August 31, 2002

We started the morning by heading to Claremore, Oklahoma (20 miles outside of Tulsa).  First we made a stop in Catoosa at the Blue Whale (a premier Route 66 attraction in its heyday).  Next, we visited the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore with an extensive collection of Rogers memorabilia as well where he is buried. Next, we stopped at the Davis Arms & Historical Museum which houses the largest gun collection in the world (over 20,000 guns).

We had lunch at the Hammett House Restaurant famous for its made-from-scratch pies.  Tara opted for Sizzlin' Apple Delight and I had the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie - both were huge portions (we couldn't even finish it all).

Headed back down Route 66 to Tulsa and stopped at the Expo Center for a picture of the Golden Driller, a 76-foot tall statue of a helmeted oil driller.  Next, we stopped at the Gilcrease Museum housing an extensive collection of American Western Art.  Afterwards we drove around downtown Tulsa  where many of the buildings are in the Art Deco style from the 1920s and 30s including the Boston Avenue Methodist Church - a Jazz Age monument that stretches high into the blue Tulsa sky.    Then we stopped at the Philbrook Museum of Art, housed in a mansion of an early Oklahoman oilman, which has an extensive collection of European masters.

Our next stop was at Weber's Superior Root Beer stand, which claims to have invented the hamburger, but more famous for the own root beer in frosted mugs.

Finally, we stopped by Oral Roberts University for a quick tour of the campus and then made a final stop at Woodland Hills Mall before heading back to the hotel.