Deep In The Heart Of Texas

Howdy folks!  We just finished an entire month in the great state of Texas.  It was full of family, friends, and lots of festivities.  It started off in Graham where we got a big dose of my entire family.  It was so great to spend quality time with everyone while we were in town.  We did manage to sneak away for a night to Oklahoma City to visit my friend Rachel from TCU.  She recently got engaged (yay!) and I couldn't miss making a trip up there.  We toured around Bricktown which is a really cool area to hang out and grab drinks or dinner.  We also checked out the Oklahoma City bombing memorial.  It was so beautifully done and very touching to see that even after 17 years the victims are still being honored.

This is the reflecting pool where a street used to run beside the building.  At either end there is a gate, one stamped with the time 9:01, and the other with 9:03.  The pool represents the time of the blast at 9:02.

Next to the pool is a field of chairs for each victim of the bombing.  They are positioned according to what floor they were on that day and represent the empty chairs at the dinner tables of their families.

After we had dinner on the river walk, Rachel and Chris took us to a neat piece of public art.  OKC is a fun little city that seems to be on the rise.

The next weekend, we celebrated the Fourth of July on Possum Kingdom Lake!  We had all the fixins  to honor 'Merica the right way: A big group of friends, a pontoon boat, Hell's Gate, and a pretty sweet bandana too.

Our next Texas stop was Ft. Worth where we met up with our friends Meredith and Brittni.  We enjoyed a great dinner at Winslow's and a few after dinner brewskies at The Gingerman.  Before we left town though, we had to check out my old stomping grounds and the new stadium.  Get ready Big 12, the Horned Frogs aren't messing around.

San Antonio was next on the list.  We stayed right downtown a couple of blocks off the river walk.  We had mexican food for dinner and of course, remembered the Alamo.

After a few days on the road, we made it down to S. Padre Island.  It had been 8 years since I had been, but remember it fondly growing up.  It did not disappoint.  We relaxed and cooked a lot of shrimp and fish.  And worked on our golden tans for two weeks.  It's hard to believe we have another beach trip coming up soon!

Check back soon for some NOLA and Hotlanta posts!

One Last Taste of Colorado

Surprise!  I'm still doing the blog.  We have obviously gotten a little lazy over the last couple of weeks, but not to worry, we're back on track.

Let's do a little catching up.  We left off after the Grand Canyon and started toward Telluride.  We have always heard fantastic things about it, but never made it that far south from Denver.  So, we made it a must see on our road trip.  On the way we stopped at the Four Corners and stood in four states at once!

Telluride definitely lived up to expectations.  It was a beautiful little town tucked into the mountains.  We shopped along the main street and decided to have a beer at Smuggler's Brewpub.  We didn't stay the night in Telluride, but would love to go back for some great skiing!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a new post full of Texas, Texas, and more Texas!

Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon

We have made it across the desert to Texas!  We saw some amazing things along the way.  Our first stop out of Vegas was the Hoover Dam.  Honestly, I was skeptical of the stop and thought, "Who hasn't seen a dam?"  Well, it was pretty awesome.  The Arizona/Nevada state line split it right down the middle.  If you're ever in the area, I definitely recommend seeing it.

You could actually walk across the Memorial Bridge behind us.  My fear of heights decided against it.  We did drive over it though!

Our next stop was the Grand Canyon, and I cannot put in words how amazing it was.  Pictures will not do it justice.  We stopped at the south rim which isn't quite as high as the north rim and has less vegetation.  Either way, it was still beautiful.

We were really surprised by the number of non-American tourists at both of these places.  It really makes you appreciate the wonders we have here in the good ol' US of A.  So next time you're planning that family vacay or road trip, definitely put these on the list!