On a cool, sunny Tulsa afternoon I found myself downtown and within easy striking distance of the…read morelegendary Center of the Universe. What, I wondered, might I find in this little spot that is rumored to have magical powers? Thankfully, the C of the U is well-marked by an enormous, spire-like metal map marker so it's easy to find. Once there, the actual COTU is marked by sort of a worn out circle of bricks and concrete that (tbh) probably needs a little sprucing up. According to local lore (and many Yelp reviews), you can stand in the center of this spot and speak, and nobody will hear you. Or your words will come back to you. Or something like that. I wasn't really sure what to expect. And to be completely honest with you, nothing happened when I tried. Maybe I did it wrong. There *were* people walking by, so I mostly muttered to myself, rather than yell out into the void. Yes, it's quite likely that fear of embarrassment caused me not to experience the magic and wonder that make the COTU what it is.

I saw the sculpture (by Bob Haozous) from a distance and wondered what in the world? Then I asked…read moresomeone who said - Center of the Universe - and I vaguely remembered being there many years ago. It is so worth a few moments to stand in the circle and hear the echo, to marvel at the sculpture, and admire the art deco architecture of the neighboring, abadoned train depot. So fun!

If you take a stroll on 15th between Utica and Peoria, you will find some of the coolest street art…read moreand photo opportunities! There are plenty of places to stop and grab a bite to eat, grab a coffee or cocktail or a sweet treat! Enjoy Tulsa weather, eats and arts!

i'd not before seen the sidewalk path connecting the convergent streets that comprise the hill, but…read morethat was a pleasant surprise to me as an area not on the street for doing a warmup. then, running up the side on the left, if you are facing toward the hill, i got in 7 repetitions, 1 for each of the players i'd recalled as getting playing rotation during the fab five era for wolverines basketball. see pic below for reference connection. nonetheless, for crosssport training purposes, hill repeats in outdoor basketball shoes definitely lends more toward basketball training than track, so using that pic to emphasize the baggy shorts and black socks aesthetic with the lebrons i've been wearing as an outdoors basketball shoe, definitely gives evidence toward answering what sport i was putting in training effort toward, although i've run hill repeats there before as training for running.

Cry Baby Hill on Sunday following two days of bike races is yet another day of bike races. This one…read morehowever pushes the cyclists to the limit with a strenuous tough uphill battle. This is not for the weak. Now about this. If you want "family friendly" you stay down by the river on the flat road. There is plenty of space for picnics and children. If you want over 21 with anything goes, you move uphill. There is live music, food trucks, lots of intoxication, partial or sometimes full nudity if they don't get caught, women in nothing but pasties and thongs and well, men too. There will be signage of suggestive material and very vulgar. Is it everyone? Not at all but it's not for the modest or faint of heart. It's actually pretty disgusting how people behave on the hill as it is a really exciting event. It will be trashy, full of liter, filthy and hot. Bring a cooler maybe a backpack full of cleansing cloths and hand wash as you may not find any of that up there because it's packed. You can stage yourself however throughout to actually watch the race. I mean it's like sin city wrapped up in a few hours. It's Tulsa for ya. I wish it could be family friendly as cry baby hill is exciting but they can't control it so they contain it. Btw look it up before you go to see what the "theme" is. Each year they have a theme and people sometimes dress the part. Otherwise wear what you'd wear in spring break, to the pool or dress like the Grinch and have a blast. (Yes we have seen it all!)

This a district is very close to downtown Tulsa. This district is great place for nightlife,…read more dinning, shopping and entertainment. Surround this district also has many painted mural at the face of wall. Great for photo. The name is based on a historic blue dome building in this district. This building was built at 1924. When we were there, there is renovation happening for construction. But I still can get a good view of the dome.

The Blue Dome district could really use an app so visitors can easily find their famous murals…read more Quick, somebody create this! I, despite having very little coordination, thought traveling by scooter around this area was the easiest way to tour the neighborhood. Oops. Anyways, I 'scooted' around for about an hour trying to spot the murals I've seen in famous Tulsa pictures for years. I found some, but not all. Tired and out of energy from attempting to get around on a scooter, I gave up after about an hour of looking. Locals seemed to be a bit disinterested in the murals and despite asking a few different people, I didn't have much luck finding additional ones. I'm telling you Tulsa, an interactive app is the way to go!

Here are just a few jaw-dropping aspects of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma:…read more With locations in Tulsa and McAlester, they provide food and other donated goods to 450 Partner Programs in 24 counties of eastern Oklahoma. These programs include emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs and senior citizen centers. Together, they provide more than 346,000 meals each week to people struggling with hunger. During Fiscal Year 2015 they distributed more than 21.6 million pounds of food. Empty Bowls is an epic annual event. This year there were 1,000 guests that celebrated all of the Food Bank's efforts and had a chance to contribute to the fight against hunger. With a live auction and silent auction, wine, jewelry and restaurant pulls, live painting, live music, cocktail hour and comfortable seating around tables and so much more the night couldn't have been better. The night's menu consisted of a quinoa tabbouleh on arugula salad, various options of soup (my favorite was the creamy chicken, wild rice & lemon!) and flourless chocolate torte or coconut custard meringue cup for dessert. The program was intentional and so sweet honoring Scott Lewis, a performance by the Tulsa Children's Chorus and stories on how life changing the food bank is for those in our community. This is an event I will prioritize to attend annually! So thankful for the Food Bank.

