Hi, hello! I'm going back to my blogging roots today and talking about my home-sweet-homa. It's easy to get caught up in how many likes or comments I get on Instagram or to choose sponsored posts over personal ones but I think it's important to stay true to myself and the topics that made me want to start a blog in the first place.....and that's exploring Oklahoma! If you didn't know or haven't put two and two together, the "OK" in my blog name Amanda's OK stands for Oklahoma! So many people think of it as a fly over state but it is so much more than that to me.....it's home!
Last weekend Cole and I had the opportunity to explore Chickasaw Country (i.e. South Central Oklahoma) and it was such a wonderful experience! It's only an hour and a half drive from Oklahoma City - more or less half way between OKC and Dallas. The Chickasaw Nation encompasses 13 counties and over 7,600 square miles filled with rolling landscapes, delicious BBQ, the cutest boutiques and some amazing places to stay and play.
Scroll on down to see my Chickasaw Country weekend itinerary and a snippet from each stop along the way - trust me when I say the weekend was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure!
Trail Rides at Lake Murray
We kicked off our weekend at the Lake Murray Riding Stables on Friday afternoon. I grew up riding and showing horses but it has been far too long since I was in the saddle! I jumped at the chance to go on a trail ride and loved every second of it. The staff were so friendly and accommodating! The trails were well maintained and the horses were gentle and well mannered (they were much better behaved than my horse Warrior ever was haha). I loved our time on horseback so much that I'm looking into taking riding lessons again - am I too old for that??? Seriously, though.
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| Lake Murray Riding Stables |
Shopping & Snacks in Ardmore
My mom and I used to meet in Ardmore for lunch (it's halfway between OKC and my hometown in Texas) so I knew I had to pop into Pocket Shop boutique and grab some fro yo from Ten Star while we were in the area! Ten Star has the BEST pizza and frozen yogurt. I'm drooling just thinking about it.
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| Shopping & Eating in Ardmore! |
Shiloh Morning Inn
After a little afternoon pick me up, we headed to Shiloh Morning Inn. Neither Cole nor I had ever stayed at a bed and breakfast before and let me tell ya, Shiloh Morning Inn set the bar real high. First off, the main house is DARLING. As you pull up the drive you see the beautiful yellow home with a giant front porch. There are cottages surrounding the main house that you can rent, as well, and miles of walking trails throughout the property. When you walk in, you are greeted by the smell of fresh out of the oven cookies, yes please! We stayed in the Pelican's Perch suite - it was in the main house and had a fireplace, jacuzzi tub, and a fantastic balcony. The property was off on its own so it felt very secluded while overlooking miles of Oklahoma landscape. It was the perfect romantic getaway! They even had a library of movies, books and games that you could borrow as well as a hospitality cabinet filled with drinks, snacks, bug spray, toiletries and other goodies. We spent the majority of our time relaxing on the balcony (with either wine or coffee, depending on the time of day) but we also enjoyed the walking trails and movie selection.
We were served the most delicious dinner in our room - I had the chicken tarragon and Cole had the Cornish game hens. The dinner came complete with salad, bread, wine and peanut butter pie for dessert. YUM. In the morning, we had a three course breakfast with a smoothie, a cinnamon scone and the tastiest breakfast egg salad - everything was delicious and freshly made in the kitchen. Cole and I absolutely loved our experience here and were sad when it was time to check out. I would recommend Shiloh Morning Inn in a heartbeat for anyone looking for a quiet, relaxing getaway.
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After checking out of the inn, we headed north to Sulphur! It wasn't quite lunch time yet (i.e. we were still to full from our tasty breakfast) so we popped into a few boutiques on Main Street. Bromide Mountain Co. was such a gem! I loved their mountain-themed apparel; it felt like you were walking into a Colorado lodge gift shop. I also loved 3rd and Broadway, they had the cutest boutique style clothing, graphic tees and decor!
