Visit Choctaw Country: Durant

About a week ago, Amberley and I packed up and left the husbands (and Ryder) behind for a girl’s trip! We loved partnering with Choctaw Country to experience so much and share it with our followers. We headed towards Durant, Oklahoma, about an hour and 15 minutes from my house. We had the best time! In previous visits, I have gone straight to Choctaw Casino and Resort, but we got to experience all there is to do nearby this time.

We arrived late Thursday night and headed straight for dinner. If you know sushi people, you know that we are typically picky about the freshness and quality of our sushi. We both were impressed with R Hibachi & Sushi! From the sushi to the drinks, everything was delicious. We ordered four rolls and shared them. 10/10 recommend going. They also have Happy Hour from 3-6 pm Monday-Friday.

Next, we headed to Lost Street Brewing Company for the Durant Fall Concert Series featuring Mike Ryan. It was a really fantastic warehouse-style event venue, and a lot of people were there. Most people brought lawn chairs, and you could tell everyone was having a great time. It was the perfect combination of laid-back and fun!

After that, we headed to Choctaw Casino & Resort-Durant to get checked in. This was my first time visiting the new Sky Tower and y’all! It is AMAZING. Not only is everything new, but it is so beautiful! Also, bonus it is non-smoking. It's so much fun on weekends, but I loved being there on a Thursday to see it all when it was less busy. We got our stuff put away and headed straight to 1832 Steakhouse. Since our last visit, I’ve been dreaming about it. Every single item on their menu is perfection. My old-fashioned was smoked, and everything I didn’t know I needed in a drink and the desserts were equally incredible. Afterward, we played some slots and got some snacks pro-tip: the gift shop in the Grand Casino is open late and has a lot of options.

Friday morning, we woke up and headed to Salt & Stone. The avocado toast was some of the best I’ve had! We also got the Banana Bread French Toast to share candied walnuts and bourbon barrel maple syrup… YUM! With full stomachs, we headed to do the Choctaw Art Walk. The art walk is spread throughout the Sky Tower. All you have to do is scan the QR codes on the ground, and you can view details about the art and artists. We loved that it was self-guided and could be done at any time. One of my favorite parts of Choctaw is Starbucks inside, and the new location in the Sky Tower is the best one yet. We grabbed a cold drink before packing up and checking out.

Then we headed to the Choctaw Cultural Center. We both said this was hands down one of our favorite parts of our trip. The honor, respect, and hard work of the Choctaw Nation were evident in every detail of the Choctaw Cultural Center. We loved learning about both the history and culture of the Choctaw people. One of the best parts of the experience was how interactive and hands-on it was. As a teacher, I can’t help but love when places incorporate different learning styles, and they even talked about their contributions to education and carrying on their legacy. We finished our time by having lunch at the Champuli Cafe, which had a unique and delightful menu.

After we left the Cultural Center, we still had some time, so we headed back to Durant to explore the downtown some more. We checked out some of the fantastic murals and walked around downtown. We shopped at Bliss Boutique and grabbed cupcakes and ice cream at Caked Up! We were honestly surprised by how much Durant has to offer from breweries, restaurants, shopping, and coffee. It has so much to do!

Durant and Choctaw Country we will be back soon!

Xoxo,
Jillian