I am so thankful to the Food Bank for all that they do in the Tulsa area. I have been to many…read morecharitable events throughout the years, but I have to say that this was one of the best ones in a long time. They had a fantastic live band playing as we were given plenty of time to review the silent auction items. In addition they had drawings for dream trips, pizza for a year, jewelry, and more. Something that I particularly wish I had participated in more was the restaurant pull. With your donation, you were able to pull a blind gift card for a local restaurant. Another great feature that I missed last year because it sold out so quickly was the wine pull. Again, for your donation, you were able to pull a blind bottle of wine and of the four that I purchased, three were really special. There was a prediction of intense storms that night so I was afraid of a lower attendance, but Tulsa stepped up and fill the hall. The food was exceptional and as a real soup lover, I thought it was the perfect menu. In fact, the wine that was served at the table was far better than I expected. I took a few pictures that i will try to upload. I hate to hit on the money too much but another great idea they were using this year was the integrated payment plan. You just had to vault a credit card when you register and then use your bidder number for everything you want. i assumed it would just hit the card and that would be it, but today I received a very nice email stating what I had purchased and a link to finalize the payment with an added opportunity to enhance the joy of giving at the same time. I have seen some real fiascos at some events and this provided a great comfort level that everything was as I remembered. The venue was very well appointed and convenient with free covered parking. Really, the entire event was smooth and very entertaining. I hope that I have convinced more of you to join us next year. i highly recommend it and when you see the number of meals that can be provided through your donations, it is really heart warming. I may be mixing stories, but I think I read that 96% of the contributions go directly to the food recipients. That is a phenomenal number, probably one of the highest in the nation.

This is one of the sacred places in Tulsa. It is by 18th street and Cheyenne Avenue. The Creek…read moreNation Council Oak Tree is a U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1992. It represents the founding of talasi (now Tulsa), meaning "old town" by the Lochapoka Tribal Town of the Creek Nation. The Creeks were forced to leave their homeland in Alabama and travel to Indian Territory. After their arrival in 1836, the Lochapokas chose an oak tree on top of a hill that overlooked the Arkansas River as the site of their council ground. They lit a new ceremonial fire, using coals they had carried on their journey, established a busk ground, where all council business would be conducted. These grounds were also a gathering place for tribal ceremonies, feasts and games. The site continued to be used for these events until 1896. The Creeks still hold an annual celebration of their arrival at this site on October 20. The Creek Nation and several individuals bought the site and donated it to the City of Tulsa. The city turned the 1.86 acres plot into Creek Nation Council Oak Park. Richard Thornton is the architect for the park. In 2008, the Oklahoma Centennial Commission sponsored a "Trail of Tears" monument honoring the Creeks' suffering as they were forced to endure the trek. The sculpture titled Morning Prayer, was created by Creek artist Dan Brook, depicts a flame rising from a hearth.

I visited this park after reading about the history and development of Tulsa. For such a small…read moreoperation, the park is very well maintained and excellently honors the traditions of the Mvskoke and Euchee tribes.

Mark you calendars for every year around the first week of November to visit their little festivus…read more Although this year's was not as big as in year's past, there are still a lot of great local artisans and vendors (and local music). All of the Garden Deva merch is 20% off too. I love their offerings year round. (The Winnie the Pooh themed items were half off!) It's a great spot for holiday shopping!

I took the beginners class and had a great time and learned a lot!! The teacher was awesome and…read morevery patient w us as students. Looking forward to taking the intermediate class next!!

Street CReD is an annual event that focuses on community redevelopment in a specific neighborhood…read more It is a one-day pop-up event/festival hosted by TYPROS' (Tulsa's Young Professionals) Urbanists Crew which believes in a healthy, dense and active city center benefits the entire region. Their motto is: when no area of Tulsa is neglected, the entire city benefits. Amazing volunteers make this happen. Each year, they focus on a different area of town with the purpose of re-imagining under-used spaces. Throughout the year, they have focused on the North Star Community, south downtown Tulsa, Fred Johnson Park, Route 66, north of IDL, and Art Alley downtown. I have attended several throughout the years and the Tulsa Art Alley is one of my favorites. Kelly Cook and Libby Billings wanted transformed the alley between 5th and 6th and Boston and Main Street in the Deco District to showcase how art, greenery and seating can transform an unused space into a destination. They had performances, food, and booths setup and it was a really fun time. The art is amazing!

I'm not sure why this is rated so highly. Maybe it was better in past years?…read more Overall was not as fun and did not offer as much as we expected. 1. Hardly any vendors overall and only four food trucks. That said "Hot mess BBQ" was delish. 2. Band was average. First of all who hires a like semi hard core rock band for an outdoor summer festival? How about a fun cover band guys? 3. Band leader never STFU. He went on and on talking and rambling about the talent in the area and his journey. Like 20 mins of talking and then a song and then more talking 4. Bring a canopy, cooler, and chairs and get there fairly early to get a good spot.

Another super fun river-side festival, the Great Raft Race actually takes people into the Arkansas…read moreRiver bringing back the competition from the 70s where homemade rafts cruised the river waters. Organizers have done an awesome job in the short time the festival has been alive in making it a family-friend but also adult-fun event. There are plenty of places along the river to watch all the crazy contraptions various Tulsans have built float by, and there's an awesome small festival ground with food, drinks and activities for the kids. Although the race is fun, the after party can be even better! Overall, a great event I look forward to watching grow as more and more Tulsans learn about it. Perfect Tulsa-flavored summer fun.