[mark2525]

Three friends and myself are going on a road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles and will be driving through the Oklahoma City area a couple of days after Christmas.

We are all in our early twenties and looking for the best location to spend a night in Oklahoma. We are looking for good food, good bars, and good people.

We have narrowed are choices to either Oklahoma City, Tulsa (OSU), or Norman (OU).

Thank you for any suggestions!

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by mark2525

Three friends and myself are going on a road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles and will be driving through the Oklahoma City area a couple of days after Christmas.

We are all in our early twenties and looking for the best location to spend a night in Oklahoma. We are looking for good food, good bars, and good people.

We have narrowed are choices to either Oklahoma City, Tulsa (OSU), or Norman (OU).

Thank you for any suggestions!

College campuses tend to be somewhat quiet around Christmas because most of the students are off campus. Bricktown in OKC would be a good place to check out. Lots of restaurants, bars and other activities. And, of course, good people are EVERYWHERE in Oklahoma! Welcome!

[prerunner1982]

Courtyard Oklahoma City Downtown Comfort designed for business travelers in Oklahoma City

Me and my wife have stayed at the Downtown Marriot in OKC. It is right next to the Ford Center, across from the Cox Convention center and walking distance to Bricktown.. Also, some of the upper rooms have balaconies..

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by prerunner1982

Courtyard Oklahoma City Downtown Comfort designed for business travelers in Oklahoma City

Me and my wife have stayed at the Downtown Marriot in OKC. It is right next to the Ford Center, across from the Cox Convention center and walking distance to Bricktown.. Also, some of the upper rooms have balaconies..

I've stayed in that hotel as well and it is FIRST RATE. You can walk out of the hotel and into Bricktown and enjoy yourself at a local bar or restaurant/bar. It's great. Five stars in my book.

[PanhandleOkie]

Waterford Marriott in downtown OKC is VERY nice, that and your close to everything including Bricktown which I'm sure you've heard is a pretty happening place. To get your dose of Western culture, go to the stockyards, good live music too!

[linicx]

Chicago to OKC is roughly 800 miles or about 16 hours. Sixth Street in Springfield is where you find food, and gas. St. Louis rush hour is like Chicago. 5-9a and 3-7p. Some of the traffic can be avoided by exiting I-270 west to 1-70 south to I-44 west, If you use this route exit Old Hall's Ferru road North. Gas, Steak n' Shake and other fast foodies. MO Gas is usually 10 cents per gal cheaper than Illinois. Fill up before entering OK. I-44 ->> 1-40 will take you right into Oklahoma. Once you hit the OK border you start paying tolls. Tulsa and OKC roads are NOT well marked and traffic is horrendous. It is much easier to drive on the Chicago freeways. Once you get past Tulsa you need to be in the left lane as that is whee 1-40 joins 1-44. You can avoid it by taking OK 59south to I-44. It's mostly two lane, the roads are very good and the scenery is beautiul. The driving time is the same unless it is late at night. After midnight you can buzz through Tulsa easier than you can the Eisenhower to Chicago. Gas up in OKC!!! as there isn't much in the way of gas stations until you reach the Texas border.. It's desolate; do not pick up hitch hikers as many are escaped convicts. Griffin's/Griffith's Texaco (truck stops around Amarillo, Texas) are a good place to get coffee, snaks and check out the gift shop while you walk a little. It's a good idea to stop every couple of hours and get out and walk a few minuters for circulation to the feet and legs - riding lonn distance impacts the body more than you can imagine. You'll cross the Continental Divide drive throuth the mountains of NM and AZ and gradually drop down to the desert floor. It is still hot during th eay in the dead of winter. NO gas stations in the desert. Gas up in AZ before you start into the desert. No cell phone service either. This is the main reason I go through Phoenix,stay out of the mountains, miss most of the annoying mega cities, and . I can stay on 1-10 into LA or grab 1-8 into San Diego. Been there done that more times than I can count. I gas up at Amirillo and drop down to Las Cruces via white Sands and the Mountain Inn of the Gods - it is - before continuing onto Phoenix. Good foods and bars at LC.

