Norman, Oklahoma

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January 24th - January 29....30....31st.

When heading out to Norman, Oklahoma for a week of National Weather Service Training, I didn't realize that I would be spending two extra days there due to a winter storm that would eventually stretch all the way to back to Raleigh. We made the most of it though and despite the snow, the hotel bar had a free keg and we eventually made our way to the Riverwind Casino.

This was my third trip to Oklahoma, and I have to say as an east coaster, my views of the state were pretty stereotypical. Flat lands of nothingness, lots of cows, and some of the wildest weather in the country. For meteorologists like myself, this place is a true mecca. Our training was held at the relatively new National Weather Center on the campus of Oklahoma University. It houses the National Weather Service Forecast Office at Norman, the Storm Prediction Center, the National Severe Storms Laboratory, and the Warning Decision Training Branch in addition to most of OU's Meteorology program. The flying cow cafe has some good eats if you are there during lunchtime on a weekday.

This trip wasn't all work of course. I was able to meet up with an old friend from Hawaii who is now working in Norman as a forensic meteorologist. She was nice enough to show me around town and took me to eat at a bar called coaches. The food here was what you would expect from great midwestern fare. Big portions, a lot of meet, and fantastic BBQ sauce. After dinner a tour of the OU campus and an area of town called campus corner. It was in campus corner that I realized that if you live in Norman, you can find any kind of food that you like from countries well beyond the borders of this landlocked state. Italian, Mexican, Asian and Caribbean flavors all combined here and all within walking distance of each other.

After walking around we drove through many neighborhoods, mostly honest, hardworking middle class areas typical of the midwest. However, there were some very affluent neighborhoods as well. The house of the legendary Bob Stoops, OU head football coach and local savior, was most impressive.

All in all, after a third visit, I came to the conclusion that Norman is a pretty good place to be. It is growing in leaps and bounds as Oklahoma City, about 30 miles to the north, spills down into its suburbs. I would consider Norman a progressive town, well at least compared to most municipalities in the region. As I was finally able to leave after the snowstorm there was one stark reminder of where I had been. I had never seen so many cowboy hats on an airplane in my entire life.

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