Prior to Day 1
At about 8.15p CST (29-May), we have a huge thunder and lightning storm. Mr. Hail decides to join in the the fun by dropping his baseball sized friends all over the northern Oklahoma County area (including Edmond). Dents and chips are noticeable on our Toyota Highlander, but the main thing that catches our attention: the back windshield is blown out. Oh goody! Mom and Dad got some tarp and duct tape from Home Depot, then come home at around 11.30p. Meanwhile, I'm looking into auto glass repair services.
Day 1
We take pictures of the damage (view them on Google+), then go to get a rental car at Will Rodgers World Airport. We pass by an intersection that was partially shut down with the traffic light out. The road itself was closed with a fleet of utility vehicles while they tried to fix two major power poles. These are the ginormous, aluminum, super tall power poles. You'd think that they secure those poles well, but one of them toppled onto a gas station roof and another toppled into a residential back yard. By the way, power was out for a good square mile radius from that street.
At the airport, we attempt to find a sheltered parking slot for our poor, abused SUV. No luck, since every single vehicle within a forty mile radius of OKC was parked in the covered parking structure due to the severe weather last night. We ended up parking on the top level with the back of the vehicle to the edge of the structure. Hopefully that would hold.
We then go to National Rental Car to pick up a car from Emerald Aisle. The agent blocked us from using our corporate level membership since Dad was not the owner of the company he works for (she had no right to do that, but it was a moot point because) and there was no car available for rent save for a lone, white Chrysler 200. Brand new, yes (only 6 miles on the odometer), but small. We paid for that dearly on the four hour drive down to Plano, TX. Chrysler has the most uncomfortable back seats out of every single car I've ridden in. Our 1994 Toyota Corolla station wagon was more comfortable than the seats that they put in the back! I digress... (and highly non-recommend the Chrysler 200 for families).
We attended services at the Campbell Road church of Christ in Garland, TX. Very nice congregation, but very, very large. For people who are used to a core of 50-75 people, a congregation with over 400 people was... sensory overload. Still, we had a great study with them.
Not a lot happened today. Dad went to his business meeting,we stayed at the hotel. The pool was very nice (according to Sis), but we spent most of the day inside and on the computers. For dinner, Sis and I went with Dad to eat with his coworker at BJ's.
Day 3
Today, we visited Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. Mom opted (very vocally) to stay at the hotel, since she did not want to wander the park in 90F weather. Lot's of fun was had, even though traffic was... well, what Californians should be used to and there was a few school groups visiting as well. The parking lot was about a quarter full and the lines varied from just 10 minutes to over 45 minutes long, with the average wait about 20 minutes.
We really enjoyed the all new Texas Giant, which was apparently torn down and completely rebuilt in winter of 2010. 
Our special favorite was the Titan, which is the tallest and fastest coaster in Texas.
After having fun in the park, we all went as a family to our favorite, non existent in Oklahoma restaurant: Souplantation (aka Sweet Tomatoes). Needless to say, all had a great time, with me consuming gallons of their wonderful Big Chunk Chicken Noodle Soup. It was a really new building, albeit a bit on the small side, so everything was designed logically compared to what we are used to. If DFW was just a couple of hours away, you can bet that we'd be down there at least once a month.
We drive back tomorrow, so expect a condensed house report on Sunday!
