Another place we have discovered is Ponca City. This is a city rich in history. Their main street has many old stores and building to see. The Poncan Theater is there and has a beautiful exterior and and very unique inside. When we stopped to take pictures of the outside the man who was working in the radio station there invited us inside to look around. They still show movies there and have special events. He told us some of the history and we had a great time.

The inside was really PINK, but in the soft lights it was really cute. They have one of the largest collections of vintage movie posters.



While there you need to visit the Marland Manson. There is a long history with this house. The short version is that he came here from back east and stuck oil. He built a house called the Grand House for him and his wife and started the Marland Oil Company. They started building the Mansion in the 1920's. It cost over One Million dollars. He did not live there very long before he lost his oil company to bankers from back east and had to sell the house. He and his second wife, who at one time was his adopted daughter and his first wife's niece, moved into a cottage on the grounds. He was also a US Senator for Oklahoma and one of the first governors of Oklahoma. If you do go and have the time be sure and take the guided tour. They do a wonderful job and give the whole history of his life.

This is the front of the mansion. There is a guard house at the entrance and then a drive. It is so impressive to see. The inside is beautiful.

This is the back side of the house. It has a free floating staircase and a patio on the back and east side of the house. At one time it had a swimming pool but it has been filled in now.

This is a statue of Lydie and her brother George. They were the niece and nephew of Mr. Marland's wife and they adopted them when they were young. After his wife died he and Lydie fell in love and they had the adoption annulled and they were married.

 

Can you see the "M" in the hedges. From the ground you don't see it, but when he looked out of the upstairs bedrooms he liked seeing his mark upon the land.

 

 





One of the many bedrooms. The mansion was the first in Oklahoma to have central heat and air. And the bathroom had showers.

The was Mr. Marland's office at the mansion. It has a beautiful mantel and fireplace and was very spacious.

 

To the left is the Hunt Kitchen. 
The fixed breakfast from their
friends before they went on the
Fox hunt. Above is the ceiling
from the room attached to the kitchen.

                  







 If you like Mexican food, you need to be sure and eat at the El Patio Restaurant. We have ate their twice and can't wait to go back. We have tried different things both times and enjoyed all of them.



You can't miss it... but don't let the outside put you off. As you can see below the food looks great and taste even better. On this trip we had the enchiladas and a seafood dish with grilled shrimp, bell peppers, tomatoes and onions with cheese wrapped in a large soft tortilla. It was so good!

Grilled Shrimp Dish

Oklahoma Places to See and Eat

We are starting this blog to share about the interesting places that we have traveled to in Oklahoma. I don't know how many people realize all the interesting places there are to visit in the state.

We love traveling around the state and have found many fun and interesting places to see.

We also love to find places to eat and several of our friends have asked us to start a blog about all the places we go. This blog will cover two of our main interests. Places and food!

So here we go...

Mandarin Kung Pao

This weekend we ate at Pei Wei. We had the Mandarin Kung Pao and the Pei Wei Spicy. There were several other dishes that we want to go back and try.

Pei Wei Spicy

When we go down to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Reserve we have the best time. It is one of our favorite places to visit.

One of the many beautiful lakes

Buffalo Herd

   



The land is so beautiful there. The lakes are a vivid blue and with the green grass and the colorful rock it makes a great scene.












They have buffalo and longhorn cattle herds and we have seen deer and once a wild hog. 

Part of the Mountain Range

Moose - for our
grandkids

They also have unusual bronze and other material statues.









They have two prairie dog farms now. This one was taken in the spring. But people feed them human food and they are not as many now as there were two years ago.

Prairie Dog in the Spring

While we were there we stopped at Meers to eat. When you go to this area, if there is any way you need to eat here. The burgers are so good. It is so much fun to eat here.

Depending on where you sit you may slide away from or to the table! Their fried green tomatoes are some of the best I have ever had. We had the Seismic burger and the regular Meers Cheeseburger, fried green tomatoes and fries. One burger is big enough to split but I didn't want the sweet relish or Jalapenos. It also has Bacon, Cheese, Mustard, Dill Pickles, Tomatoes, Purple Onions and Leaf Lettuce. The Meers burger has Mustard, dill pickles, tomatoes, purple onions and green leaf lettuce. Cheese is added if you want it.

Wow look at all this food. We brought half home and had it for supper. 

They also have their own beer made for them. It's in a 22 oz bottle. It is a wheat brew. Actually very good.

Here is the seismic burger. They are served in actual pie plate pans. You can see how big they are. Two people can get full on just one burger.

This is the Meers Cheeseburger.

More to come. Stayed tuned!