One Night in Sulphur, Oklahoma - March 2, 2017

“This is kind of exciting, huh? A mini getaway!” said my husband (who plans trips all over the world including adventure activities like ocean fishing, rainforest tours, whale watching, etc.) as we were driving to Sulphur, Oklahoma! Sometimes I’m just not sure how his mind works. After a 90 minute drive to the hotel, filled with planning of other trips including Disneyland, Los Angeles, Montana, Michigan and Austin, Texas, he was excited to be staying one night, in a hotel, in Sulphur, Oklahoma!  Don’t be mistaken, I was excited too.

We were planning a long weekend trip to Lake Tenkiller, but then noticed the weather wasn’t looking quite so awesome all weekend. With Ellamae asking to go swimming for the past week and a coupon for a free night’s stay at the Artesian Hotel, we decided to make a quick one night getaway to Sulphur to get our swim on, a massage for mama and some fishing for daddy.  I got the car all packed up on Thursday, picked Josh up from work at 5:00 and we were checked in and swimming by 7:15 pm! 

As we approached the hotel entrance, Ellamae observed “It smells like a stinky pool out here!”  She was so excited to go swimming. We had a family swim for the evening and then Josh slipped down to the casino to play some Blackjack.  Ellamae and I got ready for bed so we could do more swimming in the morning.

The beautiful pool at the Artesian has an indoor and outdoor section.  It was a little cold for swimming outdoors, but still fun to look out there and dream of coming summer.  There were a group of teenagers in the pool who were in town for a competition.  Two girls watched and giggled at every move my daughter made, making her dad and I feel ever so grateful for each smile, giggle and thrill of excitement over something as simple as “kick, kick, kick”- ing her legs in some chlorinated water.

Friday morning Josh got up early to go fishing on the Blue River.  I received the infamous texted photo of a “huge” trout at 10:40 am so I knew he would be satisfied with the trip. 

Ellamae watched cartoons while I did a little writing (this blog post J) and checked my email.  Then we wandered downstairs for breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Springs at the Artesian.  The food always impresses us here and this time Ellamae gave the approval saying “XXXXX’s (my personal favorite breakfast venue) pancakes were not tasting as well as these pancakes!”  She said her bacon had “too loud crunch” so she “ordered” (ate) mine.  The one plate was plenty to share between the two of us.  As 80’s disco music played in the background, the new Snapchat filter was so fitting! 

After breakfast, we headed to the pool for round two of swimming.  We visited the “Bath House” this time and it was lovely!  The “Bath House” (hot tub) at the Artesian serves as “a nod to the past” as the City of Sulphur was historically known for the area’s natural springs. Its generous size prohibits the standard awkwardness of sitting in a circle with a bunch of strangers playing footsy and the kiddos can move around in it without disturbing anyone.  This hotel feels serene and elegant, but at the same time maintains a family friendly atmosphere! 

Josh returned from fishing in time for me to shower and pack up before heading down to the Sole’renity Spa for a massage.  My therapist, Rhonda was great and explained some things about massage therapy that no one has ever taken the time to talk to me about.  I’ve decided I might need to start getting regular massages so that I can be more comfortable!  Rhonda talked about visiting her son in Hawaii and I shared about the time we vacationed in Hawaii and there was a Tsunami (more on that later). 

Even though, on this day, they were running behind and my appointment started about 20-30 minutes late, the staff has been very professional in both my visits to this spa.  I wanted to use the Eucalyptus steam sauna after my massage, but Josh and Ellamae were finished with lunch and heading to “play the piano” in the hotel lobby.  I’m not sure if that is allowed.  I wanted to stay at the spa longer, Josh wanted more time to fish and Ellamae would have loved to swim more. The important thing is that we all got to do something we enjoy.  No one was forced into too much of anything not their style and we all went home before we were too tired.  We spent the drive home dreaming about more adventures together and what’s next in life… but not without a walk in the park and ice cream first!