VISIT THIS FRI-SAT--What Should We Do??

[jackcat]

Hello All:

My family and I (wife, 3 kids, sick cat) are strongly considering relo to T-Town for an excellent career opp for my wife. We have visited before for her interview, and didn't get to see much of town to make a decision.

We've come to the following conclusions after talking to people, reading the forum, etc:

1) Likely live in Jenks or south part of town. Similar to kind of place we are now.

2) Probably Jenks public schools.

3) Wife will work for a big hospital in mid-town (STJ).

For our whiz-bam trip this Friday and Saturday (which is nearly full, but we do have SOME spare time) what should we try and see, do, or experience to give us an honest impression of Tulsa?

We will stay in the south part of town Friday night.

Any/all ideas are welcomed! We are kid-less this weekend, so are flexible enough to do about anything.

Thanks and we enjoy reading the forum.

[waterboy]

Check out RiverWalk in Jenks. You'll see some of the kids from Jenks schools. The Mexican restaurant is pretty good too.

I live near St. John (my kids were born there). Good facility. Check out the Maple Ridge & Swan Lake neighborhood of old houses directly to the West of the hospital. Utica Square is fun too.

Welcome from the Waterboy.

[dbacks fan]

The Utica Square area is nice, also check out Woodward Park and I don't think they are blooming but the Rose Garden just south of Woodward Park.

[dsjeffries]

I would visit Philbrook, too.  Even if the visit is short, you can still enjoy the gardens, have some food and look at the art or architecture.

[TheArtist]

Definitely visit Villa Philbrook and see the gardens.  Its one of those things that many people who move here neglect to see.  But once you have been, you will love it.  Woodward may just be starting to bloom so worth a peek as you drive to Philbrook since its just a couple blocks away, and the Rose Garden next to it will take a few weeks more to start. That whole area plus Utica Square is what makes Tulsa feel like home.

[Johnboy976]

Hands down... visit Gilcrease, the Tulsa Zoo and anything being offered in regards to theTulsa Ballet. As for St. John's, if your wife starts working there, tell her to say "Hi" to my sister-in-law, Lisa Baldwin. Practically half of my family is made up of physicians.

Jenks is a great place to send your kids, but I would suggest you live in South Tulsa. It might be a tad bit more expensive, but you deal with a more diverse crowd. Actually I would suggest living as far north in the Jenks School District as humanly possible. It gets pretty ritz the further south you go.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Johnboy976

Hands down... visit Gilcrease, the Tulsa Zoo and anything being offered in regards to theTulsa Ballet. As for St. John's, if your wife starts working there, tell her to say "Hi" to my sister-in-law, Lisa Baldwin. Practically half of my family is made up of physicians.

Jenks is a great place to send your kids, but I would suggest you live in South Tulsa. It might be a tad bit more expensive, but you deal with a more diverse crowd. Actually I would suggest living as far north in the Jenks School District as humanly possible. It gets pretty ritz the further south you go.

check out the north half of Legacy Park.  its in Jenks schools and pretty posh.  101st/Mem.

[sgrizzle]

I agree, I would go for Tulsa address and Jenks schools. Definitely checkout riverwalk and the aquarium for Jenks highlights. Try to visit some of the best areas of Tulsa too like philbrook mentioned above. If you're pressed for time, make sure and drive down riverside, around downtown, cherry street, brookside, utica square etc. I think it's best to get a good drive around any town I'm new to.

[AMP]

Check out the Oral Roberts University near 81st and Lewis, Tulsa University campus near 11th and Harvard, and drive by the OSU Tulsa campus downtown near I-244. If you have kids those are some great schools for the near future.

http://www.oru.edu/
Bring you camera along for some awesome architecture photos here.

Tulsa University is under major construction currently, interesting to see all the new modern student housing being built there.
http://www.tulsauniversity.com/

If you enjoy large nice buffet lunches or dinners may want to drive east to the Cherokee Casino and resort.  They have nightly entertainment and some great food choices. And super nice hotel accomodations.  

http://www.cherokeecasino.com/home/index.aspx

If you enjoy ribs you may like them Sooner Style at Billy Sims Bar B Que in the Farm Shopping Center at 51st and Sheridan.
http://billysimsbbq.com/index.php

If you enjoy flat grilled hamburgers check out Freddies Hamburgers on East 11th Street West of Mingo, or Ron's Hamburgers several locations and one in Jenks.

