The End of the Road - The Best Things in Life are Friends

Aloha all,

this might be the last blog post for the year. I have a hard enough time putting in words how much fun roadtripping with Sandra is. It would be even harder to describe the mixed emotions after our return to Maui. It’s good to hug our friends again, but the extend of the tragedy and new reality in West Maui is still sinking in.

Sunset reflecting on Joy
as we reflect on another six month trip

Our last week of this year’s trip was dominated not by the sites we saw, but the people we met. We met friends we never knew and reconnected with old friends who don’t know us at all. We made our new instant friends only because we like beer and the old friends are rock legends I had not seen in 37 years. Yes, this written purposefully mysterious to make you read the last blog post of this trip. 

In Wichita with the Keeper of my Heart next to me
and the "Keeper of the Plains" in the background

The week started pleasantly, but with no big surprises: A nice lakeside campground, the National Tallgrass Prairie, an art museum with a fun little piano concert and a scooter ride along the Arkansas River in Wichita. But then we became hungry and thirsty, so we went to the next brewery and things quickly changed. 

Instant friends after a serendipitous meeting
of a West Maui neighbor in Wichita

One of the other guests was wearing a Maui t-shirt and of course I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Next thing we know we are talking story with our new friend Renee, who lives just down the road from us on Maui and her mainland ohana, who are all long time frequent Maui visitors. Before we knew it, Joy was parked in their driveway, we sat around a campfire and enjoyed dinner together. There were even games, my kind of people!

Driveway campfire with our newest friends

New friends, great food & fun games

One of our old “friends” who doesn’t know us is Frank Lloyd Wright. We actually don’t really like him (apparently he was a bit of a dick), but we LOVE touring his buildings! The Allen House in Wichita and the Price Tower in Bartlesville were no exceptions. Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings are always timeless, aways beautiful and always leak. We have been to at least two dozen of his buildings now and have yet to find one that does not leak. But they are always full of fascinating details and interesting stories. 

Frank Lloyd Wright's
Price Tower in Bartlesville

The FLW tour in Bartlesville included the community center, which is not actual one of his buildings, but inspired by his legacy. It’s such an impressive theater that we put Bartlesville on the list of places to consider moving to when the volcano blows.

Architecturally, the "Little House on the Prairie" is not as impressive as the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. In fact, it looked like any other cheaply reconstructed 19th century log cabin. But it was still interesting to learn where Laura Ingalls Wilder got her inspiration from. And the cabin did not seem to leak.

She almost made me want to read
'The Little House on the Prairie'

We did three things in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One was fun, one depressing and one inspiring: The Oklahoma Thunder played a pre-season NBA game in Tulsa. The game was very enjoyable, but I can’t wait until our nephew Hannes plays in the NBA so we know which team to root for.

Detroit Pistons vs. Oklahoma Thunder
at Tulsa's Bok Center

The second thing we did in Tulsa was “Greenwood Rising”, which is the museum that tells the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. I think this is one of the most important stories in American history, but often overlooked (and sometimes purposely ignored). During Jim Crow Era, where black people and business were discriminated against in most of the country, Greenwood Avenue was a business district where black entrepreneurs were able to thrive. And they were so successful that it was referred to as “Black Wall Street”. Unfortunately, the racism, fear and prejudice was so strong at that time that it only took a totally unrelated and probably made up incidence for a white mob to massacre black residence and burn down most of Black Wall Street. 

Black Wall Street in Tulsa
site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

The fatalities and the property damage from the massacre were comparable to that of the recent Lahaina fire. But instead of the overall very generous help here, the only offer the displaced residents got was a half price bus ticket if they were willing to leave town. And the Tulsa mayor even blamed them for inciting the massacre. I know we have come a long way, but it is scary that it took until 2020 that the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre became mandatory in the curriculum of all Oklahoma schools. It’s not like Sandra and I try to ignore American history, but were somewhat blissfully unaware of the extend of this event until recently. I highly encourage you to read about it or better visit “Greenwood Rising” when you are in Tulsa.

That same evening we went to see Billy Ocean. I had no idea how many die hard Billy Ocean fans are still out there, 40 years after he released his biggest hits (“Caribbean Queen”, “When the Going Gets Tough”,…). His concert was such a love fest; the perfect way to restore faith in humanity after learning about the massacre. 

Billy Ocean in Concert - Love was in the air

We decided on Oklahoma City as a winter home for Joy this year. I’ve said it before and will say it again, I think OKC is one of the most underrated cities in America. It seems to have all the amenities of a big city, without the usual side effect of traffic, noise, stress and crazy prices. 

Bricktown district
in Oklahoma City

We enjoyed a fun night at a dueling piano bar, a cocktail on the top of Devon Tower, a boat ride through Bricktown, a stroll through Scissor Tail Park and along the river and a movie. We highly recommend “The Killers of the Harvest Moon”, the new Martin Scorsese movie with Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio about the targeted killing of members of the Osage tribe. That’s another dark chapter of history. You might want to plan on seeing Billy Ocean after you watch that movie.

Oklahoma City skyline,
easy on the eyes, easy on the nerves

It’s always a little sad to put Joy in storage. We know how much she enjoys roaming the open roads. But we had one more highlight to look forward to while cleaning, packing and winterizing: Our little detour to see Queen in Nashville. No, we did not fly 700 miles just to see a concert, we also toured a historical home, had a drink on a rooftop bar and had some great BBQ!

Belmont Mansion in Nashville,
our last historical home tour for a while

Teenager don’t always make the best decisions. I was no exception. But I am glad that when I was 16, I decided to go all the way up to Cologne to see Queen, not knowing that it was three weeks before Freddie Mercury performed his last concert and five years before he passed away. 37 years later, I’m glad we got to see Queen as a truly royal ending to this trip.

Queen and Adam Lambert concert in Nashville

Obviously, a Queen concert without Freddie is not the same, but with Adam Lambert, they might have found the guy most suited to try fill his shoes. He doesn’t try to be Freddie, but Freddie was definitely there in spirit. The show must go on (and it was bombastic).  

Friendly, familiar face at LAX, we met Ron
even before we made it to Maui

Now we are back on Maui. Our hometown is gone, so is probably my little business. But our friends are still here, the ocean is still here, Maui is still here and we are grateful for that. It will be a long, slow, messy recovery for Lahaina, but it is still home.

A hui hou, Joy!

Chris & Sandra