Immersive Van Gogh, Denver

We went to two art exhibits in Denver Colorado, Meow Wolf and Van Gogh. Both exhibits warrant their own post so in this article we will be talking about the Vincent Van Gogh experience. Be on the lookout for the Meow Wolf article, it is a one-of-a-kind art exhibit!

Michael saw a Facebook advertisement about a local hotel, Regency Hotel, that was being remodeled to show an art exhibit, Immersive Van Gogh. The last week we were going to be in Denver, happened to be the launch for the exhibit and we took this amazing opportunity with open arms. When we purchased the tickets, we paid a little extra to get the VIP treatment which turns out you get a cushion, free poster and jump to the front of the infamous, non existent line. In our humble opinion, it wasn’t worth the extra $10.00 a ticket but as the demand grows and the event goes on, this may change.

We walked into the building and the first thing we saw was an advertisement for an app. We quickly downloaded it, only to find it was not updated to include the Denver location yet. If you decide to go to any of the Van Gogh exhibits, make sure to download the app first to listen to the story of this amazing artist. It allows the patron to be accompanied through the exhibit by a skilled narrator that guides you through each of the installments, feeding you a story of the artist and the impact of their work.  

After discovering that the app we installed wasn’t set up for this event, we lamented our luck and continued on through a black curtain gateway which opened into a giant auditorium.Through the curtain we were greeted by light projecting the art upon the wall, it was dim lighting, there were many black marble sculptures, mirrored half walls, and white benches placed sporadically around the room. We were not sure if this was due to covid and social distancing or they thought it was artsy, but we questioned why there were so few places to rest.

We walked around the first room and it felt like we were the assholes that showed up 20 minutes late to a movie and had to sneak around to not get in the way.  The art was being shown on every surface creating an obstacle course of bystanders and lookiloos to constantly be avoided. As we wandered deeper into the building, the art moved from walls to ceilings and floors, keeping our heads on a swivel as we tried to take everything in. We circled the auditorium and found a room where the art was shifting and changing upon the floor and walls and we decided to settle in to watch a while.  Assuming it was a continuous showing of his work and people just moved around as they wanted and left when they were done.

Finding a spot on the floor to sit on our cushions, we settled in uncomfortably to take in the show for a while. While watching the art transition between scenes, we also were eyeing down the 5 couples lucky enough to have snagged a small bench up off of the ground. With hawk-like vigilance Michael watched for his opening, a couple was preparing to depart. Across the room another group of floor dwellers was watching with hungry eyes, Michael and the fellow locked eyes with each other and the game was afoot. The departing couple rose, Michael grabbed Onalea’s hand, they both turned and snatched up their ¼ inch foam cushions, showcasing their auspicious VIP status.  Michael lunged at the bench planting his cushion down like a flag upon the moon, one small dash across the room, one giant improvement for our backsides!!  ……. Alas, our victory was short lived though as less than a minute later the lights turned on, movie credits began to roll and every other person sitting on a bench or on the floor made their way to the exit. As it turns out they play the show on a loop, and they encourage you to view it from different parts of the room to enjoy the experience and leave whenever you are ready.

Now that we had prime seating and the luxurious comfort of our ¼ inch cheap foam cushions beneath us, we had the chance to enjoy the show fully and it was truly breathtaking. This full 360-degree wall and floor immersion art was transcendent.  You truly felt like you were in the painting of the Starry Night, wandering beneath the oil brush cosmos and drinking in the universe.  The Sunflowers painting made Michael home sick; bringing back visions of strolling through the expansive fields of his Kansas childhood. We really wished that the app would have worked so we could have heard more information about the artwork on our aftershokz, to bring not just the sensory experience but also the educational one into unity. The Archway museum in Nebraska, provides its patrons with a mobile device to use while in the building, and this system is very convenient and reliable, another spot worth checking out for sure.

The venue, Lighthouse Denver, plans to host other art exhibits once Immersive Van Gogh has run its course. One such event will be celebrating local Denver artists; the space is huge and will be able to showcase these works of art in an inspiring way. If you are in Denver while this is going on we highly recommend attending but pass on the seat cushion and wait for a bench!” 

Omaha, NE, USA

July 2021

The Airbnb

We spent our month in an awesome Airbnb located on Mason St.

We first arrived and carried our items upstairs and got set up. We later found out from the person that cleans and looks over the property that the basement was available. This had more room its own private bath and ran just a little more every night. We quickly upgraded our stay, and it was amazing. We had the entire basement to ourselves with shared living and working area on the main floor.

