Today did not seem as long as yesterday, although we did cover almost the exact same amount of miles. We finished up in Texas, crossed all the way through Oklahoma and ended in Little Rock, Arkansas.
One of the most remarkable things about this trip is how distinct every state I've been to is. It occurs almost instantly upon crossing the border as well. I'm dissapointed I didn't get to see as much Texas as I wanted to, but I have absolutely loved every state I've been to so far. It has helped enhance my love of this country. It is easy, when you live in somewhere like California, to dismiss the "flyover country" as boring or at a slower pace as the "rest" of the country. Or rather, just the coasts. The richness of the culture, diversity and land has been really surprising.
Best surprise of the day was our visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial. When planning this trip, I didn't realize we passed through Oklahoma until I looked at the map. Since we are visiting so many states, I decided that it is important for us to stop somewhe
re in Oklahoma. The first and really only thing that came to mind is to visit the site of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Luckily it was right off of I-40, the main interstate we have used to cross the country. As I was still in grade school when the bombing occured, it amazed me how much I remembered about the bombing itself. That may be partly due the the trial and summary execution of Timothy McVeigh in June of 2001. At that point, six years following the bombing, I was just beginning my political "awakening" and was preparing to go the Stanford University as a high school junior to take government and speech classes for the summer. Part of my preparation included purchasing newspapers and news magazines in the weeks leading up to the summer semester to prepare for our course work and debate requirements we would have to fulfill. One of the Newsweeks I purchased was the one published before his execution.
re in Oklahoma. The first and really only thing that came to mind is to visit the site of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Luckily it was right off of I-40, the main interstate we have used to cross the country. As I was still in grade school when the bombing occured, it amazed me how much I remembered about the bombing itself. That may be partly due the the trial and summary execution of Timothy McVeigh in June of 2001. At that point, six years following the bombing, I was just beginning my political "awakening" and was preparing to go the Stanford University as a high school junior to take government and speech classes for the summer. Part of my preparation included purchasing newspapers and news magazines in the weeks leading up to the summer semester to prepare for our course work and debate requirements we would have to fulfill. One of the Newsweeks I purchased was the one published before his execution. 
The memorial itself is really quite perfect. There is a good balance of space and use of the remaining materials of the building. It is simple and not overwhelming, yet it truly can not be missed. There are two large walls, one on each end of the block. In the middle is a long rectangular reflecting pool that is about 1/2" deep. On one side there is rows of chairs, each one for an adult or child lost in the attack. Each chair is inscribed with a name. There is also a museum in the neighboring building that contains more artifacts, video and oral accounts of the event. Unfortunately we were there too early in the day, as it opens at 1PM on Sundays. I highly recommend taking half an hour just to walk around the memorial itself.
Tomorrow we have a short day. We will leave Little Rock in the morning, stop in Memphis to visit the Rock & Soul Museum and then Graceland. Tomorrow night we will be staying with friends outside of Nashville. A portion of our drive will take us across and then alongside the Mississippi River, so I expect to have some great pictures tomorrow!
- LGM
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