I've been taking Cora on night drives. We leave when there is still light in the sky, but not too long before the "mosquito threat" is finally gone so we can drive all over with the windows down, the sunroof open [more appropriately the "moonroof" for our time of day], and music blasting. The air conditioning blasting too. She has started taking more photos on these drives. Tonight she took 40.
We went through downtown and kept driving. Across the river. Into Capitol Hill.
I used to love taking Cora to the Capitol Hill Library when she was little. I would often reserve my books there just to go to that district. So close to downtown, but a world away. There has been more development south of downtown, so it doesn't feel quite as distant anymore.
The "Main Street" area is quaint is a throwback (SW 25th Street). A language other than English adorns the signage. Mount Saint Mary stands so proud. I believe it's the oldest school building still standing in Oklahoma City.
After spending a bit of time driving through familiar places in Capitol Hill, we went east to see what the diagonal inverse of our neighborhood would be in the city. Diagonal inverse - there's probably a better world. If I had a square piece of paper and folded it in half where the top left corner met the bottom right corner, my neighborhood and its diagonal inverse would be the two new points that touch. Same number address, different direction for the street. Our diagonal inverse is an industrial area, but there's a hill with a great view of downtown. I had never seen it from this point. Our view of downtown is much more crowded with trees and rooftops; we can only see the Devon Tower from Joan.
Our night drives have few exchanged words, but meaningful shared experiences. I appreciate this phase of our relationship, and I hope it's a tiny glimpse into what our relationship might look like at various points throughout our [someday] shared adulthood. It's comfortable and familiar. It's refreshing and peaceful. I love exploring, so does Cora. I'm looking forward to many more night drives with her.
Tonight, after seeing downtown from a completely different angle, I am reminded that there is still plenty to discover in my very own small city.
We went through downtown and kept driving. Across the river. Into Capitol Hill.
I used to love taking Cora to the Capitol Hill Library when she was little. I would often reserve my books there just to go to that district. So close to downtown, but a world away. There has been more development south of downtown, so it doesn't feel quite as distant anymore.
The "Main Street" area is quaint is a throwback (SW 25th Street). A language other than English adorns the signage. Mount Saint Mary stands so proud. I believe it's the oldest school building still standing in Oklahoma City.
(Mount Saint Mary School, 1903)
After spending a bit of time driving through familiar places in Capitol Hill, we went east to see what the diagonal inverse of our neighborhood would be in the city. Diagonal inverse - there's probably a better world. If I had a square piece of paper and folded it in half where the top left corner met the bottom right corner, my neighborhood and its diagonal inverse would be the two new points that touch. Same number address, different direction for the street. Our diagonal inverse is an industrial area, but there's a hill with a great view of downtown. I had never seen it from this point. Our view of downtown is much more crowded with trees and rooftops; we can only see the Devon Tower from Joan.
(Downtown OKC from our neighborhood's "diagonal inverse")
Our night drives have few exchanged words, but meaningful shared experiences. I appreciate this phase of our relationship, and I hope it's a tiny glimpse into what our relationship might look like at various points throughout our [someday] shared adulthood. It's comfortable and familiar. It's refreshing and peaceful. I love exploring, so does Cora. I'm looking forward to many more night drives with her.
Tonight, after seeing downtown from a completely different angle, I am reminded that there is still plenty to discover in my very own small city.
(I've seen this view many times, but it's one of my favorites.)
[All photos by Cora]
