(I'm going to catch up; I am I am!)
When I got home from wilderness I took a twelve-day shower, I think. Well, no, but it was a long one still. Otherwise I did a little bit of frantic laundry and cortizoned my bug bites and it wasn't long before Maria arrived at my very doorstep, ready to set out the next morning for South Lake, Texas, sometimes referred to as Sort of Dallas. To celebrate her arrival, Maria and I had a dance party in my room. Yes we did. At some point I let the poor tired thing go to bed and continued what would become a nearly endless cycle of unpacking, doing laundry, and repacking on Saturday nights.
Sunday morning we embarked on our journey, armed with corn chips and a ridiculous number of mix CDs, which made the eight hour drive noticeably less painful, particularly so considering our habit of listening to "Sexy, Can I?" no less than once an hour. Getting a little bit lost twice aside, our greatest disappointment lay in the fact that there was no Welcome to Texas sign in or around Texarkana! What is that about, seriously? Other points of interest on the drive include an unintentional detour to a quarry, lunch at Baco Tell, getting chased or stalked or followed by Creepy McSteverson in his Big Mac Truck, and that one time when I almost killed us both to make the right exit but then it turned out to be the wrong exit anyway. Nevertheless, we arrived intact to a warm welcome of Kelly's kickin' house, endless hospitality, delicious chicken, a wonderful swimming pool, and a surprisingly generous donation to the Sara and Maria's Texas Vacation Fund from Mr. and Mrs. Kelly's grandparents. That night we ventured to "The Stadium," spending some hours enjoying the breeze and the fine company of Kelly's friends Alex, Zach, and Will. Sadly they all have very plain names, but then, who am I to talk? Maria and I, trying to rack up as many illegal activities as possible, rode in the back of a truck to IHOP afterward with the whole gang, and upon our return to the house were quite pooped and headed directly to bed.
Monday we awoke to some sort of delicious breakfast, possibly muffins, and started off the day right with a swim. Subsequently, we baked cakies for Kelly's grandparents, by which I mean Kelly baked them while Maria and I took showers and got all the chlorine out of our hair. They are like cookies, but with cake batter. The Cyr household was hosting some sort of party-like ordeal, featuring various Cyr relatives and friends, as well as the best salsa ever in the world. Period. Once the adults were gone, we who remained put on The Office and played some serious Apples to Apples. I lost miserably. That night, Maria pushed me off the bed and knocked me into something metal and left a delightful welt on my forehead. She's a horrible girl.
Tuesday was simple as far as explanations go. Around three we left the comfort of South Lake and drove to Six Flags over Texas, where the lines were not, and never had to wait more than about ten minutes, happily riding every ride that matters at least once. Still, the cost of beverages there really makes you miss Holiday World. Not that I've ever been there, because I haven't. Before dark even, we had already done everything there is to do at Six Flags and returned home to a nap followed by more Office watching. Anyone spotting a trend?
AppeaseDannyGahanyday, which is AKA'd as Wednesday, we, Alex, and Zach who is in love with the JFK assassination went to Dealey Plaza to see the road where the pres died and steal some grass from the aptly named Grassy Knoll for Maria's dad. The Sixth (or is it Seventh?) Floor Museum also made an appearance, and somehow everyone's tickets were magically paid for when only Alex had reached the ticket lady. Hmmm. Mystery? No. Some sort of delicious smokey restaurant filled our hungry bellies thereafter, and later we, with great effort and change of venue along with some adept driving skills on Kelly's part, went to see Get Smart, which turned out to be legitimately funny.
The Stockyards, chief in the story of Thursday, were full of Texas-themed everything and real life cows! Well, they were much more excellent than regular cows, as these had 20-foot horns and were very very close to me. Kelly and Maria got some sort of special Dr. Pepper. We toured the biggest Honky-tonk in the megaverse. Fact: I do not know what a Honky-tonk is, but I have been in the biggest one there is anywhere. The incoming freshman class of TCU was there line-dancing though. In our exploration we found stupendously dressed up cardboard cut-outs of Obama and McCain (on the left and right respectively and accurately), Texas tattoos, a snake in a bottle, and some rather expensive cowboy hats, among other things. I believe it was on this day that we ate with the Cyr parents at the classiest outdoor Mexican restaurant ever to only have two things on the menu. I had chicken fajitas and oh, how delightful they were. Our host miraculously had heard of UE, having played against the Aces in some or other sport, possibly swimming. Still more episodes of The Office, as well as some So You Think You Can Dance, filled the rest of the evening until the midnight showing of Wall-E. I have no idea how Pixar punctuates that. The movie was excellent, but a half-hour delay fused with our already tired eyes to make it quite difficult to remain conscious in the comfy comfy stadium seating. Much sleeping followed.
Much to everyone's delight, Friday was a slow lazy day. We awoke probably quite late to a morning of swimming and floating and, in my and Maria's cases, building up our already strange burn lines into truly unique body art. Then, with Cheez-Its and corn chips aplenty, we melted our brains with what may have been an ungodly amount of The Office, but it was just too good to stop. Why did no one ever make me watch that show before? When it was night we went to the lake to meet Alex and Zach yet again, and later Will. Kelly only has one friend at home who is a girl, and her name is Kelly too, so I have trouble accepting her existence even though we met at least twice. On the walk toward the lake we passed a big scary black car that we were quite sure would mow us down, but it did not. In the nearly complete darkness we sat in a formation of earth I just don't have the energy to describe, with a fire pit in the middle but no fire, and played Situations, the best game there is other than Apples to Apples and maybe CatchPhrase.
With Saturday morning came our sad departure, and predictably I hardly had the willpower to leave. Still, after many hugs and buying Mrs. Cyr flowers of gratitude, we left Kelly and Texas behind. The drive home was significantly less eventful than the one there, but pleasant and fast. At our one stop, we corrected some jerks' efforts to destroy the earth, and threw away their trash for them, which they deemed appropriate to be strewn about the grass haphazardly. Still, all went according to plan, and we arrived home in Memphis in plenty of time for Annebel and I to take Maria to Jerry's Sno Cones for deliciousness and fine company. Sunday morning she departed and I headed out straight behind her, back to camp.
In conclusion, finally, to conclude, Texas road trip, though missing one or two people I would very much have loved to see, was a sweeping success and so wonderful. It was a joy to see those two again and constantly for a week, unlike the past months had been without them, even if it was only temporary. More of my summer adventures to come, hopefully soon. Until then, enjoy some pictures.