Freddie's Hamburger's
9130 East 11th, Tulsa, OK 74112

http://www.farmshoppingcenter.com/rons_hamburgers.htm

If you have more time on another trip make the 60 minute drive north to Bartlesville to Woolaroc, built by Frank Phillips, same person  that built his home in Tulsa which is now the Art Museum and gardens.  The ranch up north is a full afternoon treat of sights, sounds, artifacts, walking and much more.  Try the Buffalo Burgers.  
http://www.woolaroc.org/  

May want to check out Woodland Hills Mall or the Promonade Mall to see what is on sale.

http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=795

http://www.tulsapromenade.com/info/services.cfm

[AMP]

http://www.uticasquare.com/

[cannon_fodder]

As a correction:

www.utulsa.edu  (the above referenced addy does not work)
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This to do:

Sports:

- The University of Tulsa is currently in the middle of rowing season, spring practice/scrimmage for football, baseball and softball.
- Tulsa 66 NBA D-League is in season still
- Tulsa minor league baseball, the drillers, are starting their season soon

Culture:

- The Philbrook is a Phillips mansion from the height of Tulsa's oil boom that now serves as an art museum with fantastic gardened grounds.
- Gilcrease is an endowed art museum specializes in Native American art (modern and historical artifacts)
- Tulsa has world renowned Ballet and Opera that perform a the Tulsa Performing Arts center.
- There are several art districts in town

Children:

If you are looking to entertain your children I like to bring my son to
- The Tulsa Zoo
- The Oklahoma Aquarium (near Riverwalk mall in Jenks)
- Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium
or just take him(her) to play at any of the area parks.

No Children:

If you are looking to ditch the child for a grown up night there are several "drop off" evening care facilities that I can recommend. Foremost being the Tot Spot near 41st and Yale (Tulsa is a grid with the 1st being 1 mile apart and the major avenues 1 mile apart).

Tulsa has several fine dining establishments and the aforementioned ballet, opera and symphony performances.  A little time away is always welcome.

Outdoors:

There are also plenty of hiking trails both urban and outside of town.  Its always interesting to hike in an unfamiliar destination and see the cacti at Red Bud or the birds in Oxely Nature center (near the zoo).  Well, it is to me anyway.
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I have an uncle that works as an RN/Respiratory therapist at St. Johns and he seems very happy there. It has a good reputation in the community and a great location to boot.

If you have any specific questions, everyone on this board is very forthcoming.

[Conan71]

I think everyone else has hit the highlights of what to do.  If you enjoy night life, you might think about hitting the Blue Dome district downtown in the 2nd & Elgin area Friday or Saturday night.

I don't think you can go wrong living in the Jenks district, great schools lots of really good commercial development out that way.  I have a Jr. and 8th grader in the Jenks system and I'm very happy with the education they are getting.  

However, your wife might find it a little bit of a grind going to and from work if she will be coming and going at typical rush hours.

That said, if you are used to a commute from say: Plano to DT Dallas, or Conroe to DT Houston, driving from So. Tulsa to St. Johns might seem like a cake walk to her.

[jackcat]

Thanks for all the excellent replies.

In reply to the commute, what kind of drive can she expect if she were to travel between either Jenks or S. Tulsa and STJ during the bad times 7 and 5?

We are now fortunate to have a 10 minute commute and realize that is going to get worse. But then again, I live in South Dakota now, so not much traffic on the roads unless you count dead deer, coons, etc.

Thanks!

[grahambino]

id plan on 20-30 mins at rush hour.

[cannon_fodder]

I would guess 25 minutes most days.  If you hit serious traffic or there is an accident that can easily go up so you would have to plan for 30 minutes.  It kind of depends on where in the Jenks area you chose to live.  West of the river you are further but can more easily catch a highway.  East of the river you would rely heavily on surface streets - which can get very busy during rush hour.

Example from West side
http://www.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Jenks,+Oklahoma&daddr=1923+S.+Utica+Ave.,+Tulsa,+OK&sll=36.034941,-95.967979&sspn=0.117438,0.346069&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=11&om=1

East Side:
http://www.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Delaware+%26+91st+St.,+Tulsa&daddr=1923+S.+Utica+Ave.,+Tulsa,+OK&sll=36.030499,-95.910816&sspn=0.058722,0.11673&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Both read 19 minutes from google, increase that for traffic...

I live 5 minutes from downtown, so other people might be more accurate.