After our son graduated last Friday we decided to go see Chickasha’s Festival of Light at a local park. We have been hearing about it for years so this was our chance.
It was fun. Lots of lights and stuff to do. The vibe was mellow. We loved it.
Our favorite lights was this Santa skiiing behind a reindeer driven motorboat.
The had a cool bridge covered with lights going over the pond.
It was a great place to take photos.
There was another area covered with colored lights, another fun photo op.
Yep I know, I need a haircut. Coming up this Friday.
In downtown Chickasha, not part of the Festival is this crate. It has a 40 foot tall leg lamp like the one in the movie Christmas Story. It is a tethered inflatable balloon and it was grounded Friday night because of high winds. We were disappointed. I found this youtube video that shows it.
We had a good time in Chickasha. Logan has graduated and I doubt we will ever be back. Oh well.
Our son, Logan graduated from college last Friday. Heather and I drove down to Chickasha and found him chillaxing with a frappucino in one of the lounges.
He got cleaned up and ready for the ceremony. It was actually a banquet for the December graduates but they had caps and gowns and got awarded their diploma covers. It was kind of funny because they had a disclaimer that just because you went through the ceremony doesn’t necessarily mean that you met the requirements for graduation. You see Friday was the last day of classes also so if one celebrated too early you may not get anything to put in your diploma folder.
Here is Logan with Sean, the program director who oversaw the students who had autism. The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma is the only place in the state with a program for people on the spectrum where they can get a fully accredited degree instead of a certificate. More programs are coming but right now USAO is the only degree program in the state. If you are interested, it is called the Neil-Wint Center for Neurodiversity. Click the link for more info. One takes regular classes and does all the work that other students do.
Here is Logan with his sweet fellow student Erin. My heart goes out to these graduates. Talk about being through the wringer with Covid and a pivot to online classes and putting up with protocols and all that. The world is changing.
Here is a video taken by Seann of Logan getting called up to get his degree. One of the benefits of a small college. The academic advisors for each student introduced the student individually. I love it. When I graduated from the University of New Mexico way back when all several thousand of us got a wave of the hand. Here, Logan’s advisor, came and sat down with us during the dinner.
And here is Mom and Dad with Logan. Yes, I know my hair is a fright!! I am getting it cut this coming Friday.
And another pic of the graduate.
The next morning, the party is over. Clean out his dorm room and check out. Our SUV was cram full!!
And a final photo with Heather and Logan.
What’s next? He is applying for jobs in the Tulsa area. He is a great writer and a hard worker.
Sunday we ventured down to the south central Oklahoma town of Chickasha to visit our son who is in college there. It was a nice day so after eating we decided to check out Shannon Springs Park in the town.
It was a nice park and I found out that there were originally artisian springs there and that it was a stop on the Chisolm Trail for herds to stop and water on their way along the trail from Texas to Kansas. History in Oklahoma is worn kind of lightly because it wasn’t that long ago. Jesse Chisolm developed the trails. I found his grave out in the middle of nowhere a few years ago. People still really believe in the old west here.
So later on a park was started and in the 1930’s the WPA built an amphitheater and other improvements to the park that still around today.
I loved this caretaker’s cottage at the park. I don’t think anybody lives there any longer. I love the concept of a caretaker. A designated person who is paid to care.
