Wichita Mountains Trip

I've been making trips to the Wichita Mountains (which contrary to popular belief are NOT in Wichita Falls, but rather in Oklahoma) most of my life. I always have a blast and talk about it to my friends, so we decided we all needed to make a trip.

There is a town close to the mountains called Medicine Park. It was founded in the early 1900s and most of the buildings are made of cobblestone. Since it's less than 2 hours from WF, I've never stayed the night, but have always wanted to stay in one of the cabins there.

I'm usually not the one in charge of planning trips (I'm not the best). But since I had been there a lot, I figured I'd take charge. It's a super small town, so there weren't many options that would fit 7 people. I tried two other cabins before this one and they were booked, so this is where we stayed: https://resnexus.com/resnexus/book/more.aspx?B=28&ID=811&ResID=25814.

So we all assumed from the pictures that these were all separate rooms (living room, kitchen, bedroom). But oh were we wrong. This was all ONE room that was smaller than a two-car garage...for 7 people (Andrea, Annette, Sherrie, Jana, Rustin, Casey and me)! We made do though - Andrea and Annette slept in the "loft" which should be more accurately called a crawl space. Annette even took a nasty fall early Saturday morning, which woke everyone up laughing. 

Sherrie and Jana were going to sleep in the pull-out bed, but upon opening it, found a pair of dirty socks and a stick??

I guess it was too many girls for poor Casey because he slept on the porch. But I must add that I'm pretty sure the wrap-around, screened-in porch was bigger than the cabin. 

During all my previous visits, it has NEVER rained, so of course it rained all day while we were there. Luckily it wasn't coming down too hard so we went for a hike anyway. 

After our hike, we went to the Visitor Center and then to eat at Meers. It was DELICIOUS as always. If you're not familiar, Meers is a hundred-year-old restaurant that serves longhorn burgers the size of pie plates. 

Back at Medicine Park, we went to the lake there. There were a lot of fish, ducks and turtles around for us to feed. 

The next morning we decided to go to the only bakery in town. To be honest, we didn't have that high of expectations but it was really good! They had these "muffins" that were made of biscuit mix, sausage and cheese and served with gravy all over them. 

There are many other funny stories to tell, but most of them are the "you had to be there" type. Hopefully I can talk them into going again and we can get a bigger cabin and no rain! 

Wichita Falls Trip

Last week Avery and I made a trip to Wichita Falls - my hometown and "God's country" according to my dad.

We go back there about every 6 weeks. Why 6 weeks? Because, yes, I still get my hair done there. I go to the same lady who has done it since early college. Every time I've gotten it done in Dallas, I've paid double and ended up with super short orange hair. But that's not the whole reason. I can't stay away from my family very long, so it also gives me a good excuse to visit. And they like seeing me... or Avery. 

The drive was a little more treacherous than normal. As I left Allen, I noticed my gas tank was about half full. I should have stopped but I thought a half a tank could get me there. More on that later.

I don't go the way most people go from Dallas to WF. Since we are so far north, it is about the same distance for me to go up to Sherman and take 82. There is less traffic and more places for me to pull over with Avery if I need to. Overall I just feel like it's a safer route. I also love feeling like I'm in the country. And I love driving through Nocona. My best friend in high school, Sandy, lived there for a while and I think I spent every weekend of my sophomore year there.

Anyway my gas tank started to dip quicker than expected but it started POURING rain. Who wants to pump gas in the rain?? Plus Avery was asleep and if there's one rule we live by at my house it is NEVER wake the baby!

The rain stopped around Saint Jo (if you recognize any of the towns I have named so far, you are a true Texan), but I guess I zoned out on memories in Nocona because getting gas was the last thing on my mind. Then my gas light came on. If you're familiar with this route, you know there is NOTHING for miles. Yes, there's Ringgold, but there's no gas stations there. 

I've always judged people who ran out of gas. I always wondered how dumb you had to be. I mean do you not see your tank gauge or gas light? I also knew that if I did run out of gas, the person I would be forced to call would be my dad. He thinks his tank is low if it is below 3/4 of a tank. I knew that phone call would not be pretty.

