Not sure where to start, but wanted to get some thoughts out before I forgot them all. This past week we had a last minute opportunity to fly to Texas to visit my dad and Kathie. They live in a tiny town 2 1/2 hours south west of Ft. Worth. The name of the town is Rising Star, but we now affectionately refer to it as Falling Star, or Burning Star. The population is something very small like 500 or so. It was too small to remember. They live 4 miles from town and have quite the nice spread with many things to occupy your days with.
Since returning home, I now have an affection for Texas growing that I never thought I'd have, let alone admit to. We had a great time and now can't wait to go back. We rode horses, flew kites, ate at Cracker Barrel (my fav), ate lots of great home cooked food, drove the golf cart around, the kids rode bikes, fished, G drove my dad's tractor and we all just meandered aimlessly. Not something you can do all in one location on our 9600 sq ft lot. It was fun. Here are some other facts, findings and down right interesting to me things...
**Texas reminded me a lot of Paso Robles...rolling hills and lots of oak trees. Maybe this is just where my dad is...because Dallas looked nothing like Paso.
**Armadillos are real. The are everywhere in Texas. They are funny looking. My dad turned the car around so I could go back and take a pic of a dead one on the side of the road. I just had to see one up close for myself.
**Texas has a lot of skunks. LOTS! Trust me on this one.
**Only saw 1 gym our whole time in Texas. And it was from the Interstate. I'm sure people work out there, I just didn't see any others.
**My dad is 40 miles from the nearest Starbucks...I thought I was going to die until Kathie pulled out a purchased bag of the sweet nectar and brewed it multiple times for us each day. (whew!)
**There are lots of churches! I mean LOTS of churches. Big ones, little ones and ones that claim they are a "Cowboy Church".
**Gas was $1.66 a gallon there. It was $2.29 here when we landed last Wednesday.
**The wind blows a lot there. Even when it's warm, the wind blows.
**Their grass and fields are brown there in the winter and green in the summer. Opposite of ours.
**People are not afraid to park their broken down tractor RIGHT outside of their front door. I mean it was so close, you could get on your tractor from your porch. Do you think this was on purpose?
**Football stadiums are huge there, even when the school is old and small in size...the money clearly goes to the football program.
**I can still ride a horse. I think we figured it had been at least 13 years, but I did it and want to get back on.
**Lauren still wants her very own horse. And so does Ben. I think our neighbors would frown upon us granting our children's wishes.
**It appears that if one has property to have larger animals...they own at least one donkey. This goes for my dad too. They have 2, Edna and Sara. They were too cute.
**Many, and I mean most homes that we saw bear a metal Texas barn star on the front of the home or on the front fence. I love the sense of unity and feel like I want one now. Do you think we will look out of place if we put one on our home? Here is what they look like...
**The people of Texas love their state. The state has pride in it's self. Not the individual kind like here, (ex. gay pride, political pride, achievement recognition, celebrity, etc.), but pride in being a Texan. I want that! I will say at this point, I'm not real "proud" to be a Californian.
**We saw a tourism ad for California while watching TV there. It was weird to see and didn't make me want to go look for a celebrity. Who makes those things anyways?
**"Everything's bigger and better in Texas!" I know I always say that when I speak of Texas just to make fun of it, but I may need to stop. At least not what I saw...I didn't see big hair, big belt buckles or overly huge cowboy hats. Which leads me to the next point of the one really big thing I did witness...
**Wal-Mart! Wal-Mart in Texas truly is huge! They are Super Wal-Marts and they are super HUGE! With lots of really good people watching.
**Still wondering where Target is. Didn't see one except near Weatherford. That's an hour and a half from my dad. Too far for my liking.
**In Texas, lunch is called dinner and dinner is called supper. Food is food in my book...I'll eat it no matter what you call it.
**Oh and who can forget the man who wore some fancy spurs to supper at the Cracker Barrel? He was all gussied up and headed to his table with his wife while his spurs clanged on. Maybe he tied his horse up out back?
I think that's it on my thoughts. I'm sure I had more, but they have flew the coup that is my brain. I made a pic slide show of our time there. Not as many pics as I would have liked, but we were having too much fun to run around with a camera in hand. And if you read this entire post...now you know what it's like to be my husband...all I do is talk. 8)
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10 comments:
Happy that you went and had a good time. That is a kids dream, open land with animals. Now just go back in the summer and see how you like the humidity! I always enjoyed visiting Texas except in the summer.
So....you guys movin'???? You could join the Brasuell clan :D
Lora-They are about 5 hours north of Houston so they don't see the real humidity. I think the wind keeps most of that stoff movin' through. Not much mor so than a humid day in hot Fresno...or so my dad says. ;)
stuff and more. Where'd I learn to spell? Ha!
That is good about the weather. I always hate getting out of the shower and never drying off. That is how it is where my Aunt's live. And yes, being a Californian isn't the greatest these days....I will give you an update soon.
Wish I could share your enthusiasm and love for my old home state. You were probably in a more romantic part of the state. Your dad's ranch indeed looks like a beautiful haven from the hustle & bustle of our crazy lives. I do miss my relatives, chicken fried steak, and Tex-Mex. But I don't miss the traffic, humidity, tornadoes, hurricanes, and overt racism that exists in the court systems, etc. I've always said I wouldn't move back, but with the Lord, you never know....He may have other plans for us ;-)
S-Thanks for being a Debbie Downer! ;) Luckily it won't change our trip or the memories we gathered while we were there. Oh and by the way...CA is way TOO liberal for this 31 yr old! Something's gotta change.
Now I want to move to Texas!! :) Sounds like a great time!
Just think of California as being a mission field...
Sorry--didn't mean to be a downer! Just sharing my experiences after having lived there for over 10 years. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of wonderful things about TX, but like a lot of states, it has a lot of drawbacks as well. Your dad's place did seem like a sweet place, compared to many place in any state.
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