Michael set up his office on the computer desk in the shared working area. We had amazing WIFI with no interruptions the entire time we were there and amazing speed. Michael was the only one in the house that needed the computer desk, so he was able to leave most of his set up going the entire time we were there and just take his laptop if needed.

Onalea was able to set up in the basement at the dining room table. Normally we work close by eachother so it was an adjustment we had to make in communication. 

Most of the time we only had one roommate that worked 6 days a week so we barley saw him. There were two others that moved in but with a house full of 5 adults, we did not see each other except in passing.

Michael’s Favorites

A place for everyone

Onalea’s Favorites

What is this???

While walking down the street Michael noticed a strange object floating over the sidewalk. This small object would float back and forth over the sidewalk and sometimes spin. We ran into two other couples walking and they agreed, this was weird and had never seen anything like this. The outer body looked like it was a tree seed body

Later research I am guessing that the caterpillar borrowed its way into this think to make a cocoon, but the seed fell off in the middle of this process, so he was dangling by his unwoven cocoon but if anyone else knows please comment or reach out to us with what this crazy thing is.    

Exploring Oklahoma

April/May 2021

Spending time with family,

a weekend getaway,

and lots of food!

Weatherford, OK

Mid-April we lived with Michael’s brother and his family in Weathorford Oklahoma. Michael’s brother, Jeremy Evert and his wife Amanda Evert are both professors at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. They have two wonderful girls Magdalena and Glorianna.

Michael’s brother had a roller blading accident, he suffered a radial fracture in his leg causing limited mobility, with this injury, plus school year getting wrapped up, and taking care of 2 little girls we felt this would be a great time to visit and be there to help with anything. So, they gave us free room and board in exchange for light babysitting and some carpooling. We had so much fun having the time to spend with family that we don’t to see as much and enjoy the nice warm perfect weather. And they got some free babysitting a win for everyone.

Weathorford is a small, nice town, population around 10,000, it is about an hour drive west of Oklahoma City. We spent most our time at the local parks swinging with the girls or relaxing on the hammock in the back yard enjoying the weather. We enjoyed spending time with our nieces, we were able to go to the annual kids fair at the school and watch the girls play games of skill and chance to win prizes and candy. Onalea was able to attend Magdalena’s 4H speech presentation, it was fun watching her learn her speech and then present it to the judge.

Jeremey being a professor and having a majority of his classes online due to the pandemic he had set up not only one but two strong reliable internet connections providing us with a strong reliable internet connection. They us set up in the master bedroom with a nice office space allowing Michael to work undisturbed while Onalea helped more around the house and worked as needed since her schedule is more flexible.

Eating at local restaurants is something we really enjoy doing, we like finding places the locals like to eat. With Weatherford being a smaller town that is mostly focused on the local college, the pandemic still going, and the vaccine just becoming available to the general public most restaurants had limited staffing and the fine dining was very limited, we focused mainly on take out and cooking at home. There were a few local restaurants that we were able to check out. Unfortunately, two of these locations where not able to accommodate for Michael’s food allergy further limiting our choices.

Weatherford Food

Two resturants that stood out were:

Lucille’s Roadhouse

A historic Gem

One night we went to dinner with our sister in law and two nieces to Lucille’s Roadhouse, it was a ton of fun! There are 3 areas to choose from for seating, first area takes you back to the malt shops and diners of the 1950’s. Next, is the steak house serving the best beef steaks, sandwiches, and house specialties. Or the lounge area with Oklahoma handcrafted beers on tap. We were in the steakhouse area, but we were able to see all of the other areas, the place is really neat. If you are traveling Old Route 66, this is the great place to stop for food.

Downtown Diner

A Novelty Diner

We stopped here to get a quick lunch, we where seated quickly and service was provided with a smile. The waitress even remembered Onalea’s Drink order from her previous visit. Michael had their daily lunch special chicken tenders with fried okra and a side salad. Onalea had the chef salad with craisons (something we have noticed restaurants around here put in there salad that we love). The portions where perfect for a nice lunch. We even got cookies and a pie to go. It was also nice that they offered our drinks to-go and gave us both large full to-go cups with the soda that we had ordered. This place had a nice small town feel to it a place where everyone knew each other. If your travels ever take you through the small town of Weatherford, OK stop buy and have some pie.