Avery was sound asleep in the backseat as I felt my car start to sputter (is that the right word??). I felt like it was my "Jesus Take the Wheel" moment. I've never had a panic attack but I am certain I did right then. I was sure we were running out of gas. I started breathing really fast and my heart was beating out of my chest. I kept praying for God to get me to Henrietta.

We made it to Henrietta.

I feel like I just wrote a lot of build up for nothing. Anyway lesson learned. I will fill up before leaving town from now on. I didn't even tell my dad when I got to town. I didn't want the lecture, but I'm pretty sure my phone will be ringing any second now...

So while in WF Avery got to see Uncle Colby's new apartment. It's really nice and looks out over Lake Wellington.

She also made her first trip to one of my all-time favorite restaurants - Samurai of Tokyo. We figured the guy making the food would keep her entertained. Well instead he scared her and she started crying at the top of her lungs. Here are a few pictures. My mom's going to kill me for the first one.

We also ate at Jason's Deli. They just got one there and they think it's super awesome. I had my fill of Jason's Deli when I worked at IBM. Angie and I went there every day for lunch. So much so our coworkers asked us if we owned stock. But anyway I think my parents wanted to get the all you can eat ice cream. My PE teacher from elementary school was working the door.

Avery is still obsessed with Willie, and now that she can crawl, he's in trouble.

We had a great time and can't wait to go back... in a few weeks...

Broken Bow Trip

Last weekend we went on a girls trip to Broken Bow, OK to celebrate Annette's 30th birthday. Several months before, I kept going back and forth on whether or not I should go. Of course I wanted to, but the thought of leaving Avery for so long stressed me out (Friday night - Sunday afternoon). But in the end I figured she'd be ok with her Daddy and decided to go.

We joked and said we were "glamping." If you know me, you know this is the only way I prefer to camp :) Our "cabin" was huge (two stories) and super nice. It even had a hot tub outside! Here are a few pictures -

Us hanging out the night we got there -

The next day Sherrie cooked a delicious breakfast and we packed our lunches and headed to canoe. I've only gone canoeing three times in my life. The first time I was sick and my canoe capsized the moment we got in the river and all our stuff went floating downstream. I refused to canoe again, but when we went to Broken Bow for Andrea's 30th, I did (she should feel special) and it was a lot of fun so I wasn't too worried this time. We saw a lot of wildlife - fish, turtles, snakes, and more bugs than necessary.

That night we got cleaned up and went to the winery in town - Girls Gone Wine. I love that place! They offer free tastings and have great wines. All profits from one of their wines - Bark - benefits the local animal shelter, which I thought was really cool. We had a great time there as usual.

That night we went back to the cabin and Sherrie cooked another delicious meal then we got in the hot tub. They all stayed up later, but I went to bed. I was just so excited to get some sleep!

Then the next day we headed home. I was sad to leave but couldn't wait to see Rustin and Avery. As we were leaving the cabin, a cat came up to us. He was so sweet but didn't have a collar and looked really skinny. I was riding with Andrea and she wouldn't let me take him, but if I had my own car you can bet we would be cat owners! (I'm sure Rustin is thankful for Andrea's decision.)

Fourth Anniversary

On March 29 Rustin and I celebrated our fourth anniversary! I can't believe it's been four years since this -

Sadly the only anniversary we've been together for was our first one. Rustin has been traveling during all the others. What's ironic about this year is he's not even traveling for work right now. He just randomly got asked to go to a client in Chicago that week only. It doesn't bother us too much though - we just celebrate the weekend after. And since he was in Chicago that week, I went to Wichita Falls!

We couldn't decide what we wanted to do this year. Since we have Avery, we didn't really want to go out of town. We threw around a lot of ideas and decided to go wine tasting in Grapevine. I've been wanting to do it for a while, and since we aren't going to make it to Napa anytime soon, we thought we might as well do the next best thing :)

The weather was beautiful, and we had a lot of fun going to the different wineries and walking around downtown Grapevine. For anyone who's interested in going, our favorite one was Cross Timbers. They are the only ones who served food and they gave us a *huge* tray of cheese and crackers. And they were super nice and had the best wine.



