I’ll never forget my skepticism when Jackson said, “Tulsa’s pretty cool.” I was still in school in Jonesboro. He had driven from Springfield to check out the Tulsa area so this conversation took place over the phone. “Oh?” I asked, not buying it. Later that year I had moved to Springfield and Gearhead decided to open a store in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
We volunteered to move.
I’ll also never forget the first trip we made to our city together. I say “our” as if we have some sort of ownership of a place that we’ve lived for less than a year. However short, in our time here Tulsa has impressed us again and again. On that first visit together, we walked from the 41st Street Plaza on Riverside down the trail. There was a great big fence blocking off what would soon be the Gathering Place. We ate at Roosevelt’s and looked at a couple houses. We drove through Utica Square.
I was smitten.
After moving, we spent a good bit of time working. As the store fell into it’s own rhythm and our team got the hang of things, we found more time to explore our new home.
Biking around the town, eating dinner somewhere new at least once a week, and participating in special events like the Tulsa Raft Race made us more and more thrilled to have landed in this community.
Tulsans are eager to tell you about what’s going on; down the street or across town. People are always eager to invite you somewhere or encourage you to visit their favorite restaurant(s). Despite being the largest city we have lived in, it’s felt the most welcoming.
Farewell
Now as we prepare to leave “our” city in just a week and a half, I find myself thinking often about the things we will miss. Going out for a morning coffee or an evening beer, walking through our neighborhood to grab dinner, crossing the street to step into a park… Tulsa has been the perfect home for us and yet we have opted to say goodbye in search of a new adventure.
This bittersweet goodbye is made easier by the promise that we’ll come back. We’ll be back to try the things we’ve still yet to visit and return to the spots we love so much that we frequent. We’ll strive to keep in touch with the friends we’ve made. And we’ll work hard to spread the kindness that Tulsa extended to us wherever our adventures lead.
Feeling grateful for the love, the adventures, the community and the good food we found here. A big thank you to this community for the love and the kindness they showed. We will be singing your praises and encouraging others to come see why you hold such a special place in our hearts. Let it be known: Tulsa, Oklahoma is freaking awesome.
Farewell, Tulsa.