FORT SILL, Okla. -- After living in Oklahoma for a year, I finally decided to spend some time in the area called Bricktown in Oklahoma City. I wanted a hotel near Bricktown so we could walk instead of driving everywhere. It was the day I was planning on leaving for the city when I called hotels to try and find somewhere for my husband and I to stay. It also happened to be the weekend before the Women's College World Series which happens annually in Oklahoma City. All the hotels were booked. We found the last two rooms at the Courtyard Marriott and I called to make sure we weren't in a sketchy area of town. We weren't. It's quite nice and affordable with that awesome military discount.
The area called Bricktown reminds me somewhat of a mini Riverwalk in San Antonio. There is a river that runs through the area, lined with restaurants, bars, arcades, mini golf and live music. The crown of the neighborhood is the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, home of the Oklahoma City Dodgers (the Triple-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League baseball team). While we didn't go in, we did walk around taking in the sights and sounds of the residents and visitors.
We saw horse-drawn carriages pull people through the streets while water taxis ferried people on the river. We chose to walk and before long found ourselves at Pearl's Crabtown.
We both ordered the crab and shrimp boil along with alligator bites. The meal was served on a large sheet of paper on the table. We dug in, dipping our bites into melted butter and basking in the calories we were consuming. Worth. Every. Bite.
Our waitress suggested we stop by Bricktown Candy but after stuffing ourselves extensively, the best we could do was waddle to Michael Murphy's Dueling Piano Bar.
Having lived in Savannah, Ga., and Nashville, Tenn., both with their own hugely popular dueling piano bars, I was excited to see what OKC had to offer. The set up is standard, two pianos facing each other with pianists playing and singing while simultaneously poking fun at the audience and urging them to sing along. We had a great time.
The walk back, at 1 a.m., felt fairly safe. With so many people still enjoying the evening we were fairly confident we could make it the block to our hotel safely. The next morning we had breakfast at IHOP before venturing to Pinkitzel Cupcakes and Candy across the street from our hotel.
They describe the place as drawing inspiration from Willy Wonka, to Marie Antoinette to Alice in Wonderland and the result is something fun and whimsical, like falling into a grown-up candy land. They specialize in gourmet cupcakes but also make drinks, chocolates and macaroons (and dipped strawberries and marshmallows and cake balls). It's incredible. We couldn't decide on a cupcake to eat so we got six. Perfect for the drive back.
That's right, drove up there one day, drove back the next. Still it was perfect. My husband loved it so much a few days later he created a Facebook event to return the Bricktown in August with some of our friends. I'm already looking at places like In the Raw, a sushi bar, the American Banjo Museum (I might be the only one to go!) and maybe the botanical gardens which is nearby. So many things to do. I'll need to make more trips up.
What is your favorite stop in Bricktown? Join the conversation and share your experiences on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OkieBucketList.
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