STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

Need Oklahoma Help!!

jrhampt · Kenneth Cole

Well, I've never been to Cushing and have no idea where it is, but Stillwater is a little over an hour away from Tulsa. The Tulsa airport is small and really easy to get in and out of - I've never really had to deal with traffic or huge lines flying out of it. Since Stillwater is where the main campus for OSU is located, it's a college town. There's really not a whole lot there, but there is more there than there is in the surrounding area, for sure -- it's a barren wasteland, seriously. At least Stillwater has a couple of bars and restaurants. As for hotels, there's got to be something there because of the university (I think there's a hotel on campus), but I can't think of any offhand - never stayed there overnight. Hope that helps some. Oh, and you can avoid the toll road from Stillwater to Tulsa altogether - try mapquest and see what you get; I can look up my old route if I have time later.

HeatherLynn · Gucci

Hey! Alright there is absolutely nothing to do in Cushing. Sorry to tell you that, but it is a super, super, super small town. Stillwater is a college town and also fairly small with no decent shopping. Tulsa to Cushing is 50 miles and would have a little bit of turnpike, but not much so it wouldn't be too bad. Now if you are staying in Stillwater it is 72 miles back to Tulsa. OKC is about 63 miles from Cushing and about 67 miles from Stillwater. So hopefully that helps some on where to fly in to.

As far as Stillwater, they have a few good restaurants (must eat at Eskimo Joes) and a fairly decent bar scene, although it is very much a college town with absolutely nothing else. I say that so you don't think you are going somewhere like houston. There are several hotels in Stillwater that I think would be fine, but I would stay at a chain hotel that is typical decent like Fairfield Inn or Hampton Inn. Now OKC and Tulsa both have a lot to do and I can give you recs if you have extra time in either of those cities. I am from Oklahoma City and my bf is from Tulsa so I know both areas really well.

If you leave Cushing at 3pm I would say you could make a 6pm flight to either place very easily. You have a little over an hour of driving and then some time extra time added in just in case. Both airports are easy to get in and out of so there isn't a need to get there too early (45min or so).

Hope that helps! PM me or let me know if you have other questions.

I haven't ever been to Cushing, but I think there is a reason why. =) No offense if anyone is from there!

-- Edited by HeatherLynn at 11:37, 2006-12-21

jrhampt · Kenneth Cole

P.S. If you do end up in Tulsa for a bit, my favorite restaurants there are as follows:

Kilkenny's - "Irish" pub, nice atmosphere, fantastic food. Love their butternut squash bisque, baked brie appetizer, and their reuben sandwich (and I hate reubens). Pass on the bailey's creme brulee, though.

Cancun's - hole in the wall authentic Mexican place, menu complete with goat and tongue entrees. Don't get those, though - try their chorizo tacos or the sour cream enchiladas. Only beer available here. By the way, there are no good margaritas to be had anywhere in Tulsa. Don't even bother trying to find one.

Bourbon Street - good lobster bisque. I always had that and a glass or two of champagne when I went there. Another bar/restaurant type of place - closes early, though.

In the Raw - love the sauce on the eel, and you can get creme brulee for dessert, which is rare at a sushi place. I should object to that on principle, but I don't.

Flemings - pricey a la carte steak place with a fantastic chipotle mac and cheese. Best mac and cheese ever. And the steak is good, too.

Lanna Thai is decent for Thai, too.

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

Thanks. Cushing wasn't exactly my top work destination spot either but its a huge inventory location for my client so there isn't much of a choice.

I think I'm going to check both airports to see which flights are going into each one and then I'll just pick from there.

Now how is the weather?? Snow at all??

jrhampt · Kenneth Cole

Snow is rare. You're more likely to get nasty sleety weather or hail.

HeatherLynn · Gucci

The weather has been fairly nice lately, although it may be colder while you are there (40s) and windy. It's ALWAYS windy in Oklahoma. =)

blink · Coach

Tulsa is my hometown, so I am biased, but it is my opinion that you should fly into Tulsa. The airport is really easy, there is very little traffic, Tulsa's geographical region is prettier (has more trees, hills) than OKC. There is sometimes snow in Tulsa, just about a month ago they had several feet of it. It never lasts though, the weather changes fast and the snow melts. I remember about a third of my Christmases in the 80's being white. And you don't want tolls, but Oklahoma's turnpikes are so fast and convenient! Plenty of people commute from Tulsa all the way to Stillwater, believe it or not, it's not as far as it seems because it's just a straight shot.

A TIP, don't speed, especially during the holidays. OHP and other small town pds are strict and they will pull you over in a heartbeat. I wouldn't dare go ten miles over the posted speed limit on the hwys, and not at all in small towns.

