Oklahoma Getaway

When you think of a romantic getaway with your husband, Oklahoma is probably not the first place on your list. But when you’re trying to check off all 50 states and you have just a few days on a budget, a quick trip north makes for a nice way to spend 2 nights. I have no idea how I was born and raised in Texas and never made the trip just 5 hours north to Oklahoma but here we are. Driving the 6 hours up to Oklahoma City saved money on travel expenses, no airline tickets just gas expense. See our itinerary below.

Itinerary

Day 1

Spring to Chickasaw National Recreation Area with a stop at Buc-ee’s (of course)- 5.5-hour drive

Oklahoma City- 1.5-hour drive

Check in to Hyatt place Oklahoma City/Bricktown

Quick nap

Dinner at Toby Kieth’s I love this Bar and Restaurant

Drinks @ Whisky Chicks

Back to hotel

Day 2

Breakfast @ hotel

Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

Centennial Land Run Monument

Wheeler District for OKC photo op

KOA Checotah/ Lake Eufaula West with a stop in Henryetta for subs from Subway and a forgotten towel-1 hour 40 min drive

Settle in to shelter at KOA, eat subs, explore campground/walk to Lake

Day 3

Pack up & head home

Pit stop in Paris to see Eiffel tower

Accommodations:

1st night- Hyatt Place Oklahoma City/Bricktown $147/night
-$50 hotel credit using my Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit
= $97

2nd night- KOA Checotah/ Lake Eufaula $66/night

My budget goal for couple travel is no more than $100/night for hotel, so we were able to stay at this hotel in the Bricktown Entertainment District within budget thanks to the hotel credit on my Chase Sapphire Preferred. One caveat to the hotel, being in a downtown location, is the parking fee. Had to pay $37 for overnight parking. I wasn’t surprised by this, I read about this fee ahead of time since I knew we’d be driving. Just FYI, it states $30 but with fees and tax, the total comes out to $37. Also, thought we’d be getting free breakfast at a Hyatt Place (we’ve stayed at many Hyatt Places before), but the Chase Travel Portal had not been informed that this particular Hyatt Place was piloting a program to remove the free breakfast and instead charge $8/person for breakfast that just last month was free.

We started out our little road trip on a Monday at the end of September so there were very few people at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. The park was so peaceful and beautiful. This park sits at the foot of the Arbuckle mountains with trails that guide you to springs that emerge from between rocks flowing into abundant creeks. There were many places to enter the clear waters of the creeks that flow through the national park. We haven’t yet been to Niagra Falls but we had the privilege to sit and just soak in nature all by ourselves at Little Niagra. I could imagine that this serene area must be teaming with swimmers when the weather allows in the warmer months. The trails were easy to walk and navigate with information along the way. We explored the trail that led us to Antelope Springs which took us around 20 minutes. Before leaving the park, we drove over to the fenced pasture where the bison roam but were not lucky enough to see any. Then, back on the road to head to Oklahoma City. We headed straight to the hotel to check in and take an itty-bitty nap. The Hyatt Place Oklahoma City/Bricktown is within walking distance of the canals and restaurants in a clean, cute, and safe entertainment district! I love a walkable area!! After our itty-bitty nap, we headed over to Toby Kieth’s I love this Bar & Grill. It is a very large restaurant with a stage inside. The hubby ordered the rotisserie chicken with baked beans for his entree and a cup of tortilla soup to start. I had the chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. I had high hopes for the food given the big name on the restaurant, but it fell a little short of impressing us. I did, however, enjoy the decor. From there, we walked through the courtyard in front of the movie theater and stopped to listen to the person playing an electric guitar there by the water feature and take in the amazing weather in the low 80s with no humidity!! I’d like to bottle it up and take it back with me to Houston! I have to enjoy it when I can get it. We decided to stop and have a drink at Whisky Chicks around the corner from the courtyard. Since this was a Monday night and not a whole lot going on in Bricktown at the moment, we headed back to the Hyatt Place to call it a night. The hubby really enjoyed seeing all the Oklahoma athletes on display at the ballpark there in Bricktown at the ballpark and decided to come back soon to see a game there.

Day 2, we went ahead and paid the $8 for breakfast there at the hotel. Would I do it again? No. I’m not a picky eater but hotel breakfast tastes better when it’s free. When I have to pay for it, not as tasty. But in the spirit of budget travel, $16 for unlimited breakfast for 2 seemed like a great deal. Now, it was time to check out Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. This is a beautifully done memorial to the memory of the Oklahoma City bombing in April of 1995. The museum will walk you through the events of that fateful day. We easily spent 3 hours going through the museum and grounds, however, we were very thorough in reading the information and watching the videos on display. After the museum, I really wanted to see the Centennial Lane Run Monument. One of my favorite things to do while on a trip is to see art installations. I loved seeing the depiction of the land run in physical, large form. It puts you in the time and sense of the feeling during that moment in history. The area surrounding the monument was beautiful with the figures extending across the water to be enjoyed from the canal water taxis as well. Not far from there is the Wheeler District where a Ferris Wheel and photo op with the OKC letters are located. The ferris wheel and concession stand were closed at the time but we were still able to take pictures and take it easy on the hammocks under the trees. So relaxing!

We hopped in the car and made our trek east to KOA Checotah/Lake Eufaula. A short stop in Henryetta to buy a towel and some subways for dinner. After checking in at the KOA, we settled into our shelter and ate our subway dinner. The shelter contained a full-sized bed and a twin sized bunk bed, a 19in TV with antenna, an AC window unit, a broom, and a mirror inside. The outside of the shelter came with a small table for 2, 2 chairs, and a firepit. The KOA was small but had a washer/dryer for use, well-kept & clean bathrooms with showers, an area with barnyard animals, and a trail to Lake Eufaula. The trail was a short walk through a heavily wooded area that led you to the lake. You could tell the lake must have dried out some due to the soft beachy looking area that we had to walk through to get to the lake. Due to the storm rolling in, the overcast sky caused an eerie feeling standing at the lake. We didn’t spend too much time there and made our way back to the shelter to make a fire and watch the storm roll in.

In the morning, we packed up and set out towards Houston by way of the Indian Nation Turnpike, which by the way, was a much more scenic way to get back to Texas. This route took us straight into Paris. Texas that is. We had to make a quick pit stop at the Eiffel tower and the Red River Valley Veterans Memorial. Absolutely worth the stop! The veteran's memorial was well done and impactful so small an area. All in all, Oklahoma threw us some curve balls due to our expectations, but we found tranquility, natural beauty, and thought-provoking history while exploring this hidden gem.