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Rusty Nail Winery
Wine-o-clock! Once we shopped enough to work up an appetite we visited the Rusty Nail Winery for a wine tasting and lunch. Cole and I both chose the five for five tasting flight - yes, you read that right, five wines for $5!! The ladies at the Rusty Nail make their wine and offer a huge selection of fruit infused wines, both sweet and dry, red and white. It was really fun to try them all; they were so unique and unlike any wines I've ever tried before (think: strawberry merlot or pear pineapple pinot grigio). I usually don't love reds but the Southern Belle Sangria was absolutely fantastic! We of course ordered a cheese plate (basically a must when doing a wine tasting) and split the turkey pesto panini for lunch....it hit the spot!
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Chickasaw National Recreation Area
I always love to incorporate some type of outdoor activity into our travels - it is usually a memorable experience that comes with a gorgeous view! Plus, getting out into the wild often forces us to get off our phones and enjoy each other's company. It's the best! For this trip, we decided to explore the Chickasaw National Recreation Area right in the heart of Sulphur. There is a TON of stuff to do, from camping to swimming to hiking - they have over 30 miles of trails. We chose to hike Bromide Hill; to be honest I wasn't expecting it to be overly challenging considering Oklahoma isn't very mountainous but we definitely broke a sweat! That being said, it was a relatively easy hike that kids could handle, it was just steeper than I anticipated....in a good way!
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We checked into the Artesian Hotel & Spa after our hike and were blown away by how glamorous it was! Our room was fit for a princess, no lie. It had a chandelier, two giant window seats, a tufted headboard and a beautiful, massive bathroom. When we walked in there was cold water bottles waiting for us and delicious chocolates from Bedré! Can all hotel rooms be this amazing?! The Artesian property feels very upscale and they have two restaurants on-site as well as a casino, a spa, two pools (indoor and out) several boutiques, a candy shop and a convenience store.
We cleaned up post-hike and went downstairs for dinner at The Springs; they offer high-end homestyle inspired fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were in the mood for a good old fashioned cheat meal so we ordered crab cakes, a Philly cheese steak and fried catfish! Not the most Instagram worthy foods in the world but lemme tell ya, everything tasted amazing. Cole said his Philly cheese steak was one of the best he's ever tasted. After dinner we decided to test our luck and played a few penny machines in the casino....I lost everything but Cole quadrupled his money! Beginner's luck?
We slept like royalty in our executive king suite and woke up feeling refreshed.......just in time to relax some more.
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Sole'renity Spa
After grabbing coffee and a quick bite at the Bedré Cafe, it was time for our couple's spa treatment at the Sole'renity Spa (we did the sole mate's journey). Upon checking in we were escorted to the men's and women's lounges, respectively, to put on our fluffy robes and slippers. The lounges had trail mix, a selection of teas and cucumber water as well as saunas, showers and lockers and there was peaceful music playing in every area. We met back up in time for an aromatherapy foot soak. Oh my goodness, it was like a pedicure but better! We soaked our feet in a copper bowl filled with a gooey rose (for me) and lavender (for Cole) mixture that felt so good on our toes; it was of course followed by an amazing leg and foot massage. Next we were taken in for our couple's massage which lasted about an hour. It was such a relaxing experience and we left feeling so de-stressed and loosened up! I think I need to get a massage on a regular basis; my traps and shoulders hold so much stress and I could literally feel it being rubbed out of me. Sole'renity offers all kinds of spa treatments including med-spa services, a huge variety of facials, lash and brow tinting, hair removal, manis, pedis and more. We didn't have the time to take advantage of it, but Sole'renity also offers a co-ed whirlpool to relax in post-massage. The spa was just as good (if not better) than places in the city - I would highly recommend it!
After our spa treatment we did a little shopping at the Artesian boutiques; we loved Shoeunique, Luxe and Sweet Swirlz Candy Store...I got all the sour patch kids my heart (and tummy) could handle! We grabbed some travel snacks from the CTS Travel Stop before hitting the road for home.
It was such wonderful getaway weekend! Chickasaw Country is a culturally-vested destination with new adventures and experiences around every corner. It seriously makes for the perfect Oklahoma weekend destination; the area is filled with hidden gems just waiting to be discovered.
Thank you to Chickasaw Country for hosting me and putting this trip together!
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