15/10/18 I left the house around 11am and drive to Amarillo, a stopover on my way to Fort Worth, Texas. The temperature dropped under 0 ‘C and I had to stop to increase the tire pressure as a warning light turned on when I started the engine, probably due to the temperature drop overnight as it was supposed to snow. On the highway I saw a thin layer of white powder on the ground and parked vehicles so I yes it can snow in new mexico and texas ❄️!
16/10/18 I left Amarillo around 6am where I parked for the night and drove to Fort Worth where I will stay for a few days with Lisa and David.
I stopped at Denny’s around 2pm, a food chain I have seen everywhere and they were advertising about pancakes so this time I decided to try them. It came with a second plate with eggs, potatoes and sausages which was bigger than the pancake plate. How am I supposed to eat all of that?? I just wanted pancakes ?.
The weather has been terrible the last 2h of driving so I arrived a bit later than expected at Lisa and David’s house. I was warmly welcomed and it was so nice to see them again. For those following the blog you might remember I met them in Iceland in July, on a snowmobile tour. I can’t believe I am here with them. They have a beautiful house in a really nice neighbourhood. We went straight to one of their favourite texan place (Steven’s garden) for dinner with their daughter Marissa and her boyfriend Jackson where we shared some really nice pickles and tacos.
17/10/18 I joined Lisa and David to their fitness centre for 1h as they could bring a friend for free. While they were having a session with their PT, I did a mix of cardio and lightweight exercises. It was very refreshing as I haven’t done this properly since I left Sydney. In the afternoon I drove to Arlington and Fort Worth to get a few brochures at the local tourist info centres. Thanks to Lisa’s recommendation I also went to a hairdresser nearby to get my colour done, long overdue. In the evening they invited Lisa’s mother (82 and as sweet as Lisa and David) for dinner so we shared a nice meal together. They cooked pork and I loved the orange flavour in the veggies. We were also rewarded with delicious mini sweet pies for our morning efforts.
18/10/18 Lisa and David bought tickets to the State Fair, a big event in Dallas. We were really lucky with the weather as it didn’t rain even though the forecast was not so optimistic. The fair was a lot of fun, it is so big we could not see and do it all. Pig races, dunk show, chainsaw carving, thrilling ride, carousel, baby chickens, goats and sheep, horses, longhorn cows, food tasting, art & gifts shopping, car exhibit, are the ones we choose.
They drove me through the streets of Dallas and we had time to explore the Arboretum & botanical garden where they had a pumpkin village setup. I was surprised that so many flowers were still in bloom at this time of the year. But the park is beautiful and very well taken care of, worth a visit! They also have an alley full of maple trees, including japanese maple trees, my favourite ??!
Then it was time to meet Miranda, Lisa and David’s other lovely daughter and her husband for dinner at a smokehouse for dinner where I had the best pulled pork burger. They might come and visit AU and NZ one day, they would love it!
19/10/18 We left the house around 3pm to be on time to watch the cattle drive at the Stock Yards then explored the local shops and the museum. We had Mexican dinner at a restaurant nearby where we bumped into friends of David and Lisa. We then walked back to the Stock Yards for the very exciting rodeo show. It was a real competition show (even Australia was there) and they had multiple disciplines; bull riding, horse riding, barrel race, women rides, rope demos etc. It was very entertaining despite the cruel aspect of the animals being traumatised but they do all of it trying not to harm them to much. Marissa and her boyfriend joined us later as she was singing choirs that night.
I had a wonderful time in Fort Worth thanks to David and Lisa. They made my stay very comfortable and were keen to drive me around and joined me for all activities (despite the not so good weather), I am blessed for having met them and I will miss them very much! I hope to see them in Sydney some day, or somewhere else on our future travels. ?
