March Madness

Mardi gras, St. Patrick's Day, NCAA basketball, Fiddler Hall of Fame Concert and the Tulsa Ballet performing Exceptional Synergy are just a few of the events going on in the mad month of March.

Mardi Gras just passed with a great parade downtown in the Blue Dome District. Tulsa is not New Orleans but we still did it up good with cajun food specialities at several restaurants.

Pictured is the Jazz Room in our Tulsa bed and breakfast. I thought that fit in with Mardi Gras. The Jazz Room is a cozy room with a queen size bed, desk area, flat screen TV with DVD player. The private bathroom was put in under the eaves with a shower. There is a tuba in one corner that several guests have tried to play.

St. Patrick's Day is always a fun time in Tulsa. Kilkenny's Irish Pub & Restaurant, located within walking distance of the Inn, will set up a tent and have live music. The food is very good there. My favorite is an appetizer, the rueben rolls. Mc Nellie's and Arnie's downtown will also have live music, tents and drink specials like Gusinness. Green beer for everyone! Aren't we all Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

The NCAA basketball tournament will bring lots of folks to Tulsa. The Inn is sold out for that and for the last weekend in March when the Tulsa Ballet is performing.

With the price of gas rising, I predict we will be filling up fast for most weekends. Weekdays are also popular with our business travelers. A couple of summers back, when the gas prices were high, we had many visitors that took short getaways a few hours travel from their homes. We love to show Tulsa off to folks from Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Kansas and the rest of the state of Oklahoma too. Plan your next getaway soon and give us a call.

Mancation

We have all heard of chick trips. A group of girlfriends get away for a weekend of shopping and fun. Our Tulsa bed and breakfast has hosted many of those. Now there is a new buzz work in the travel industry. The mancation. This is for the guys to get together for a weekend of manly stuff. The Inn at Woodward Park has one of those coming up in March. The NCAA basketball tournament 2nd and 3rd rounds will be played here in Tulsa at the BOK event center. The whole Inn is booked by just guys to attend.
Now a B&B is probably not the first place that comes to mind for a mancation. Why not? They are going to have a comfortable, quiet place to stay and be served a hearty breakfast each morning. They will be able to walk to nearby restaurants and sports bars. They can play cards in the sunroom and it is a 6 minute drive to the BOK event center.
Some guys may be leery of staying at a B&B envisioning death by doilies at grandma's house. Just do your homework first. Visit the website to check out the pictures and read on line reviews to get an idea of the feel of the place. Some B&Bs are very frilly with lace curtains and teddy bears, but many are not.
There is a B&B down in Broken Bow that is very man friendly with a pool table, big screen TV and open bar in the common area. There are several Oklahoma B&Bs that offer fishing and hunting packages. Visit okbba.com or travleok.com to find a B&B that will meet the needs of your next getaway.

Cure for the Winter Blues

Are you starting to feel like this guy? It has been a long, harsh winter for most of the country. Here in Tulsa we have broken records; both for amount of snow in one winter and record low temperatures. I was housebound , or should I say B&B bound, for days on end. I did a lot of baking, both familiar recipes and some new ones to treat our Tulsa bed and breakfast guests. We did have guests over the course of the snowstorm. They were able to entertain themselves with DVDs, card games and a Scrabble tournament.
I think we have finally turned a corner and are headed toward spring. It won't be long before we see daffodils starting to bloom out, followed by the redbuds, dogwoods, tulips and azaleas. Being located right across the street from the lovely Woodward Park, I usually get the first peek of spring blooms.
Until then there are still plenty of indoors activities going on in T town. The roads are clear and the restaurants are open.
Some upcoming events downtown are Cirque de Soleil Alegria, Sugarland, World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions, James Taylor, and the opera Don Giovanni. We have several casinos in and around Tulsa that are bringing in some great acts. In the next couple of months Kenny Loggins, Montgomery Gentry, Pat Benatar, Randy Travis, Heart, George Thorogood, and Blake Shelton will all be at the Hard Rock Cafe in Catoosa a 10 minute drive from the Inn. I have noticed there are some deep discount sales at many area shops, too.
Many of you have been trapped in your house with the kids out of school, and the dogs, and have been mopping the floor 100 times. (I quit counting here) Tell your spouse that the two of you need a little break to restore your sanity and get over here.

Oklahoma weather

Oklahoma enjoys four seasons, sometimes all in one week. Less than one week ago today it was 76 degrees. People were wearing shorts and t-shirts, joggers and bicyclists were out on the Riverpark trails, and the outdoor patio seating was packed at Utica Square. Two days later a big winter storm came in. We had thunder sleet (sounds like the name of a heavy metal band to me). Seriously, it was lightning, thundering and sleet was pouring out of the sky. The following day we had a record snow fall of 14 inches. To all you Northerners that sounds like nothin. We Okies are not prepared for that kind of thing and think we can drive in it. We can't. Before the day was through, the street in front of our Tulsa bed and breakfast was blocked with stuck cars and trucks. A medical delivery truck jack knifed about a quarter mile from us. Thankfully he had already delivered the supplies. After 10 hours of waiting for a tow truck, he decided to stay at our Inn for the night. We were glad to be able to offer him a room with a warm bed and shower.
My husband finally got the drive and parking area cleared yesterday and wouldn't you know it; it is snowing again.
My car has not left the garage in 5 days and I don't know when it will. There are 3 foot drifts against the door. Our Inn was built in 1920 and the garage is a detached building built sometime later. I recently learned the reason garges were built away from the houses when automobiles were first being bought. People just never knew when those new fangled horseless carriages might decide to blow up and didn't want to burn the house down.
Despite the inconveniences of the snow, it is very beautiful and the perfect weather to snuggle up with your honey in a B&B.
Next week is Valentine's Day. Have you made your plans yet?

