Tuesday:) Two For The Road

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

~Robert Frost

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It was a gloomy rainy morning. I was too lazy to get up at 7 and walk the dog early so I could go to Zumba at 8:15. So, I didn’t set the alarm and figured I’d go to the 10:30 Zumba gold class instead. I was in the park with Bella at 10 am when my cell phone rang. Sherri Murphy asked if I wanted to go on a road trip to Sulphur Springs, about an hour and a half away. I said it sounded like a great rainy day alternative. “Two for the road.”

Sherri picked me up at 10:30 and off we went, taking all the back winding roads. I turned on YouTube and played the song “Rainy Days and Mondays,” as we sang along with the windshield wipers swiping back and forth in rhythm.

We pulled off the side of the road on the way into town for a photo op at the Dairy Museum. Who doesn’t want a photo in front of two giant cows in the rain?

The streets were pretty empty and most the shops were closed, but thank goodness the restaurants were open, because we were starving. A very nice lady at one of the gift shops gave us the scoop on the best places to eat. We chose the Redneck Cafe.

When we finally finished with our yummy lunch of chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes and biscuits and gravy, we ventured out into the pouring rain. Hmmm? I don’t think we ran into more than one or two pedestrians the entire afternoon. The rain never let up, so we took a few pictures and headed home.

Hopkins County Courthouse, beautiful even in the pouring rain.

Thanks for a great rainy day road trip, Sherri Murphy…or should I call you THELMA? Or do you want to be Louise?

Saturday in San Antonio

Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.

~Benjamin Disraeli

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What should have been a 4 1/2 hour drive from McKinney to San Antonio tuned out to be over 6 hours. Between road construction and a few roadside accidents, traffic went from Indy 500 Speedway at 80/85 mikes mph to crawling parking lot speeds of zero. I drove the first leg of the journey, but started getting drowsy after a couple of hours. It was sunny and I’m not the world’s greatest driver. I pulled over at a Love’s gas station so Jim could drive, only to find out it was brand new construction and not open yet. So we just did a quick driver switch. We stopped a few mikes down the road to stretch our legs and get a Coke at McDonald’s. It was closed and under construction. Yikes! Strike two. Two for two. I said with our luck, San Antonio would be closed and under construction. It wasn’t.

The Cathedral of San Antonio by day and by night. We will go to Mass here in the morning.

Strolling Market Square and dinner and margaritas.

And of course, it would not be a trip to San Antonio without the famous Alamo.

Let’s see what tomorrow has in store. Every day is an adventure.

Friday Friends and a Road Trip

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list. 

~ Susan Sontag

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“Well, I’ve never been to Heaven,  but I’ve been to Oklahoma.”

~ Three Dog Night

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WAIT! I’ve never been to Oklahoma. But,  

 here I am. It’s kind of like heaven, but with a thick Southern accent. 

Spending time with some wonderful friends. ROAD TRIP!!!!!

   

  

  

  

  

Wednesday Words of Wisdom: When the Going Gets Tough

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru
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“When the going gets tough, the tough get going…on a road trip with their dear friends who call them up out of the blue and say let’s go.” –Me
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The morning sun and promise of a warm day wasn’t enough to cheer me up this morning. I had no plans, no Zumba, no classes, no lunch, no nothin’. I was just about to make a cup of tea and go for a long walk when the phone rang. It was Lynne, “What are you doing today?”

I told her that Wednesday was the only day that wasn’t totally jam-packed to the gills, and I was struggling to think of a way to occupy an entire day. To my complete delight, she said, “Would you like to take a road trip and go up to Lake Texoma and visit Sherry?”

Woo-double-hoo. An all day adventure with dear friends. Say no more! I’ll just share of few of our adventure with photos.

On the floor at one of the many antique and thrift shops we visited.

Yes, we live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, and there is no end to the adventure when you have friends to share them with.

Saturday Girl’s Road-trip: Art Show in Arlington

Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.
Ernest Hemingway
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Today, I had the pleasure of spending the entire day with my girlfriends. It started out in the morning with my witty, winsome and wonderful writing group. (I’m sure they’ll appreciate the alliteration.) We spend a lot of time laughing, but we actually do get some serious critiquing in. After lunch, Gail, K.D. and I met at Lynne’s house for our big road trip to Arlington, not far from Cowboy Stadium. No, we weren’t going to a football game. Come on! We’re artsy girly-girls!

Lynne had invited us to go to the studio of Suzanne McNeill Sparks. She is a well known crafter, artist, designer and author. I remember seeing her on television many years ago. What a thrill to meet her in person. We piled in Lynne’s car and hit the road.

Our adventures included several wrong turns and some seriously bad directions from the melodious Siri app on the iPhone. But we arrived safely. (Some funny Siri stories for another day.) What a wonderful studio and amazing display of artwork ranging from Zentangle to watercolor. Ms. Sparks is a precious soul. We spent a couple hours chatting and soaking in the atmosphere, ending with a great dinner at Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. Fun day! I love my friends! Thanks girls, Hemingway was right.

Suzanne McNeil Sparks and sparkling me.

Awesome studio!