Stillwater, Oklahoma

Hello everyone!

Last Tuesday we flew out of Narita Airport and experienced a crazy time change – we left at 10am Tuesday in Japan and landed at 8am Tuesday in Dallas, Texas, so we were pretty turned around! From Dallas we flew to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Paul’s sister Charlotte picked us up and drove us to Stillwater, where their parents live. I’ve got the most fantastic in-laws (love you guys!) and we’ve spent the past few days recovering and indulging in all the good old American food we’ve missed for the past year and a half.

Here are some pictures of the places we visited and the food we ate while in Stillwater. Forgive the casual iPhone photos – I’ve mostly been focusing on enjoying my time back home!

Day-to-Day

My mother-in-law, Valerie, is a champion baker. She made us the most perfect cinnamon rolls for breakfast our first morning back:

Produce is so cheap in the States compared to Japan! Giant watermelons for only $2 (200円)? Just a slice at our Japanese grocery store can be $5! Five ears of corn for $1 (100円)? In Japan, you’re lucky if you get even one ear for the same price!

Look at all the fruit!! (Thanks Valerie for the picture!)

I’ve had fresh fruit for breakfast every day:

(I’ve also had a few second breakfasts, shhhh):

It’s been unusually cool for August (or rather, the humidity is about 50% less than it is in Tatebayashi!) This means the mornings have been absolutely beautiful, and with our jet lag we’ve been waking up in time to see the sunrise:

Paul’s family has two pets – a chihuahua, Dmitri, and a big fluffy orange cat, Brian.

We visited the Oklahoma State University (OSU) campus while we were there. I’ve never attended a state school, so I was dazzled:

Such a gorgeous place!

Stillwater Restaurants

Bad Brads

(website here)

The first place we ate at was Bad Brads, a BBQ joint. At first it was just an unassuming building tucked away in the trees…and then we got inside and saw the decor!

I got ribs, potato salad, and corn. It was delicious, but I only managed to eat the sides and one rib before I got full!

Mexico Joe’s

(website here)

It’s been a while since we’ve eaten good old Tex-mex, so we went to Mexico Joe’s for lunch:

I got a steak and zucchini bowl with chimichurri sauce; the others got cheese quesadillas, enchiladas, and spicy chicken strips. And we had chips and salsa for the appetiser! How I’ve missed chips and salsa!