Exploring Cleveland County

I decided to start exploring Oklahoma in my own backyard in Cleveland County. It turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought it would be. There's just not much territory in this county I haven't covered so finding new things was hard. But I did find a couple of new things, and rediscovered some others, that I thought I'd pass on.

There are about nine cities and/or towns, in Cleveland County. I wasn't able to go to all of them, so I narrowed my choices down to Moore, Norman, and Noble.

We'll start with where I live now, Moore, OK.

Oh, but first, I need to tell you how Moore got its name because I love this story. A lot of towns are named after presidents or famous men, but not us. Our town was founded during the land-run of 1889, like so many other towns in this area. Before it was actually a town, and still more of a tent-city, the railroad company had designated the area to be called "Verbeck". Now, the railroad company had an employee named Al Moore, who was living in a boxcar at the camp, and because of that had difficulty receiving his mail. So, he painted his name - "Moore" - on a board and nailed it on the boxcar. When a postmaster was appointed, he saw the sign and continued to call the settlement Moore. When the town incorporated in 1893 the name was legalized. So, we're named after a guy, living out of boxcar, who had trouble getting his mail.

So, what else makes this town so special? Well, I live here. This is a picture of my house where I will be basing my explorations of Oklahoma. I'm also kind of experimenting with how to post pictures, so bear with me.

I also discovered Moore is ground zero for tornadoes in Tornado Alley. Moore sits between the heat put out by Oklahoma City on one side and the coolness of the Canadian river on the other, creating a perfect magnet for tornadoes along the Tornado Alley corridor. Sometimes I learn a little more than I want when exploring a new area.

But there's more to Moore than just being a buffer between Oklahoma City and Norman. One of the things I love about Moore is the Warren Theater, quite possibly the best place to see a movie in Oklahoma. People drive from all over the state to go to the movies here. The seats in the regular theaters are soft and comfy with plenty of leg room, and the extra large screens and great sound system are hard to beat, but the adults-only balcony option is pure luxury. That's right, adults-only. You have to be 21 or older to get access. No restless toddlers or giggling teenagers allowed. And there's never a need to rush up the stairs to get this premium seating. Tickets are for specific seats in the balcony, so you can don't have to scramble and fight with the crowds on opening nights for a seat. But if you get there early anyway, you can relax in the upscale lounge with a cocktail. If you don't finish your drink, you can take it into the theater with you.

Once you're in t the theater, you'll find the balcony seats are oversized and incredibly comfortable, and come with a small table and a menu. With just the push of a button beside your chair, you can summon a server to take your order. No standing in concession lines for those in the balcony! You can get a full dinner, from chicken fried steak to pizza, or just candy and popcorn. Service continues throughout the movie, and your server will bring the check towards the end. It's not cheap, but being pampered rarely is.

And, speaking of food, I'm not sure it's official, but I'm pretty sure we have more fast food places than any other town in Oklahoma. Just within a 2 mile radius of the 19th Street exit, (and my house) there's a Carl's Jr, Chicken Express, Starbucks, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Arby's, Taco Mayo, Taco Bueno, Taco Bell, Sonic, Subway, Quizno's, Chilis, Chick Fil A, three Chinese restaurants, Mazzios, McAlester's Deli, Furr's, another pizza place called Papa B's, McConnell's Irish pub, McDonald's, Braum's, City Bites, Rusty's Custards, Panda Express, Apple Bees, IHOP, Whataburger, two Mexican restaurants (not fast food) and Burger King. And, I'm not exaggerating when I say a 2 mile radius. If you want Wendy's, Long John Silver's, Grandy's, A&W, Church's Chicken or Kentucky Fried Chicken or a steak restaurant you have to drive a couple more miles. When they say Moore is the ninth largest city in Oklahoma, I don't know if they mean the size of the people or the number of people.

A short stroll down Main Street and Broadway will take you to some very creative shops that the Walmart Super Store hasn't been able to take out yet. A school building, built in 1928, has been converted into several businesses, including a day spa, a law firm, a beauty salon, and, my favorite, a luncheon deli called Two Olives. Inside, the grand entryway is overlaid with marble. Elegant artwork hangs in the hallways that by itself would make it worth seeing. The atmosphere is old world, etched glass and dark, mahgonay wood, where you feel like you've escaped the hectic outside world, if just for a little while.

If you have a dog, you have to check out Starbarks. It's a small store, plain looking on the outside but inside it's a dog lover's paradise. It's overflowing with gourmet bakery treats for dogs, and every kind of ball, squeaky toy, plush toys, clothes, leashes, and things you didn't even know your dog needed. And, it offers dog grooming, too. The groomer, Christie, has 14 years of experience grooming dogs and knows how to cut for show dogs, too. She's also a Vet tech and can catch things going on with your dogs other groomers might miss. Even if you don't have a dog, it's kind of fun to see all the different things they have in there and the owners are very friendly, too.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm missing a lot of other things worth doing in Moore, but I haven't even got to Norman or Noble, so we'll leave Moore for now and go a little further south to Norman in my next post.