stories of the federal
building. Each row has one chair placed for each
individual who lost their life that day.

The Survivor Tree is the only tree on the
property to have survived the bombing. It was
broken, scarred, and had numerous pieces of
shrapnel embedded in the bark. It was nursed
back to health and included in the memorial.

This message was written on the exterior of a
neighboring building, which became the museum. It was
placed there by those who helped with the
clean up and recovery.

The Rescuers' Orchard was planted to remind visitors of
the countless citizens who immediately ran to the site,
willing to help with rescue and recovery.

The Reflecting Pool is simply beautiful. It is so
peaceful and is intended to provide visitors with
a place to meditate and reflect on what had
happened.

This is a large observation area inside the museum.
It overlooks the memorial.

The Fence is part of the original barrier constructed
around the bomb site. Many people place ribbons,
pictures, stuffed animals, etc. on the fence during recovery.
The citizens of the city petitioned the designers to
include at least a portion of the fence in the final
design.

I handled most of the memorial fairly well; but, those tiny
chairs representing the children lost in the day care center
were heartbreaking. So many lives cut short way too early.

  After walking through the outdoor memorial, which took almost an hour, Ron and I decided we just couldn't handle the museum. There are several tours available, of varying lengths, for those with a tougher heart than we have.