Scissortail Park and Oklahoma City’s Cat Cafe

August 6, 2024

Tara Rittler,

View of Scissortail Park from the balcony at the OKC Convention Center

Last weekend, I surprised Joss with a trip to Oklahoma City. The destination wasn’t a surprise, but the specific reason we were going – to watch part of CubingUSA’s Southern Championship – was a total surprise. He didn’t know we were going until we’d arrived in OKC. Thankfully, when I finally told him (over some tasty boba at Gong Cha), he was ecstatic. But in addition to the boba and Rubik’s cube competition, we also had time to visit Scissortail Park and Don’t Stress Meowt Cat Cafe.

Rubik’s Cube Competition

I honestly wasn’t sure if this would make a good surprise for Joss or not. But he got into cubing earlier this summer, so when I saw we had an opportunity to go to a larger regional championship, we made it happen! It may not be known as a “spectator sport” – or maybe it is? – but we found it fascinating. We just watched a few rounds on the final day of the 3-day competition, so we got to watch some of the best cubers there.

The first event we watched was blindfolded solving the 3×3 cube. Participants had 15 seconds to look at a scrambled cube and memorize what they needed to do to solve it. Then, they put on blindfolds and solved the cube. What?! There was certainly not a 100% solve rate, but it was all very impressive!

We also saw people solve 4×4 cubes, Square-1 cubes and one-handed solve the 3×3 cubes. There are many different ways to compete in a Rubik’s cube tournament.

And if your kid has also gotten in on the Rubik’s cube craze recently, we talked to some very nice people, and it seems like a kind and welcoming community as a whole. Each person competes individually, with a judge at the table to do the 15-second countdown. So you’re not going head-to-head with anyone, which is kind of nice. One mom of a 10-year-old cuber said their goal each time is to just set a personal record.

Find a list of upcoming cubing competitions all over the world at worldcubeassociation.org/competitions

Scissortail Park

The cubing competition was across the street from Scissortail Park, which I had not seen before! So we had to take the opportunity to visit, even though it was very hot, so we did not visit very long. This nearly-70-acre park is located in downtown Oklahoma City, so there are some nice skyline views while you’re playing.

Amenities include a “sprayground,” children’s play area, climbing wall, monarch waystation, concessions, boathouse, sports courts and a soccer field, large lawn, etc. etc.

When we first arrived, we were pleased to see some misters going, which was much appreciated!

I liked all the wildflowers and plant life at the park. In addition to the monarch waystation, there was a little vegetable/herb garden area, and rows of sunflowers full of red-winged black birds.

Anyway, despite having good amounts of shade and misters, it was too hot to explore the whole park. But we will hopefully be back someday!

Don’t Stress Meowt Cat Cafe

Next, we checked off a bucket-list item by going to Don’t Stress Meowt cat cafe! They are planning to bring one to Tulsa, located in the Farm Shopping Center. However, I don’t know the ETA on that.

You can reserve time in the Cat Lounge at $15 for one hour. The Cat Lounge is limited to eight people at a time. I was planning to save money so didn’t reserve time in advance. Naturally, once Joss saw the cats, he wanted to spend time with them. However, they were booked up so we couldn’t at that point.

The cats had lots of places to sleep and explore

Thankfully, you don’t have to reserve space to enjoy the rest of the cafe, which was very charming. There is original cat-themed art for sale on the walls, cat-themed books and games to enjoy while there, lots of cute merch, etc.

As far as food and drinks, we enjoyed their new Refreshers, which I think were basically an Italian soda with toppings. Joss had freeze-dried kiwi in his, and now wants all the freeze-dried food. They do have some cat-themed menu items and food.

We played the “Cat Lady” game, which was a lot of fun and easy to learn! You get to collect cats and food cards so you can feed them. I’d consider buying it next time I’m planning a cat-themed party or just in the mood for a new game.

The mission of the cat cafe is not just to provide a unique experience, but to help adoptable cats find homes. So there is a wall full of Polaroids commemorating happy adoptions.