Since our wedding we have moved to Colorado, moved back to Texas, bought a house, and had a baby! Can't wait to see what else the future has in store for us!

Trip to Salado

I finally did it - I left Avery overnight. My friends planned to go to Salado, TX to celebrate Jana's 30th birthday. I had an email typed up saying I couldn't go, but I really wanted to! And I figured Rustin could hold down the fort for one night. Plus, I've known Jana since jr. high and really wanted to celebrate her 30th with her.

We stayed at the Salado Inn - 

It was very cute and quaint. The people who owned it made a home cooked breakfast in the morning and it was delicious! There were also journals in each room in which people who stayed there could write entries. A few were pretty interesting!

We decided to get a few pics on the balcony -

And of course had to get one of the birthday girl -

We went to two different wineries. One was horrible! The wine was so bad, but the lady running it was super nice and we got to sit outside and enjoy the weather -

The other winery we went to - Salado Creek Winery - was *really* good. They had several unique wines. One was called a "Chocolate Lab" and it seriously tasted like a grape tootsie pop. My favorite was the sweet white, and I brought home a bottle for Rustin :)

We also went to some antique shops and an art market. It was a lot of fun and nice to get away. I thought about it - that was the first night in about six months that I haven't slept with a monitor next to me. I could also really sleep in. Granted, I still woke up at 7 because I'm so used to waking up early, but that's better than 5:30! And Rustin did a great job watching Avery!

Babymoon!

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE the beach! So of course I wanted to go this summer. Usually we would go to Mexico, but I'm a little scared to go down there right now - especially being pregnant. So we decided it was a perfect opportunity for Rustin to finally see the beach that I grew up going to every year - Panama City, Florida! My dad's side of the family lives there, so we've gone there to visit nearly every summer that I can remember. My parents came along as well. We missed Colby...sort of. I didn't really miss getting splashed the entire trip.

The adventures started at the airport with my dad getting "randomly" screened, which provided us with laughs for hours! I guess terror suspects are dressing like cowboys nowadays?

 

Then my mom got sick on the plane. Traveling with parents is definitely a unique experience :)

We finally made it to my grandma's house and enjoyed a nice dinner, and then got ready for three days of constant beaching! The first stop was Mexico Beach, which is my favorite. We like going there better than Panama City Beach because it is much less crowded. It's always reminded me of a "Jimmy Buffet" town. We went to Toucans for lunch (which is my favorite restaurant there), and enjoyed a nice meal by the beach.

Then we spent the rest of the day at the beach with my mom (my dad could only handle one beach day)...but not without some pictures first -

 Then Rustin and I stayed at the Driftwood Inn that night. Every year when we come to Mexico Beach I talk about how I want to stay there sometime. I even used to say that that's where I wanted to stay for my honeymoon. It definitely lived up to my expecations! It is just a quaint inn right on the beach. Here are a few views from around the property -

In the main lobby they had a great dane that would put his paws on the desk whenever someone walked in. It was sort of scary at first to be greeted by such a huge dog! They also had a parrot-

That night we drove to Port St. Joe and had dinner at a small pizza place. The electricity went out, but luckily each table had candles!

The next day we went to St. Andrews, which is a State Park and a great place to snorkel. This is the one day my dad could handle the beach.

We saw a few fish while snorkeling, and Rustin caught a starfish! He threw it back of course. We also saw several dolphins swimming not too far from shore.
That night we went to a small oyster bar right on the water. They shucked your oysters right in front of you! I wish I had a picture of the whole group, but it was my parents, my grandma, Uncle Ed, and Aunt Holly and Uncle Greg. I didn't have time to wash my hair beforehand, so don't judge! (And yes, the oysters were cooked.)

 Then it was the last day :( Since traffic was so bad going to St. Andrews (which is toward PCB) we decided it would be much more peaceful to go to Mexico Beach again.

I wish I had some pictures from our last night there, but we had a very nice dinner at my grandma's house with all the family. They also surprised me with a "shower." They were going to do gifts, but realized since I was flying I wouldn't be able to get them home so everyone chipped in and gave us some money and a very sweet card! Anyway I am still recovering from post-vacation depression! I wish we were still there!