Do not speed in Missiouri. You do not get a ticket, you get an escort to the nearest justice where you pay your fine then and there. The cops watch for out of state plates and youthful drivers. And once you enter into MO until you exit in CA, you are in the western bible belt - and most of it is republican.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by linicx

Chicago to OKC is roughly 800 miles or about 16 hours. Sixth Street in Springfield is where you find food, and gas. St. Louis rush hour is like Chicago. 5-9a and 3-7p. Some of the traffic can be avoided by exiting I-270 west to 1-70 south to I-44 west, If you use this route exit Old Hall's Ferru road North. Gas, Steak n' Shake and other fast foodies. MO Gas is usually 10 cents per gal cheaper than Illinois. Fill up before entering OK. I-44 ->> 1-40 will take you right into Oklahoma. Once you hit the OK border you start paying tolls. Tulsa and OKC roads are NOT well marked and traffic is horrendous. It is much easier to drive on the Chicago freeways. Once you get past Tulsa you need to be in the left lane as that is whee 1-40 joins 1-44. You can avoid it by taking OK 59south to I-44. It's mostly two lane, the roads are very good and the scenery is beautiul. The driving time is the same unless it is late at night. After midnight you can buzz through Tulsa easier than you can the Eisenhower to Chicago. Gas up in OKC!!! as there isn't much in the way of gas stations until you reach the Texas border.. It's desolate; do not pick up hitch hikers as many are escaped convicts. Griffin's/Griffith's Texaco (truck stops around Amarillo, Texas) are a good place to get coffee, snaks and check out the gift shop while you walk a little. It's a good idea to stop every couple of hours and get out and walk a few minuters for circulation to the feet and legs - riding lonn distance impacts the body more than you can imagine. You'll cross the Continental Divide drive throuth the mountains of NM and AZ and gradually drop down to the desert floor. It is still hot during th eay in the dead of winter. NO gas stations in the desert. Gas up in AZ before you start into the desert. No cell phone service either. This is the main reason I go through Phoenix,stay out of the mountains, miss most of the annoying mega cities, and . I can stay on 1-10 into LA or grab 1-8 into San Diego. Been there done that more times than I can count. I gas up at Amirillo and drop down to Las Cruces via white Sands and the Mountain Inn of the Gods - it is - before continuing onto Phoenix. Good foods and bars at LC.

Do not speed in Missiouri. You do not get a ticket, you get an escort to the nearest justice where you pay your fine then and there. The cops watch for out of state plates and youthful drivers. And once you enter into MO until you exit in CA, you are in the western bible belt - and most of it is republican.

Wow, that was a mouthful.

[PanhandleOkie]

Originally Posted by linicx

And once you enter into MO until you exit in CA, you are in the western bible belt - and most of it is republican.

Um..I don't get it. Are western Bible belt people dangerous? Lol...watch out for those crazy Republicans too!

[karibear]

Originally Posted by PanhandleOkie

Um..I don't get it. Are western Bible belt people dangerous? Lol...watch out for those crazy Republicans too!

Not dangerous. I grew up in MO, and I always thought of it as the buckle on the Bible Belt. It's that sublime self-assurance that they absolutely know what's right and best for everyone. It can get irritating, at times. I prefer to enjoy and appreciate the differences in people and their beliefs, rather than be preached at incessantly.

[PanhandleOkie]

Originally Posted by karibear

Not dangerous. I grew up in MO, and I always thought of it as the buckle on the Bible Belt. It's that sublime self-assurance that they absolutely know what's right and best for everyone. It can get irritating, at times. I prefer to enjoy and appreciate the differences in people and their beliefs, rather than be preached at incessantly.

I have lived in Western Oklahoma my whole life and have never been preached to at all, there is a very live and let live mentality...don't write people off before you meet em! There are close minded people in every part of the country...but this may be straying off topic.