Where do Tulsans drive for vacation? (Broken Arrow, Bartlesville: casinos, living in, club)

[mistylaneous]

We just got back from San Antonio and Corpus Christi/North Padre Island (same area) and the drive from Stillwater to San Antonio was 8 hours and then another 2 to 2 and a half hour drive to Corpus Christi. I thought the beach we were at was beautiful!!!!!!!!! We were on Mustang Island. So the drive to Corpus is about 10 to 10.5 hours from Stillwater (which is about an hour West of Tulsa), but the drive may be the same from Tulsa since there are readily available turnpikes/highways whereas there are not in Stillwater and it takes awhile to get to a turnpike/main highway by going through town.

[DM1031]

Denver is only a 10 hour drive from Tulsa, kinda long, but well worth the drive.

Branson is about 3 hours or a bit longer.
Dallas is close, maybe 4 hours.
Eureka springs, not really my cup of tea, but close.

[dgmommie]

Originally Posted by DM1031

Denver is only a 10 hour drive from Tulsa, kinda long, but well worth the drive.

We just did that trip this past weekend. Sunday drive was 12 hours for us, stopping 3 times for gas and potty breaks only.

[UrbanBlasphemy]

Alright, it's official. I saw the word "beach" and, well, something deep within me was moved to respond. I can't help it, it's just the way things are.

My friend, I spent nearly half of my life wasting away on some deserted strand off the Gulf of Mexico, sipping boat drinks, listening to King of Parrot Heads, and watching the tide roll in and out in its endless cycle. As with what you say, at any time I could hop in my jeep and be off to somewhere exciting - an hour to Disney, three to Key West, and if I was ambitious enough, just a short drive and a couple hundred bucks and I could be on a cruise to Mexico.

As I grew older and a bit more serious (Ok, really, I'm just trying to persuade myself that I CAN be serious), I realized that I had to do something with my life. I took an excellent job in Chicago, and again seemed to be living the high life. I didn't even have to think about what to do there; it seemed that the options were endless. The museums there blew me away, and, without reservation, I've heard some of the best jazz music ever performed while I was there.

And then I moved to Tulsa.

My family needed me, they were going through some rough times. My Grandfather passed away, and then my uncle... My parents needed business help... so on and so forth.

Tulsa? Yeah, I was petrified. I expected to see people walking around in cowboy hats and belt buckles bigger than any giant clam shell that I'd ever seen.

Still, I did what any man has to do in that situation. Family first and all that jazz, right?

So, you can stop scratching your head and wondering why on earth some strange psycho is rambling on about events of no consiquence; I'll get to my point.

I've been here for a few years, and almost every week I'm finding new things to do in and around Tulsa. Obviously, there's the major attractions like Big Splash, the Oklahoma Aquarium, and Woolaroc, but there's so much more that's not as advertised. The Sunbelt Railroad Museum is amazing, and I understand that they have built a new childrens museum here as well. Just take a look around the forums and you'll find list after list of things to do here.

So beyond Tulsa, there's even more. As I am strangly attracted to historic places, I tend to find myself visiting places like downtown historic Okmulgee, or Spiro Mounds.. In Catoosa, the Batfish museum is a excellent museum to go to - the highlight is being able to walk through and explore a submarine from WWII.. (Yes, a submarine in Oklahoma - wonder how that happened?)..

Take a two hour drive to Oklahoma City and hang out around Bricktown, visit the Science Museum there, or try the slides at White Water Bay. There's Frontier City and the Oklahoma Childrens Theater. There's enough there to plan any vacation around.

Still want more?

This should give ya an idea, depending on how fast you drive and how many times you pull over to read those little "Historical Markers":

Tulsa to Branson, Missouri drive time would be about 3-4 hours...

Tulsa to Kansas City, just about 4 hours..

Tulsa to Dallas, TX, drive time would be about 5 hours..

Tulsa to Little Rock? About 4-5 hours..

from Tulsa to Houston - well, it's a bit longer, but good for a weekend or so - about 8 or 9 hours.

