"Um...they're having this, uh, weather festival at the National Weather Center tomorrow morning and it's supposed to be pretty cool. There's gonna be storm-chasing cars and stuff. I don't know...I thought it might be interesting". I guess he thought I was going to shoot him down. Little did he know how enthusiastic I would be.
My immediate reaction was: "It's like Touch-a-Truck for nerds! I'm totally down! Let's go!"
I really didn't know what to expect. I thought maybe a few kids would be there. Boy, was I wrong. We got there around 9:00 a.m. when the festivities were starting and there were already hoards of people milling about.
We entered the weather center and were given some snazzy stickers, which we proudly displayed
And a bingo card to fill out.
We were promised that if we filled out the bingo card, we would win a fabulous door prize. I wanted to go for a blackout, but as you can see, there was too much to do and we ran out of time.
First, we stopped at the booth that Kenta's friends were working at (think: science fair for college students). They all work together in a group called "Atmospheric Radar Research Center" (ARRC). What they do, I don't really know. I just went to the booth to get a sticker on my bingo card. Here's Kenta posing in front of the group's poster:
Next stop was to see a local celebrity:
Yes, my friends, that is Rick Mitchell of the KOCO-TV First Alert Storm Team. And by the way, pregnancy and camera phone pictures aren't good for your self-esteem. I promise I look much better in real life. Moving on....
Then, we went up to the seventh floor observation deck to check out the view. We didn't see any storms, but we saw a whole lot of rooftop and Highway 9.
(sorry about the picture quality - all we had was Kenta's cell phone).
After that, we made a few more stops to collect some stickers. Then we went outside to see the weather balloon launch. Apparently every day at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. a weather balloon is released from the weather center. It has all these sensors and things that measure stuff in the atmosphere (that's the really diluted version of what happens - if you want more details, ask Kenta). Anyway, they did a few special launches that day during the festival. They didn't have any of the sensors attached to them, but you still get the point of what the balloon is and does.
As you can see, it was a beautiful day for weather balloon launching.
And, as was promised, there were storm chasing cars on display:
Apparently these guys are on the Discovery Channel quite a bit. Check out the hail damage:
There were some pretty fancy schmancy cars.
One of the highlights (for me, anyway) wasn't even weather related. As I was going about my business, I saw a very (fortunately) rare creature out of the corner of my eye. Its very appearance terrified me, but I couldn't take my eyes off if it. Kind of like driving by an accident. I followed it, trying to capture footage of it on the cell phone. My first two attempts proved to be futile:
The creature proved to be very elusive and was being followed closely by more mature guardians. It wasn't until we were out in the open that I was able to capture this rare photo:
It's tragic, but true. Under the Mullet Classification Section III, No. 21, this would be described as the "parental negligence/child abuse" mullet. I haven't seen one of these in years. I thought that they had become extinct in this part of the state. I guess the weather festival affected its migratory pattern. Kenta was not very happy about me following this kid around. I was more worried about his WWE-looking dad finding out that I had taken a picture of his son and beating me up for it. I managed to get the picture without them finding out. If anyone knows this child, please take some scissors to that hair and put him out of his misery.
So, all in all, it was a fun date. I met a celebrity, saw a weather balloon launch, followed a mullet, and perhaps best of all, we won a set of magical plastic cups.
When you pour something cold into it, it turns blue. Cool, huh?
6 comments:
oh Kendall, Matt would have loved to go too!
1. I actually had plans to take the kids to the Weather Festival, but then I gave birth and our weekend plans went out the window!
2. Rick Mitchell!!! You are so lucky! He's 2nd on my list, right behind David Payne.
3. I knew EXACTLY where you were going when you started mentioning a "rare creature". Yeah, that was a pretty sweet parental neglect specimen. Even I haven't seen one of those in many a moon. They mostly hide out at monster truck rallies and the lay-away section of Wal-Mart. Good stuff!
Love the music and the post.... as usual!!!
Let me just say that I too have enjoyed the Weather Center many a time. Launching of the baloons and the weather vehicles are very cool. Nerdy dates are right up my ally. Our last date included our children on opening night of HSM3.
"Sweet niblets" you got to love that nerdiness. We only brought the kids so people didn't think we were Chesters..... if you know what I mean.
This rare creature you spotted can also be seen at the Mideival Fair. I spotted him last year. He was walking with the hairy man wearing a kilt. He unfortuneately cannot be spotted in your "HOOD", not enough bling in the mane!
Hey Kendall - I've started watching the TornadoVideo.NEt guys on Discovery channel. It's a way for me to get my nostalgia fix for all things Oklahoma (well, everything but mullets, which I hear are coming back in style)
HA HA HA! You crack me up! I am a little offended, though...that is the type of ponytail/mullet I was planning on shaving my baby's hair into immediately upon his arrival.
BTW - more prego pics please??
LOL! Oh my goodness, I have never laughed so hard in my life. I was dying at that hideous creature... and at mulletsgalore.com. Classic! I read an article in the paper about a mullet dating website www.mulletpassions.com. Apparently there's a real niche market for it.
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