Catch up on what happened with our busted car and join us as we explore Houston and Livingston, Texas and imbibe on the most expensive bottle of wine that we've ever come across. We then make our way to Tulsa, Oklahoma where we attempt to scratch the surface. It appears that Tulsa is on the move and filled with surprises.

We have a YouTube Channel. Please consider subscribing.

How did it go with the busted car? As you’ll recall from our last episode, we (I) sorta defiled the front-end of our Kia that we were just about to sell so we could acquire a proper tow vehicle. Some RVers like to refer to tow cars as dinghies. Dingy is to allude to the similarity of RVing to being the captain of a boat. I’m one of those people, as I own a captain hat. That nugget of truth is free. You’ll also remember that Candice had found us a potential replacement in Humble, TX. If you’re not current, then check out this article.

The Leon family is all about burning the Benjamins, making it rain so to speak. We sampled a two thousand dollar bottle of wine and we’re sharing the experience with you. Spoiler alert: It was delicious! Well, maybe it didn’t start as a $2,000 bottle. It certainly became that because it was the bottle that I heard rattling around and checked on before I rolled back into our car with the motorhome.

Saint Arnold Brewery

This place, in Houston, TX, is a on point. Food comes out almost before you order it and they know what they’re doing in the brewhouse. I had a few hop forward beers there and I would do it again. https://www.saintarnold.com

We limped along to Houston from Austin to see my cousin. He was gracious enough to have us and let us park our beast in front of his place. His neighbors were salt of the earth and even complimented us on our rig. That’s a far cry from what we experienced when we stayed in front of our grandfather’s spot in Grover Beach. We had a warning posted on our window in less than 4 hours. Some areas are more forgiving than others when it comes to parking your abode close to theirs.

Fate worked in our favor and the vehicle that Candice spotted in Humble was exactly what we were looking for so we traded in limpy for a new set of wheels. I personally like how the hood isn’t all crinkled. Don’t you?

Candice and I have both pledged to visit Houston again later because we agree that we didn’t have enough time there. My cousin figured something out when he chose it for relocation from Los Angeles. It’s a big city, population 2.3 million, but it still feels approachable.

Livingston is a small town about an hour North of Houston. This is where the Escapees RV Club Headquarters is. They have a nice woodsy campground which we enjoyed. Prior to this stay we weren’t in the know that Texas had a forest. We became Escapee members before we set sail mainly because of their mail forwarding service-- you’ll probably need one of these if you’re considering an adventure similar to ours. All of our mail is sent to them. They scan it for us so we can see what we get wherever we are in the country and we can have them send it to us or have it destroyed with a few clicks. Escapee membership has some other club perks, like fulltime RVer’s legal support, health care options, campgrounds, meet-ups, and more.

After our affairs were in order and our mail collected we headed out of Livingston to spend time with family in Oklahoma. This just so happened to coincide with America’s birth of independence. Our fam lives about 45 minutes from Tulsa and they’ve got a juicy piece of property full of gorgeous sights and thirsty mosquitoes that buffeted on us until they were forced into Weight-Watcher and Jenny Craig programs.

So, what is Tulsa? It boasts a population of 413,505. 1 in 10 people from Oklahoma live in Tulsa. Tulsa was settled around 1836 by the Creek Native American tribe. For most of the 20th century, the city held the nickname "Oil Capital of the World" and played a major role as one of the most important hubs for the American oil industry.

An Oklahoma sunset and our Fleetwood Bounder and new Jeep.

When Tulsa isn’t bubbling crude it has a taste for pop culture. Take The Outsiders House Museum for example. The Outsiders was the movie that kicked off the “brat pack” film craze of the 1980s and launched the careers of actors such as Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Tom Cruise… The house that was pivotal to this film is located in Tulsa and was falling apart. That was until a champion arose from nowhere to salvage the bones of a rotting building and create life where there was squalor. This hero is none other than House of Pain member, Danny Boy. Just as the film portrayed tough, the neighborhood looks a little rough so maybe don’t go lurking around it come nightfall. Generally, it’s best practice not to lurk at all. This museum was under construction when we dropped by but will should be open to the public at some point in the summer of 2019 so get your inner 80s on and “Stay Gold” as Johnny Cade would say.

I wasn’t aware but Woody Guthrie was punk rock. Guthrie was political and made waves. We spent the better half of an afternoon at The Woody Guthrie Center and walked away enriched. This establishment is very well done and also has a section currently dedicated to John Lee Hooker who is equally fascinating. Two thumbs up on the Guthrie. Tickets were 12 bucks per adult.

From the Guthrie, we visited Center of the Universe! It’s not as far as it sounds. This is a famous acoustic phenomenon and landmark in Tulsa. There are no signs to demarcate this place so watch our YouTube vid to learn more about how to find it.

This is all in the Brady District which is otherwise known as the Arts District of Downtown Tulsa. While there may I suggest that the Prairie Brewpub? The record shop, Spinster, is also stellar. The city is ripe for more forward thinking entrepreneurs. In fact, the record store manager at Spinster mentioned that the George Kaiser Family Foundation was doling out $10,000 grants to folks that wanted to relocate here. The program is called Tulsa Remote. If you can bring jobs or at least your own, then that payday could be yours.

Once you relocate, you’ll need a place to stay. I like either:

Cherry street; a cute, walkable, up and coming district that is still affordable

Or Brookside; the slightly more upscale next door neighborhood with lots of charm and character.

This city really has some fun stuff and a ton of promise. Do you like architecture? They have some astounding buildings for you to fawn over. There are also more churches here than there are residents so if you’re looking for a new Sunday school, they got ya covered.

There’s too much to cover about Tulsa and sadly we’re out of time. I didn’t get to go over The Gathering Place which is a 100 acre park that was recently built in 2018 or the series of interesting outlaws that used to romp around these parts. I might fill in some more detail in the next show or maybe I won’t. You’ll need to tune in next time to figure that out. Until next time, stay gold!