Oklahoma Turnpikes... Fantastic!

75 mph, no traffic, at $6.50 that's a bargain.

I would also like to say that we are also very lucky to have satellite radio in our rental car. We were able to get the NC State Bowl game and all cheered (okay, it was mostly me) as they kicked some Louisville butt! Go Pack!

We made an impromptu stop at Tulsa, which, aside from the roads being closed for construction without the option for a detour, was great addition. A little architecture, a little food and back in the car. Thanks to the iPhone, Wikipedia, and Shawna's quick thinking we stopped to check out the BOK Center, structurally, really interesting. Great overhang at the main enterance and they let us in. The Tulsa Oilers of the CHL were playing a game while we were there.

Next stop Oklahoma City. Considering that we were there to visit the memorial for the Oklahoma City bombing the fact that the city was deserted, made it especially eerie.

The monument itself is very well done, certainly monumental and I assume, better at night.

And the children's chairs... there aren't words.

Day 2 | Tuesday | December 27

CLOSED?...did someone forget to tell them WE were coming?

Oh Thorncrown, what a disappointment. After traveling hours out of our way, how could you be closed? It is frustrating to say the least, considering we planned our entire trip around this one building. And considering Shawna had the forethought to call ahead and double check their event schedule I think we have the right to be angry at the way we were treated when we were asked to leave the premises. At least we got to see the outside? My guess... The bride is knocked up, secret emergency shotgun wedding, super hush hush.

In contrast, we also visited Crystal Bridges, even though we knew it would be closed and they had no issue with us walking around. In fact, the religious experience I prepared myself to have sitting inside the Chapel at Thorncrown, staring out into the Ozarks, I was able have walking around the park like setting of Crystal Bridges.

There was an obvious comparison to our NCMA, both art museums with large park extensions and my immediate reaction was this is what NCMA SHOULD have been. This is why people are so disappointed with the new NCMA building, it lacks the energy with which Crystal Bridges was designed. Their park space is even better then ours, it is a much more intimate scale. Oh, and I cannot say enough about plant labels... it's something I look for because I like to know the names of the plants I am admiring, it seems only reasonable and they did a really thorough job. It should be really beautiful in the spring, what a variety!

You gotta eat lighting...

Pictures for now, its late and we need to sleep. Words to come. Love this.

10 Things About Kelly

Feelings on coffee

Love. Americano with whole milk.

Favorite color

All shades of grey.

I'm from

Raleigh, North Carolina. Not Canada, as some have speculated.

Previous life before architecture

Architecture, then briefly Art History, and now securely back to Architecture.

Favorite road trip foods

Goldfish (one bag down, two to go). Beef Jerky.

I'm looking forward to

Hands down the scenery. I love experiencing new climates/regions. Oh, and there might be this other thing called the Thorncrown Chapel.

At Forum, I'm looking forward to

Day trip to Sedona and Chapel of the Holy Cross. Although technically that isn't a Forum event. We also have started to plan our role call skits which hopefully will be pretty funny.

My preferred mode of road trip documentation

I'm really terrible at all of them. I find that if I try to take photographs, I don't actually see what I am experiencing. I am certainly not a disciplined sketcher, although I bought new pencils with good intentions.

I suppose that it is best to say that I collect things... with hopes of scrap booking.

Books I brought on the trip

This one's kind of bitter sweet for me. I checked out a bag full of books for the trip, mostly in preparation for the ULI Competition in January, and had to leave most of them at Shawna's to make room in the car.

Ultimately I chose one architecture and one non architecture read.

Jane Jacobs | The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Ken Follett | Pillars of the Earth

What would I do other than architecture

Teach. Art or Math at the High School level.

Day 1 | Monday | December 26

10 things about Jimmy

Feelings on coffee....

I'm going to be brutally honest, I despise the taste of coffee. When I go to Starbucks or any coffee place, I get mochas which don't really count as coffee. The more sugar and sweetness, all the better to cover up that horrible taste. If I drink coffee (black, straight up), its because I have to stay awake or I need to focus for some reason, not because I enjoy it. When I start to become dependent on the caffeine intake in order to function after days/weeks of regular consumption, I look forward to the times when I won't need it to form a coherent thought in my head.

Favorite color....

It was blue (not carolina blue, ugh, disgusting, boo Tarheels) but then I met orange. Now it is a combination of blue and orange. Think Boise State or the Denver Broncos. I don't get the whole architects' liking black. Its ridiculous, why would you wear black when its hot outside? Black is only good for fancy parties and funerals.

I'm from...

Greensboro North Carolina. Good place to grow up and to end up at. I'm not so sure about the in between.

Previous life before architecture....

There really was no before. I've known since I was 12 what I wanted to do. I just took a longer path to get here.

Favorite road trip foods....

I like driving to places but I like being efficient about driving times. I don't like to stop a lot and that means I usually don't eat and/or drink a lot either. If I have to, a bag of cheetos and a dr pepper.

I'm looking forward to....

The world's largest tree house in Crossville, Tennessee (which we saw today), the Thorn Crown Chapel, the Chapel of the Holy cross, and Taliesin....architecture that isn't a victim of globalization and modernism (its a box but is it a library, a museum, a school, a factory...a house?).

My preferred mode of road trip documentation....

I occasionally take amazing photographs, so I prefer a camera. I appreciate what technology has done for humanity but I still feel like digital cameras have cheapened the art of photography. Everyone is a photographer now. They don't even look at what they are taking a picture of, they just click a button several hundred times and then these digital images end up on a hard drive, where they stay forever and rarely take physical form. If you could only take 24 shots you'd be more thoughtful about what you were looking at and how a photograph was composed. Honestly, nothing beats being in a darkroom developing your own film and making your own prints. I'd take that over photoshop any day.

Books I brought on the trip....

Reading MVRDV
Folds, Bodies, and Blobs, Greg Lynn
Reinventing the Skyscraper, Ken Yeang
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
The Ghost King, R.A. Salvatore
The Age of Darkness (Horus Heresy Series book 16), Christian Dunn
The Outcast Dead (Horus Heresy Series book 17), Graham McNeill (reading now)

I will read the at least three of these because we have a lot of driving to do on this trip.


What would I do if it had to be something other than architecture...

I would find work in the video game industry. I was raised by my nintendo and every subsequent gaming console after that. When we got enough money, I graduated to pc gaming. People hate on gamers but its no different from watching a movie or tv, even reading a book. Its better because you are in control...I'm not talking about crap games that last 4-6 hours. Electronic Arts, one of the larger gaming companies, has capitalized on a system of producing the same thing every year (madden football, heck any sports game, even modern warfare <- Activision) and charging $60 for it. That is a crime. I don't know why people continue to pay for that crap.

I like games with epic stories that help me escape to another world, a world that needs saving by me!... Mass Effect, Fallout, the Elder Scrolls series...blends of action and role playing. They also provide a different experience with every play through. I don't like to admit it but I've put in 150 hours playing Skyrim since it was released in mid-november. Some economists say this game is the sole reason why America's economy is in the toilet. I totally agree.

So the short answer would be working on games like that.