Next Stop, Dallas

Day 5: After having an eventful night with the local baseball game and patrons in the parking lot of the Bass Pro Shop, we slept in late (8 a.m.).  Mind cloudy from the lack of good sleep, the sounds of the lawn care crew for Bass Pro merged into my dreams.  Suddenly realizing the noise was getting closer, I woke up and heard someone leaf blowing under and around the car.  Well, that’s what you get when you park right next to the nature feature.

The sun was up, warm and our make-shift blanket window covers created a tent-like atmosphere. It was super cozy! It was so peaceful until the birds returned to their homes in the hedges and trees. Squawking, screaming little things!

If the birds were turned into little cartoons, it would have sounded like a war out there. The birds would have been yelling at each other, stealing food and supplies, marking their territory, yelling for their mates, etc. It was not the peaceful song birds that I was hoping for. Dawning some ear plugs, I went back to sleep. Chad continued to lay there motionless in his seat, obviously ignoring the racket.

To get the blogging out of the way in the morning, Chad and I walked back to the Korean Tea place, All About Cha, to snag some Wifi and good tea. The same guy that was working yesterday also helped us pick out a really tasty ‘garden party’ blend (sweet taste from all of the different flowers used) and an oolong tea (earthy green, yuummmm).

Chad used his laptop for the first time on the trip and caught up on some reading while I blogged. We spent the morning there until around noon and packed up to meet a friend in Dallas.

With the car loaded up, we continued on I35 south. Breakfast and lunch were satisfied with cutie tangerines, bananas and sardines. Yes, sardines.

Side story: I grew up hunting deer with my family in northern Minnesota and when you would get a deer, you could finally indulge in can of sardines (as in, this was a treat). So, I’ve kind of always like canned fish and it’s super yummy. Chad likes the sardines too, but also because they have a high source of omega-3 fatty acids and it’s very good for your brain.

Anyways, we drove and drove. Eventually, we started the listen to the audio book The Laws of Human Nature. We have been reading the hard copy and was pleasantly surprised to see this title pop up in Audible. Now we can listen and pause anytime to discuss the content. It’s super nice since you don’t have to wait for the other person to finish a section of the book to go over it.

We were only an hour away from Dallas and the 4-lane traffic is hardly moving. What in the world? It’s only 3:30 p.m.! The trip into the city was long, hot and slow.

“Chad, I have to pee….and I know this is a bad time.”

Chad turned his head slowly with his jaw dropped and stared at me. While trying to hold in a smirk he commented, “look around and tell your body it’s not a good place to go. What did you drink? I didn’t see you drink anything?!”

Smiling, I said we better find a place soon, because when we get closer to Dallas, there won’t be easy locations to pull off to. In a teasing, grumbling way, we made it off of the freeway about 20 minutes later and backtracked the way we came. “Chad, why are we going backwards?”

“I’m taking you to a special pee place. You don’t deserve the grimy gas station bathrooms.”

Waiting patiently, Chad looped and looped around the Texas highway infrastructure and pulled into a Cracker Barrel. “Here you are, a pleasant place for you to pee.” We had just talked about how I had never been to one (that I remember anyway) and now I can say I have. Thanks lol.

The remaining drive was for sure long because of how slow we were going. I decided to play the song Send Me on My Way and started dancing to it all crazy-like. Magically, the traffic seemed to be moving faster! So, we played the song twice and set the intention for traffic to get going! We were finally moving. 😊 "I would walk 500 miles.." is not the right song for this moment.

Snagging parking in a parking garage, we met up with our friend Nnamdi and proceeded to tour the streets. There happened to be an art fair going on, so we walked the strips of booths while catching up. It’s been over four years since we have seen him and it’s ironic Dallas was also the place we hung out last time. Dallas brings people together!

After slurping up some ramen, we walked all over the place. The temperature was in the high 80s and dropping as the sun went down. We found art sculptures, water fountains, explored streets and even hopped onto an old-school trolley. Once dark, we made our way to Nnamdi’s apartment and chatted late into the evening.

Cleaning up and taking a shower felt so refreshing. Granted, Chad and I took care to make sure we removed odors from ourselves with wet wipes for sure twice a day, it can’t beat a shower. Thank you Nnamdi!

As for clothing, we have been mindful to only use a few outfits while traveling to keep them clean. Now, we can scrub them up too and get ready for a new week! Nnamdi had a blow-up mattress for us and we were able to lay flat to rest for the first time all week.

Lights from the buildings lit the skyline, sirens continued to blare, and loud conversations wafted through the windows. But, it didn’t bother us and we were soon fast asleep.