As for beaches? I'll tell ya this, in my humble opinion, there's not a beach in the world that can match up to those in Florida, but for a decent beach within driving time, try those around Beaumont, Texas. They are cleaning up the ones around Houston, but they have a long way to go. I've been down around Beaumont a few times and truthfully, I really enjoyed myself.

And finally, for another idea, some of my family take a yearly drive to Denver and spend a week up high in the cold cold mountains. They love it, but as for me, I'd rather be sittin' in the shade on a warm breezy day reading a little Hemingway..

Good luck my friend, and I wish ya the best.

Gotta run, got boats to build...

[cheergirlmom]

We have lived in the Tulsa area for 7yrs. We've never taken a local vacation. We usually fly to Disney World, overseas or the east coast (I'm from there). We did take the train (from OKC) to San Antonio for my daughter's cheer competition. That was fun, especially for my 4yr old son! It stopped in Dallas & there is tons to do there.

Most of the locals seem to take roadtrip vacations to "the lake". I never know which lake, because they all just refer to every lake as "the lake". They usually take a boat or waveriders. Some families do this every weekend of the summer. We've never been.

Another thing is the four wheeling in the pan handle. From the pics that I've seen, it looks like lots of sand. I know of families that have four wheelers for everyone in the family, even the 4yr old. Too cute!

Good Luck & I know that you can find some fun.

[Emery'sMommy]

Originally Posted by justducky

so glad to find this thread. thanks! this has been my question to since moving here from northern california where we were spoiled with lots of fun day trips/weekend trips. we tried grand lake and i think it would be fun for adults and families with older children and if you were into boating. not great for families like us with very young kids though. it was flooded when we went in the fall but there were no beaches anywhere and i didn't feel like chasing my 1 year old and 5 year old (particularly my 1 year old) around on a boat.

I've been in Ok for 9 yrs and have yet to hit up Lake Eufaula. But from family pictures Ive seen taken there, they do have quite the abundance of beaches.

Also, if you don't mind the drive, Lake of the Arbuckles in Ardmore is very nice. The water is very clean and there's a company who rents out pontoon boats. We took our boys (3 & 1) in a pontoon and it was perfect. Railing all around so we didn't worry about them falling out. In fact they were both scared of the water at first and took a while to enjoy floating in it (life jackets required of course).

[Raelyn28]

Wow!! I am just getting started in Tulsa and at the beginning of the week I felt like you did about the cowboy hats and the "not-too-sure about this" attitude. It has taken me a whole week to adjust and I still am not used to it. Living on the West Coast for almost 3-decades I am used to another way of life that truthfully seems like another planet. Things are very different in Tulsa.

Your post will be extremely helpful for me and I have found so much help and valuable information from these wonderful people in Tulsa. By the way, they are alot more friendly here than the PNW. I like that because I am a talker and I consider myself as being overly friendly and social
ble.

I am so glad you shared all the wonderful things that you have done around here and being a former beach girl myself (southern california) I spent a lot of time at the beach (it is one of my favorite spots). My husband and I used to spend every monday at the beach together from sun up to sun set... I do miss it... but I have been fortunate enough to have been able to experience it. I will keep your beach in mind for when I get homesick.

Anyway, I think I will fit in just fine and hopefully my kids will like it here.

Thanks again for sharing... Invaluable

Originally Posted by UrbanBlasphemy

Alright, it's official. I saw the word "beach" and, well, something deep within me was moved to respond. I can't help it, it's just the way things are.

My friend, I spent nearly half of my life wasting away on some deserted strand off the Gulf of Mexico, sipping boat drinks, listening to King of Parrot Heads, and watching the tide roll in and out in its endless cycle. As with what you say, at any time I could hop in my jeep and be off to somewhere exciting - an hour to Disney, three to Key West, and if I was ambitious enough, just a short drive and a couple hundred bucks and I could be on a cruise to Mexico.

As I grew older and a bit more serious (Ok, really, I'm just trying to persuade myself that I CAN be serious), I realized that I had to do something with my life. I took an excellent job in Chicago, and again seemed to be living the high life. I didn't even have to think about what to do there; it seemed that the options were endless. The museums there blew me away, and, without reservation, I've heard some of the best jazz music ever performed while I was there.