The Weekend Get-a-Way

The Airbnb

The last week of April we decided to take a long weekend trip to Oklahoma City to check out the town and see what this larger city had to offer. We decided to look for Airbnb on the lower cost side since was going to be a shorter stay and planned to spend most of our time exploring the city. We checked in the last Friday in April and checked out the following Monday. We only paid $215 for the entire furnished apartment space, it also included Wi-Fi and free parking. We chose this location because it was a short drive from the Bricktown area, under $15 Uber/Lyft ride. The bed was comfortable, it was quiet and allowed both of us to get a good night’s rest. The house was clean and just as pictured on the site. The one thing that we noticed once arriving, was the complete lack of table space or working area. Instead of a table in the dining room there was a futon allowing the owner to list as sleeping 3 when really this space should be used as a dining area, not another bedroom. The second thing we noticed was the signs from the owner spread throughout the home. I appreciate having a welcome pack letting me know the house rules, any needed passwords, contact info, etc. This owner hung up signs like they were artwork all through the house. There was one above the toilet telling you what you can and not can flush. One above the curtain saying do not use as towel rack to use the towel rack, in the kitchen there was warnings on how much coffee to use, what to do with dishes, and warning about taking forks. Signs above the door about not losing your key, no smoking, multiple locations in the home etc… The overall feel was unwelcoming but great location, clean and cheap so we were glad to of stayed there.

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is an amazing place to visit, and we plan on returning. There are multiple bars, restaurants, and activities all within walking distance of one another. They also have a nice public transportation system including trolly, rideshare, and electric scooters. At this point in our travels, we are still driving to most locations, and we were too scared to use the scooters (you know broken bones!! lol), but we plan on getting better at using public transport in the future to save on gas, parking and reducing our carbon footprint. Neither one of us have lived in a place where using public transit was necessary so we are excited for the chance to learn something new.

After getting all checked in at our Air BNB, we decided to take a ride share to Bricktown, first stop Bricktown Brewery, it was before 5 on a Friday so not too busy. We enjoyed our flight of beer and started planning our night. We did not know about the canel and the history behind Bricktown so just started walking around checking out random places along the way until we figured out what we liked.  We walked down the street a little further and stopped at Abuelo’s Mexican restaurant, Michael ordered an appetizer and a margarita, this turned out to be a huge margarita well poured drink. Now with a flight of beer and a couple margaritas in us we decided we needed to walk around a little more. We saw a set of open stars heading south and decided to check it out. This is how we first saw the real Bricktown area. A beautiful area with the right amount of shade, sunlight and a nice man-made canel running through the entire area. This is a must see for anyone traveling through the area. An entire area packed with shops, restaurants, bars, and actives for the whole family, such as mini gulf, arcade, ferris wheel, and trampolines. This is when we looked at each other and it hit us that is our new life traveling from destination to destination finding and experiencing these amazing areas. We spent a couple minutes looking over the water and letting it sink in how lucky we are to be sharing this experience with each other and imagining what new places we can find in the future.

We spent the rest of the weekend exploring this amazing town. Below are a few places that we really enjoyed but there is something for everyone.

Put a Cork In It

A Wine Bar

We spent a couple hours Put a Cork In It, a wine bar, this was a beautiful area that offered a great wine tasting package and a delicious ccharcuterie board. We both found wines we liked, Onalea especially liked the wine smoothie. This was a great place to sit relax and share some drinks and decompress.

Bricktown Water Taxi

Standard Tourist Thing 

We did the standard tourist thing and rode the Bricktown Water Taxi. We had a great time learning how Oklahoma was founded in the great land grab. We saw the sonic headquarters, statues, waterfalls, and other cools sights. The tour was the right length enough time to enjoy the view learn a couple interesting facts but not so much that you are bored of the trip.

Vast

A Local Resturant

On Sunday, we had one of favorite our meals at a local restaurant called Vast. This restaurant sits on the 49th floor of Devon Tower. This place not only provides some of the most amazing views of the city but great food as well. We decided to go for the lunch to save a little money and look over the city during the day. Even though the city was slightly over casted the view was breathtaking. Along with the view they served an amazing buffet in addition to made to order desserts and salads.

When we finished eating at Vast, we headed back to Weatherford to spend a few more days with our family, they had some other family coming for a visit, we decided it was time to check out another city, Wichita, Kansas was next on the list.

Pit Stop for Lunch 

April 2021

We were able to meet up with our nephew, Alex and his wife Courtney on out way out of Iowa. They picked a great place to eat, The Cafe! If you are ever in Ames, IA we would recomend you make a stop here, you won’t be disappointed!