The night after Maxine's arrival in Oklahoma City was planned to be Girls' Night Out. Robin, Autumn, Maxine, and I had tickets to see a Disney "musical spectacular" titled When You Wish. The show has a loose plot of a young girl's journey through her imagination and storybook as she interacts with and sings beside a myriad of Disney characters. It is presented by Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma the state’s leading professional theatre company and we saw it performed at the grand, 2,477-seat Civic Center Music Hall in downtown Oklahoma City. Here are my sister, my daughter and my granddaughter posed outside before we went in.
Autumn wanted to wear makeup for the occasion so once we went in and before we were seated, her mom applied eye make up, much to Autumn's delight.
I took a selfie of Maxine and me. We were not so inspired as to don eye makeup. We wore glasses instead.
Here are mother and daughter seated and waiting for the show to begin.
The stage was very reminiscent of It's A Small World at theDisney parks.
The pink and purple lighting emitted a very fairy tale vibe, quite is keeping with a little girl's tastes.
The "music spectacular" was more than a "musical". It was heavily music laden, leaning more toward concert than play but with an abundance of impressive dance numbers, acrobatics, and flying. There were many, many familiar and beloved songs. The movie sources were listed in the program in alphabetical order. The performance order of the songs was different.
There were probably only about two musical numbers I was not familiar with. I copied a complete list of about three dozen songs from the site http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/When_You_Wish_(musical).
We enjoyed the show immensely! We asked a member of the audience to capture our smiles as we were leaving the theatre.
The Civic Center Music Hall is an impressive, classic-looking building, especially when lit up at night.
Autumn was exceedingly fascinated by the shooting blue water fountains out in front. We joked that those plumes of water impressed her more than the show itself.
Thursday July 13th – Science Museum
Elliott, Robin's cat, tried to show us how a day of relaxation is accomplished; but, I guess we did not pay close enough attention.
Isaiah is of the opinion that proper recreation involves a sword fight. At first Aunt Maxine was cringing in a cowardly pose.
But then she whirled around and fought back!
After the morning sword duel, four adults and two kids set out for the Oklahoma Science Museum. A 2:1 adult to kid ratio was very useful in a place this large and fascinating. It was Frank and my first time there and we were very impressed. We definitely want to return and explore it some more.
There is a huge hands-on area for kids of all ages off to the lower right section of the map as soon as you enter.
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It is called Curio City and there was tons to absorb your time and attention there.
There are several signs inspirational signs at its entrance. Autumn could not quite get her legs up as high as this guy but she tried! She did better at striking the pose than I did getting a photo of her striking the pose.
I liked this quote.
Maxine liked the pencils. They are kind of cool so I think she has a "point". (groan)
Mundane, yes, but these huge boards of hardware tickled my fancy - and that of many of the visitors. I actually had to wait a while for crowds to clear to get an unobstructed photo. Interesting twanging sounds emanate from those spring stoppers when you thwacked them. From their bedraggled look I bet they have been thwacked many a time. I have a huge collection of keys that I do not know what they are for. I wonder if this museum will take them off my hands as a donation.
This mirror was a favorite of Maxine and mine. Look how strikingly slender we are!
After lunch Grandpa took Isaiah to see the trains and he positively, absolutely, unequivocally, loved them. Frank was in seventh heaven watching Isaiah's unbridled enthusiasm as he jumped up and down pointing and squealing "Trains! Trains!"
Which is better... up close, or perched high on Grandpa's shoulders? Is it sooo hard to decide!
There was a free form play area to stack, roll, or juggle large plastic containers. Autumn stacked, making tall towers, soon enlisting several nearby playmates to help her.
There is a difference between boys and girls. Isaiah worked alone. Isaiah destroyed.
Robin and I invented our own game of toss and catch. We all spent a fair amount of time having fun in this area.
There was a dedicated area where Frank and I could experience our first Segway ride. I was initially tentative, concentrating very hard.
But then I relaxed and had a ball! I am not so sure if the staff member was of the same opinion when I ran over her toe at the end of my ride.
Frank soon got the hang of it also.
We had some pretty tired kiddos at the end of the day, and some pretty tired adults, too, but it had all been worth it. Once home, in the evening, Robin, Jeremy, Maxine, Frank and I all played a game of Sushi-Go before retiring for the night. Tomorrow would be a travel day.
Friday, July 14th – leaving
Midmorning, Frank, Maxine, and I left Robin and Jeremy's house – Frank to head back to California, and me to accompany Maxine back to North Carolina to visit her brood. First we took the requisite posed group shots to prove we had all been together. Maxine and I sat together with Isaiah and Autumn.
By the time Frank and I sat down with Isaiah and Autumn we had lost their attention to the TV. Oh, well, at least we all look happy even though not similarly focused.
About to put on her travel shoes, we had a good laugh at Maxine having a My Little Pony sticker stuck to the underside of her big toe. Depending on your point of view, that is one of the perks or perils of dwelling in a home with the co-existence of small children.
Frank's flight was to leave a couple hours after Maxine and mine so he dropped us off at the Southwest terminal and returned the rental car. After he'd taken shuttle back to the airport and gone through security, he figured he look for us and spend some time with us at our gate. Lo and behold, what a coincidence! His flight to Californian via Las Vegas was the very next one out of the same gate as our flight to North Carolina via Houston.
After Maxine and I had boarded our flight, I laughed as I looked beneath the airline seats in front of us, down by our feet. I guess neither of us are the type for a matched set of classic black luggage. What a hodgepodge and colorful array of handbags and carryons we sported! We looked like caravan of gypsies prepared to make a trek across the countryside.
This was my first time in the Houston airport. Apparently their management is a belts and suspenders collection of personalities. They apparently wanted to be certain they were meeting the needs of a population of diverse heights. I do not think I have ever seen five water fountains in a row like that.
We reached our gate and waited for our next flight to North Carolina. The gypsies were on the move again. The remaining third of my OK/NC travel adventures was about to begin.
Man, that was a fun trip... Even if the only one relaxing was the cat! We definitely need to go back to Curio Cities again (you're right - I think the 2:1 ratio was optimal), and It was a blast to have a girls' night out at the musical. I am glad you enjoyed your inaugural segway ride, and that everyone seemed to have a good time!
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