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

Thanks for the tip lorelei. I just checked flights and I think I might have to do OKC in order to fly out on the 31st. There is only one flight showing up after 3pm and I can't make it before or even at 3 and still get everything done. I'm going to check again tonight when I have more time. The problem is that I could do Southwest out of Tulsa but the area of town in Houston that southwest flys into isn't always the greatest at night and I don't know that area as well as the other airport. I might think about it and maybe take a cab to and from the airport here and fly into Tulsa. Too many decisions!

About how much are these tolls? more than a roll of quarters? Its not the money I'm worried about since work will pay for it. Just how much change would be required.

Jahni · Dooney & Bourke

There are two tolls between Tulsa and Stillwater, i think one is $1.50 and the other is $0.75...definitely less than $3.00 total...I went to college in Stillwater and loove the town. Like Heatherlynn said the shopping isn't great, but there are a few fun stores. (And forget about shopping in Cushing)

They just build a new Fairfield Inn in Stillwater, I would probably just stay away from the Holiday Inn.

Restaurants to eat at:

Definitely Eskimo Joes, not really for the food, but more for the atmosphere, and pick up T-shirts for your family, they're famous!

Aggies- It's in the older part of town and pretty good

Coney Island- It's on "The Strip" (across from Oklahoma State University, it's the big strip of bars) and the perfect grease fix

If you have anytime to shop try The Wooden Nickle, and Elizabeths, they're right across the street from each other, and the people working at your hotel or any restraunt will tell you how to get there. There are also some cute boutiques down in the older part of town.

As for the weather, be prepared for anything. It's always windy and the temperature likes to change hourly, so I would definitely bring a heavy coat, but don't be suprised if it stays in the upper 40's-60's.

Sorry this is so long!

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

Thank you all! I made it in yesterday despite all of that horrible weather. My flight took off right before things started getting delayed and cancelled in Houston. The drive wasn't too horrible from OKC to Stillwater. A tad dark in the rain but otherwise ok.

I survived day one of tank climbing. I made it up and down 8 which is really good. I don't think they were expecting me to climb 8 of them but I am starting to feel it in the calves and thighs. I don't think the advil is going to help. I will probably be dying tomorrow and not make it up more than 1 tank.

I found Eskimo Joes tonight. The bacon cheese fries were great. I still haven't really worked up the nerve to eat alone in restaurants besides in airports so I togo-ed it but it was still really good. I wish I would have read a little closer to the shopping suggestions because I was across the street from the places Jahni recommended but the area was packed due to the basketball game so I grabbed some shorts at the sports store for my brother and headed out of there!

bex · Chanel

Aurora wrote:

I still haven't really worked up the nerve to eat alone in restaurants besides in airports so I togo-ed it but it was still really good.

Just speaking from experience since I am on the road 3-4 nights per week-

grab yourself something to read when going out to eat by yourself. i used to hate it and i still get a lot of meals to go and then eat in my room... but every once in a while- its nice to order a great glass of wine, sit back and relax while reading a book.

plus- i really like to listen to other peoples conversations... weird, i know- but i've confessed it to other on the road people and they say they do the same. its kind of like you're living vicariously through them.

oh! another thing i do, is eat at the bar- the bartenders are super nice and usually strike up a conversation with you. plus, i've had really good convos with the people at the bar before too.

hope that helps! being on the road can be fun but also lonely too... just try to have an adventurous spirit about it all!

travelgirl · Kate Spade

bex wrote:

Aurora wrote:

I still haven't really worked up the nerve to eat alone in restaurants besides in airports so I togo-ed it but it was still really good.

Just speaking from experience since I am on the road 3-4 nights per week-

grab yourself something to read when going out to eat by yourself. i used to hate it and i still get a lot of meals to go and then eat in my room... but every once in a while- its nice to order a great glass of wine, sit back and relax while reading a book.

plus- i really like to listen to other peoples conversations... weird, i know- but i've confessed it to other on the road people and they say they do the same. its kind of like you're living vicariously through them.

oh! another thing i do, is eat at the bar- the bartenders are super nice and usually strike up a conversation with you. plus, i've had really good convos with the people at the bar before too.

hope that helps! being on the road can be fun but also lonely too... just try to have an adventurous spirit about it all!

I second Bex's advice! I don't travel as much anymore (just one night every other week) but when I traveled more extensively, I would get a book or magazine and as long as I had that I was fine. Another thing I have being doing lately when I travel is to find a place that has wireless, then I can just hop on stylethread and post away! For lunch, you can always find me at Panera, working on my laptop and answering emails. For dinner, I have been going to Champps lately because I can always get a wireless connection there too.