River City is one of my, if not my VERY, favorite places to go... like EVER!! It is filled with only the BEST junk, antique, vintage yumminess on EARTH!!! Ok, maybe not on EARTH, but very, very close... ya probably on earth!!! Jenks is outside Tulsa. A smaller, cute little town, filled to the brim with antique stores and nice people. Totally a my-kinda-place to go.
Since we live in Guthrie, we usually take the Turnpike there, but today we decided to take old route 66 and stop in some of the towns along the way. So we loaded up the kids and headed out! We fell in LOVE with a few places and met some really cool people!
The first town we drove through was Arcadia, Oklahoma. Although we didn't stop, there are a couple really neat places worth blogging about! First up is Pop's. It is not only a landmark, but also a restaurant, soda ranch, shake shop, and a gas station! They have a bazillion different kinds of soda, including one soda sculpture that stands over 66 feet high and lights up in the front! This is a MUST stop if you ever drive through. (we've been before:) Next up would be the Old Round Barn. This place is incredible! Beautiful inside and out!! Built in 1898 and restored in 1992. Although I have never actually been inside (sad, I know), I believe it is now a museum with the option to rent out "the loft" for special occasions. Tons of history and pictures on their website!! (just click on the name to be taken directly to it!!)
We then headed to the quaint town of Chandler, Oklahoma. We found a little antique store right off 66. Located inside an old homestead sits Fine Things Antique and Glass. This place isn't short on anything! They are loaded with only the finest and best from years past! We had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Pam, and she was kind enough to let me take some pictures for all my blog readers to enjoy! Here is just a little of the amazingness you can find in her store...
To sum it up..... PURE AMAZING!!!! You MUST go!!!! You can also "like" them on facebook HERE.
While in Chandler, we stopped at a yard sale (thanks for the tip Pam!!) and SCORED big time on some great antiques and things!!! (sorry no pics, but they will be for sale after I give them a little love)
Our next stop was Stroud, Oklahoma. Cute Oklahoma town with the famous Rock Cafe. Not to be confused with the Hard Rock Cafe, this little restaurant has so much character, not even a fire can hold it back! They have been serving food since the late thirty's and let me tell you, the food is A-MAZ-ING!!! They have been featured on Diner's, Drive-In's and Dives and have served many stars! The total inside was involved in a fire, but the rock exterior remained standing. The owners rebuilt the inside and were able to salvage a few items to use as decor. My daughter and I shared the chicken fried pork steak (yes pork steak) and it was GREAT!!! The pic below is of a HALF sized portion!!! Needless to say, we all left stuffed!! If you decide to stop in for a bite, be sure to make a pit stop to the restroom! Way neat-o, as you can sign the walls... or the ceiling!!! We had to leave our mark as well!! What a fun place!!
After stuffing our faces, we passed Depew, Oklahoma! Route 66 actually curves around the town, but I managed to snap this pic of a train :)
The route then took us through Sapulpa, where we stopped in a thrift/furniture store. No luck there... everything was way high priced, but the sales guys were nice. We jumped onto the turn pike for about 5 minutes and landed in Jenks, Oklahoma!!!!! My heart was already in flutters as we turned down the street that led us to the ultimate mother-load of all goodness..... River City Trading Post!!!
Don't let the outside of this building fool you, folks! This store is jam packed with anything you could think of!! I was too excited to snap photos inside (and I'm really not sure what their policy would be on this), but you can check out their facebook photo albums!! They update on a regular basis and are very quick to respond to questions regarding prices and measurements. The staff is aWeSoMe and they will help you anyway they can. By the time we checked out, our truck was STUFFED full of wonderful finds from the day. It was time to head home.....
I hope you are still awake enjoyed this looonnnggggg blog post of our awesome family adventure on the old route 66!!!
