Leaf Peepin’

Greetings from Boston, Massachusetts! We have given up on fall’s arrival to Oklahoma and have headed east to cool off. We hope to wear our fleece jackets. We will wrap scarves around our necks and carry cups of hot beverages. And IF Mother Nature and the caterpillar’s fur and the pine needles dropping are all in agreement… then we will also see fall foliage.
 

I’ve made fall foliage trips many times in all directions. Hitting the peak color for a tour is a bit like going to the casino. Everything can be in place, but there’s no payoff. But coming to the New England states is a winner with the history, the food, and the scenery that is beautiful no matter its color.

Folks usually have this tour on their “someday” list. (Where are you?) The much-older-sister is my running buddy on this week tour. We were given the option of walking the Freedom Trail or taking a bus tour of Boston. Both will be guided and have all sorts of points of interest. One you walk, one you ride. Sister leaned over to me and asked “Which one should we do?”

And my auto-reply quipped, if you think we will be healthier, more able to walk it next time, then let’s wait. If we can’t promise ourselves that, we better walk this time.

She rolled her eyes; she should have guessed I would have some sort of come back. We will eat Scrod, which isn’t even a real fish. We will shout “One if by land, two if by sea!”, when we ride by Paul Revere’s house. We will wish we had paid more attention during history class, and then wish more we could have been on a field trip like this to learn it. We will find out why they bake beans in Boston, and consider buying a Red Sox t-shirt. And we will do all this because we can TODAY and because we can’t promise ourselves tomorrow.

Keep up-to-date of our adventures by following us at www.facebook.com/G2GwithPB. The “much older sister” will be posting photos at this location as tours, times, meals and WIFI permits. Better yet, next time make plans to join us so you can experience it first-hand. Regardless of how you chose to go, get out there and experience this wonderful world in which we live!

Happy 50th HarBer Village

Last week, I wrote about all the things to do in our area if one is willing to get up and out and enjoy it! This week, I’d like to brag on an event that if you missed it, well, you missed it. Tucked away on the shores of Grand Lake is the treasure of HarBer Village. Most locals know about it, and probably have been there once or twice. If so, give yourself two points. HarBer Village is celebrating its 50^th year of preserving the past. This private collection was started by Harvey and Bernice Jones, owners of Jones Truck  Lines. Their little project of a log cabin, then a church, then, then, then... grew to the  120 buildings that exist today.

If you haven’t been to HarBer Village in the last 6 years, you lose 5 points. The Village has drawn tourists from all over the USA and the world, even when there was  no admission as long as guests “conducted themselves as ladies and gentlemen.”  The collection has continued to grow and the grounds continue to be kept beautiful. There is a small entrance fee, but that has actually made the place more popular because of the mentality, if it’s free, it must not be much. There is newly completed, paved walking trail to be enjoyed, even if you don’t pay an admission fee. If you knew that, give yourself a point. 

There are all sorts of activities throughout the season. You could take a cast iron cooking class, a weaving class, and participate in special themed weekends. Give yourself 10 points if you mark your calendar and take advantage of these opportunities. Don’t forget the neat gift shop in the Visitors Center. It’s Cracker Barrel meets museum gift shop and a fun place for unusual gifts. If you didn’t know there was a gift shop, lose 2 points.

Last week was a fun-raiser, whoops, fund-raiser for HBV. Murder Comes a Courtin’, a murder mystery and dinner all served up on the Village grounds. A team of workers under the driving force of Ms. Sandy Coaly, organized, prepared, created, decorated, sold, gathered, begged, borrowed, arranged, reserved, and celebrated two sold out nights of the show and dinner. Oh, yes, we perspired. Make that- sweat. We will call it a success even before the books are closed on the financials. If you were there, give yourself 10 points. If you donated or sponsored or volunteered, give yourself 10.

 
What I will remember about the event was having fun with a cast of 80 folks from the area. Sure, there were costumes, and scripts but it really was like a small village. The actors came from all sorts of occupations but slowed down to be residents of this “town” for a couple of days. They laughed together, got to know each other, and were part of something much bigger. Memories were made.  They deserve 100 points. 
 

 We  have a treasure here in Northeast Oklahoma and we need to support it. Things like this can go away if we don’t invest in them.  And if you missed it, you really missed it.

Share the News!

