Intermission

Don't worry, I will be posting an update on the ACDA "Day The Third" later this evening, however, I felt I needed to do a little interlude as observed on a walk through the south of downtown in the City of Oklahoma this afternoon.

First, the weather is still extraordinarily mild for March, even for Oklahoma. Temperatures in the high 20s (near 80s in F degrees), barely a cloud in the sky, and a bit more than gentle breeze across the plains (did I mention that I haven't been able to stop singing "OOOH-Klahoma" since I landed here on Tuesday night?)

Anyhow, I felt that after being inside pretty much all day, I needed to take a break from the festivities and go for a walk. I attended the America Boy Choir portion of the afternoon concert (more on that in the next post) and then walked from the Civic Center (Centre for us Canadians) to my Hotel, which is on the east side of the city in a place known as Bricktown.

I forgot my camera at home, so some lifted picture from various internet sources will have to do.

First - the Civic Center:
An absolutely gorgeous concert hall in the arts district of Oklahoma City. I had a nice long chat with a Civic Center volunteer who let me know that originally in the interior of the center the floor was flat and used for multi-purposes. Now, when I hear of a multi-purpose concert hall, I think, Ok, Musicals, Orchestras, Operas and etc. However, apparently at the time it was built, the Oklahoma Philharmonic shared the space with a basketball court. Now it is only a music concert hall, set up in a tiered horseshoe design, and holds, what I figure must be anywhere between 1,600-2,000 people. (alright - I just looked it up .... it holds 3,200 people. I obviously have never won one of those "How many jelly beans are there in the jar" contests)

About a 15-20 minute walk and I ended up back at the Cox Convention Business Center. Named after the local cable company (not too dissimilar to Edmonton's Shaw Convention Centre, also named after our local cable company). It is a wonderful venue for this conference, a huge exhibit hall, and very large conference rooms and ballrooms. There is also an "arena" inside, which I have NO idea what that entails. My guess is that my preconceived notion of an arena having a sheet of ice and two nets at either end is probably NOT what it is. Rodeos, concerts, monster truck and basketball events likely happen there though. Am I generalizing?

East of the Conference Center is where things get interesting. The Amtrack passenger train on the Sante Fe Line passes over the streets that run east and west (You know, of the "Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe" - or as one of my choirs knows it "The Atcheson Topeka and the Duruflé") marking the start of Bricktown. In Bricktown, there is a man-made canal, which you'd think with enough of a run up, you could jump over. A water taxi moves people up and down the canal, which I am guessing is about a 1/2 mile long. Situated along the canal are many bars and restaurants, a large multi-plex theatre, and middle-america's longest track run haunted house, only Disney World's is longer (I intend on going on it tomorrow, when it opens). To boot, it's in 3D! It also runs along side Bricktown Park, which hosts their Triple-A Baseball team. A classic open park design, similar to AT&T park of San Fransisco (I'm mentioning this for the benefit of my wife - who knows more about baseball than most sports broadcasters do).

At the end of the canal, is my hotel, where I am currently resting up before the Canadian reception tonight at 9 PM. I plan on getting really drunk and embarrassing myself and my country.