And then I moved to Tulsa.

My family needed me, they were going through some rough times. My Grandfather passed away, and then my uncle... My parents needed business help... so on and so forth.

Tulsa? Yeah, I was petrified. I expected to see people walking around in cowboy hats and belt buckles bigger than any giant clam shell that I'd ever seen.

Still, I did what any man has to do in that situation. Family first and all that jazz, right?

So, you can stop scratching your head and wondering why on earth some strange psycho is rambling on about events of no consiquence; I'll get to my point.

I've been here for a few years, and almost every week I'm finding new things to do in and around Tulsa. Obviously, there's the major attractions like Big Splash, the Oklahoma Aquarium, and Woolaroc, but there's so much more that's not as advertised. The Sunbelt Railroad Museum is amazing, and I understand that they have built a new childrens museum here as well. Just take a look around the forums and you'll find list after list of things to do here.

So beyond Tulsa, there's even more. As I am strangly attracted to historic places, I tend to find myself visiting places like downtown historic Okmulgee, or Spiro Mounds.. In Catoosa, the Batfish museum is a excellent museum to go to - the highlight is being able to walk through and explore a submarine from WWII.. (Yes, a submarine in Oklahoma - wonder how that happened?)..

Take a two hour drive to Oklahoma City and hang out around Bricktown, visit the Science Museum there, or try the slides at White Water Bay. There's Frontier City and the Oklahoma Childrens Theater. There's enough there to plan any vacation around.

Still want more?

This should give ya an idea, depending on how fast you drive and how many times you pull over to read those little "Historical Markers":

Tulsa to Branson, Missouri drive time would be about 3-4 hours...

Tulsa to Kansas City, just about 4 hours..

Tulsa to Dallas, TX, drive time would be about 5 hours..

Tulsa to Little Rock? About 4-5 hours..

from Tulsa to Houston - well, it's a bit longer, but good for a weekend or so - about 8 or 9 hours.

As for beaches? I'll tell ya this, in my humble opinion, there's not a beach in the world that can match up to those in Florida, but for a decent beach within driving time, try those around Beaumont, Texas. They are cleaning up the ones around Houston, but they have a long way to go. I've been down around Beaumont a few times and truthfully, I really enjoyed myself.

And finally, for another idea, some of my family take a yearly drive to Denver and spend a week up high in the cold cold mountains. They love it, but as for me, I'd rather be sittin' in the shade on a warm breezy day reading a little Hemingway..

Good luck my friend, and I wish ya the best.

Gotta run, got boats to build...

[DogLover99]

Adding to the list - we just got back from Santa Fe and Eagle Nest, NM.

Took a short day and stopped in Amarillo for (mmmm) steaks at the Big Texan. Another short day to Santa Fe. Hung out there and moved to Eagle Nest. Could have been back in a day, but stopped at Boiling Springs SP for a relaxing night before our vacation was officially over.

What a nice ten days!

[BigOkie]

Originally Posted by DogLover99

Adding to the list - we just got back from Santa Fe and Eagle Nest, NM.

Took a short day and stopped in Amarillo for (mmmm) steaks at the Big Texan. Another short day to Santa Fe. Hung out there and moved to Eagle Nest. Could have been back in a day, but stopped at Boiling Springs SP for a relaxing night before our vacation was officially over.

What a nice ten days!

Mmmm....Big Texan.

Is the fastest to eat that big steak dinner still one of the Cincinnati Red pitchers?

[DogLover99]

Originally Posted by BigOkie

Mmmm....Big Texan.

Is the fastest to eat that big steak dinner still one of the Cincinnati Red pitchers?

Don't know but three people had done it that day (a Friday). Heck I had an 8 oz filet and was full (but I'm a girl!).

There was a guy trying while we ate our steak, perfect baked potato with all the trimmings, crisp salad with home-made dressing.... oh yes, and the yeast rolls....mmmmmmm

Any way a guy was trying and people kept walking up, talking to him and taking his picture. He didn't make it, but seemed to be a social event for him!