Touring Oklahoma

I arrived in OKC mid-day yesterday. Had an uneventful flight from Orlando...other than the 4:45am alarm that went off in my house! But I'm getting used to this whole "wake up early to catch a flight" thing.
I booked a flight on Southwest Airlines for this trip. Usually, I would shy away from SW because I try to book as many United miles as I can (hey, I'm addicted to those Red Carpet Lounges!). Well, the ticket was cheaper, it was more direct, less layover time, etc. And then I get to the check-in desk with my bike box and two suitcases. Usually, I would be forking over something like $175 just to get my bike on the plane (which is sometimes more than my actual ticket). Southwest asked for $50!!!! NO WAY! I'm hooked...at least I don't feel like they are trying to keep their airline afloat by charging me to travel with my business equipment.
Stepping off my Soap Box now...
I saw some other USAT people at the airport baggage claim and rental car counters...but all I wanted was to load my gear into my cute black Escape and start driving across the OK countryside toward Tulsa. I took advantage of my early arrival and close proximity to visit Jessica & Lucas Meyers and their two adorable babies, Gwyn and Rowan! (I have to wait for Jess to send me photos so I can show you how cute and big they are!)
So, we hung out at the house, went grocery shopping, had lunch, went for a run, played on the trampoline, had dinner, met some other Tulsa athletes, and overall just had fun:) Jess is heading over to Tennessee for the Memphis in May race on Sunday so we wished each other luck and then I had to start trekking back to OKC. It was only an 80 minute drive...probably supposed to be 90 minutes according to the posted speed limit signs:)
It didn't matter how long the drive was because I was having fun with my newest electronic toy...I bought a Garmin on Wednesday! I've been 'jonesing' for one for a while now (I'm tired of having to call someone for directions when I'm lost or make a wrong turn...or remembering to print out Google directions before every trip) and I promised myself one after racing well in St. Anthony's. So I picked a basic and small one from Target and loaded it up in my luggage so I could use it in the rental car...I actually used it to get to the Orlando airport just to make sure it worked right:)
Now, I just relaxing in my hotel room. There is a large black box in the room that I need to open and get to work on building my bike...but procrastination is so much easier! Eventually, I will get moving and head outside to go check out the race course. I need to ride the bike loop a few times, check out the run loop, and meet at the river for my 2pm open water swim talk. The race is on Saturday afternoon...women start at 1pm and then men start at 4pm! Wish me luck!