Day 4
We arrived at Dan’s new house bright and early ready to unload the truck. His house is beautiful and in a really nice neighborhood.
This house is twice the size of his California house, at half the cost. Imagine that. We unloaded the truck in 95 degree heat that had a “real feel” of 104 (per weather.com, so it was pretty accurate). Maybe that explains the price and size difference. Helping us unload the truck were Dan’s in-laws and two young men from his new church. Everyone worked really hard. Dan’s mother-in-law was a kick in the pants. She used a walker that had a seat on it to get around. As I was up in the truck handing items down for people to take into the house, Dan’s mother-in-law showed up and would take small items, place them on her walker seat, and push them into the house. You gotta love and appreciate that! After four hours of lifting, moving and sweating, this was the best view of the day.
Corrianne and I returned to our hotel, rested and cleaned up. Since Covid started in March, my favorite pho restaurant has been closed. I have tried a few other places, but they just do not measure up. Who knew that I could find great pho in McKinney Texas at Pho Bistro. Not only was the pho delicious, it was great to eat it sitting down INSIDE a restaurant.
Day 5
Corrianne and I spent the morning looking at housing around the area. If Corrianne ends up moving to Texas, there is plenty of affordable housing to be had. As we drove around, we passed a huge football stadium in Allen.
This stadium had 18,000 seats and cost $60 million dollars to build. For the life of me, I could not think of what college played in Allen. Turns out there is no college in Allen. This is the high school football stadium. If you ever had a doubt about how seriously Texans take their football, just look at that stadium!
At lunch, we met a few friends of mine I previously worked with. Wyatt and Deborah both retired a few years ago and ended up in north Texas. It was great seeing them and hearing about their adventures. They had a travel trailer and travel as much as Cindy and I do.
It seems like everything really is bigger in Texas. They even have Super Targets!
I did not know there was such a thing, but now I have been in one.
Day 6
This was our final day in McKinney. We visited an area called “Deep Ellum.” This was an artsy kind of neighborhood just outside of Dallas with shops, restaurants, breweries, and clubs with live music at night. Because of all of the protests, most of the area was boarded up. I did not take any pictures of the boarded up buildings.
Here is some of the public art.
We had lunch and some really good beer at Brain Dead Brewing.
We did a little more sightseeing and met Dan and his wife for dinner at an amazing BBQ place named Tender Smokehouse. A great meal with our dear friends.
Day 7
This was our travel day to Amarillo, Texas via Oklahoma. In Gainsesville, Texas, we stopped for gas and discovered this gem!
So what exactly is a Fried Pie? It looks like a McDonald’s hot apple pie, only on steroids. And it is deep fried to a dark and golden brown. Just another reason to love Texas. Delicious!
Our next stop was Norman, Oklahoma, home to the University of Oklahoma, AKA the Schooners. As with all college towns, we had to stop at the University Book Store, and the football stadium.
As we walked back to the truck from the book store, we passed Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe. As a pickle connoisseur, I had to eat there. I had a salad with a pickle on the side, and spicy dill pickle chips. I was in pickle heaven.
We continued on to Oklahoma City and stopped at the Bricktown Brewery for a quick break and beer. Yes, the beer was delicious.
We continued west on the 40 and made it to our first overnight stop, Amarillo, Texas. As luck (or careful planning) would have it, our hotel was next door to my favorite restaurant. The Big Texan!
In case you have lived under a rock for most of your life and have not heard of the Big Texan, I will fill you in. The Big Texan has the 72 ounce steak challenge. If you can eat a 72 ounce steak, a baked potato, a garden salad, four fried shrimp, and a dinner roll………………..in an hour or less………. and the meal is free. And if you are math challenged, 72 ounces is 4 1/2 pounds. Here is what it looks like.
The current record holder for finishing this challenge the fastest is a 125 pound woman who completed the challenge in 4 minutes and 18 seconds. I don’t think I could finish the potato in 4 minutes.
Here is my dinner. A pound of steak, a jalapeno, macaroni salad, and fried okra. It may not match the challenge, but I did finish it all in under an hour.
Day 8
We drove on to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for our second and last stop before we hit Arizona. We toured the historic downtown area, where masks were mandatory.
I found this button in a shop and loved it.
We finished the day enjoying dinner with some family we have not seen in too long, Deborah and Erin.
The next post will cover the rest of the trip to Arizona and our return home.
Great post š