I have worn a lot of hats these past couple of weeks. I’m not looking for a pat on the back, (more likely you would just circle your temple with your index finger). But my quest this week is to remind our readers that there are many things to do in our own backyard. Tourism isn’t just fishing tournaments and casinos, tourism is people from other towns visiting our town, spending their money here and helping our economy through the sales tax revenue and income to our local merchants. These visitors are tourists, whether they come in for the casinos, tournaments, a visit to Har-Ber Village, shop in a store, or attend a church service and go to lunch afterwards.

Why am I bringing this up? Because it makes me sad when our locals say there isn’t anything to do. Just in these last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to perform, speak, educate and entertain for over 2,000 people at various events.  I know, the number surprised me, too, but I did the math. From performing comedy shows, to baby showers, to conferences, to murder mysteries: all of these events get people off their Lazy Boy to do something. There were locals, and there were those that drove a few hours to be here. They buy gasoline, meals, and out-of-towners pay for lodging. Ka-ching! goes the city coffers.

There were many other things going on that I wasn’t involved in, or perhaps I wasn’t aware.  More Ka-ching!  This certainly helps green-up Green Country.  Where do you find out about events? And then do you share that information with others that might be interested?   For these different presentations I have been involved with, there have been huge newspaper ads. There have been posters in businesses and store front windows. I went to Tulsa to do a TV interview to advertise an upcoming event here on Grand Lake. We have been on the local radio. We have blasted emails and Facebook.  A couple of events did a direct mail invitation. So you can understand my surprise when visiting with many individuals in our community, they knew nothing about these wonderful, fun opportunities in their own backyard!  Maybe there is too much to do, and things get lost in the bombardment of information.

I would like to encourage all of us to share information with others. Make it a habit to cut out notices from the paper and post on work place bulletin boards. Tell employees about activities happening in the area, especially if these people are in the position to greet out-of-town visitors. Make it a point to get the Chamber of Commerce Weekly happening. Be in the know and pass it on!

We don’t all have the same leisure time interests, but there are loads of us who would like to experience different things that might interest us. How do we attend your function if we don’t know about it? We might be surprised how all our affairs might benefit if we just make a tiny effort to share information with one another.

Marketing, another hat to wear.

Ground to Cover

I recently had a friend text me. He and his sweet wife were traveling and checked in with a cute picture, but it was his candid remark that left me in deep thought. He quipped “We are covering ground before it covers us.” Well... isn’t that just enough said? I told him I was going to steal that line.

That may become my mission statement. Or my mantra. Or my slogan. But for a person that is interested in seeing as much of this beautiful, crazy planet we live on before we are planted in it, that says it all. Who’s with me?

I understand not everyone is as “Good to Go” as I am. That’s OK. For those of you that travel from the comfort of your armchair, with a cup of coffee as you read this column, thank you for allowing me to share the world with you. For those of you who watch a movie or television program and think, “I’d love to go there someday,” it’s you I’m talking to today.

This week I spent some time with a traveler that lost his wife of many years. He fought back tears as talked about things they were going to do together. Luckily, they made lots of memories together, but they weren’t finished yet. There was still ground left to cover. 

My friends that enjoy my travel stories declare to me that SOMEDAY they want to go with me on a group adventure. I usually cite my saying from the soapbox which they feel doesn’t apply to them. I remind them that AARP sends us cards on a monthly basis, whether we are signed up or not. We are there... and not gaining ground if we expect to cover it. 

My mission, mantra, slogan, soapbox speech has always been “If you can guarantee that next year you will more healthy, more wealthy, more able to travel NEXT YEAR, then definitely wait. If you can’t guarantee yourself this, then travel NOW.”  In other words, you should cover ground… before it covers you.

If you think I’m being insensitive, then ask the person who was planning on going SOMEDAY and now they don’t have a partner to go with. If you think I’m being unfeeling, then ask the person that only takes trips to doctor’s appointments. If you think I’m being callous, then ask the person whose knees and hips and back keep them sitting in that armchair reading my articles instead of being able to travel with us. Those people may have insight on waiting to travel.

(Boy, Patti Beth, you are on a roll!) 

It doesn’t get easier to travel as we get older (there, I said the “O” word), it gets more challenging. It may be easier to find a hotel or flight online, but that doesn’t make standing in lines at the airport, or the size of coach seats any more comfortable. We may have more time, or more money, but will our eyes and our sense of adventure be as sharp SOMEDAY?

I’m stepping down from my soapbox now. I have trips to plan, pack for and write about. I have ground to cover.