Hooray for Hollywood

The winter months are usually slow for the bed and breakfast industry. Many B&Bs offer special rates for this time of year. What better time to snuggle in a soft featherbed with your sweetie and watch some DVDs than a cold wintery night like we have been having.
There are still lots of activities going on in Tulsa throughout the winter season. The Gilcrease and Philbrook Museums are open Tuesday through Sunday. Jason Aldean is in concert this month at the BOK and Ozzy Osbourne is there in early February. The Tulsa Ballet is performing The Taming of the Shrew and Cirque de Soliel Alegria is coming next month also. All the restaurants are open and serving wonderful meals. Mods Coffee and Crepes really hits the spot with wonderful lattes and warm crepes before or after a downtown event.
I had a four day stretch without guests. The first day I slept in and set around in my pjs until noon. Then I started making plans. All three of our guest rooms had queen size beds. I often would get calls from folks who said they could only sleep in a king size. I can understand that. A few years ago I spent a miserable night trying to sleep out of town in a double bed trapped between a wall on one side and a snoring lump of husband on the other. On the other hand, I felt queen size beds were perfect for cuddling.
I had recently acquired some furniture that included a king size head board. I enlisted the help of my tall, dark, and handsome and single going to be 30 this year oldest son (All you single ladies take note) to help me move everything out of the Hollywood Room. I cleaned the room from top to bottom, taking extra time to shine up the hardwood floors. Then we set up the king size bed. Safety note to all. Do not stand on the metal bed rails while taking them apart. You will fall and get a big bruise where you sit down.
The Hollywood Room is truly fit for a star now. Chocolate velvet curtains and lacy sheers cover the windows that overlook Woodward Park. A chandelier hangs from the ceiling. A faux fur throw lays across the silky bedspread. The room also has a chaise lounge and flat screen TV with DVD player. The attached private bathroom has a deep soaking tub and a stand alone shower with a rainfall showerhead.
Give us a call toll free 1-888-712-9770 to book the Hollywood Room, mention this blog and I will serve you breakfast in bed, no room service charge.

2nd best thing

The second best thing about being an innkeeper is I work at home. Today there is light snow on the ground and it is cold. No, it is worse than cold. It is f,f,f, freezing. The tempature was 12 with a wind chill of minus 5 this morning. Now that is unusual for Tulsa. Last week it was in the fifties. Working at home, I did not have to get up, dress in at least 3 layers, go out, warm up the car, scrape ice off the windshield, drive across town, park out in the north 40 of a parking lot and race across the frozen tundra to get to work. Nope, all I did was go from my nice warm bedroom to my nice, warm, cozy, smelling like coffee kitchen. I did get dressed, but just one layer.
My kitchen smells like coffee because I got a new coffeepot at a post holiday sale. It is one that you add the coffee beans and water the night before, set it and it grinds and brews the coffee before you get up. The grinding process is pretty loud, though. The first time I heard it, I thought a jet plane was taking off somewhere nearby. Thank goodness the guest rooms are all upstairs and it doesn't disturb them.
We have guests here this week from up state New York. They say it's not that cold out today. Well, I'm a Southern gal and I prefer the heat and humidity any ole time. I probably won't leave the house until it gets above freezing or I run out of Diet Coke, whichever comes first. Maybe I can talk my husband into stopping for the Coke. He works outside our Tulsa bed and breakfast as an accountant.
Were you wondering what the number one best thing about being an innkeeper is? It is you and all the other wonderful people I get to meet. Come by and stay awhile, 'cause I am NOT going out there.

Bird watching at the B&B

This cute little guy is called a yellow rumped warbler. I saw him first last year in February and he has returned to the birdfeeder right outside my kitchen again this year. He is only 4 inches tall and not shy. The weather is 50 degrees today but an artic blast is predicted for next week. He may be on his way to Mexico by then.
We are blessed to have an abundance of birdlife here at our Tulsa bed and breakfast. Right now I see starlings, mournig doves, cardinals, sparrows and a downy woodpecker at the feeders. This morning I saw some juncos and a wren. We have robins, mockingbirds and blue jays in the neighborhood also. Occasionally, a bigger woodpecker, the red bellied woodpecker would visit. Last year my neighborhood had to cut down a big old dead tree and I think that it where that woodpecker lived. I have not seen that bird recently and I miss him. The red tailed hawk from the song "Oklahoma" can be seen flying overheard once in a while. They are more common around open fields. This time of year we start to see the Bald Eagle around the Arkansas River, just two miles from here. They like to fish in the waters coming off the Keystone Dam.
I keep my copy of the book "The Backyard Bird-Lover's Guide" and a pair of binoculars upstairs in the sunroom so guests can enjoy watching and identifying our littlest visitors, too. I would love for you to come for a visit and perhaps you might spy a new bird while you are here.