A couple weekends ago we flew to Texas for a family wedding. Rented a Toyota pickup at DFW but they always have that disclaimer “or comparable” so what we ended up with was a full size Dodge Ram Laramie pickup with all the bells and whistles. Was super comfy! And aside from a slow leak in one of the tires, everything worked great. We didn’t see many Toyotas trucks in Texas anyway, so being in a full-size allowed us to “blend.”
We arrived in Dallas on Thursday and headed towards Lindale. Stopped for some BBQ on our way (cuz ya know they don’t give you food on a plane anymore). Once in Lindale, we visited Miranda Lambert’s store, the Pink Pistol, and her family winery (she’s from Lindale which I didn’t know til we got there). Did a wine tasting which was really nice! After checking into the hotel and relaxing a few minutes we headed to the local Cracker Barrel for a light dinner and some shopping (cuz Christmas IS right around the corner). Got some air in the tire and turned in for the night.
Friday morning we drove around the Azalea neighborhood in Tyler. Talk about beautiful homes and estates!! So cool. Drove around Lake Tyler and took in some of the local sights. Later we stopped at an awesome candy shop and then a guns & guitars shop, both in Lindale. Spent $50 on candy (all for the grandkids I swear haha). In the afternoon we went to the wedding which was at a beautiful estate out in the country. Talk about grand and beautiful!! Wow. The bride was picture perfect in an absolutely stunning gown, handmade by Beau’s cousin’s son who is a designer and so incredibly talented… Was a fun event filled with family, laughter and most importantly LOVE.
Saturday we spent the morning in the hotel napping and watching TV, and then in the afternoon we went to a car show, then lunch at Brisket Love & Icehouse. OMG the brisket was to DIE FOR!!!! Sooo good. After lunch we drove all over the countryside on random country roads, soaking in the local landscape. Got to see some longhorns and lots of cows and horses. I don’t know why, but I love cows and could sit and watch them all day!! We drove through some beautiful neighborhoods and also by some houses and properties that look right out of a horror movie haha. Was fun to see it all! We stopped in a tiny town called Mineola which looked like something right out of a Hallmark movie! Super cute and ready for Christmas. Lighted gazebo in the town square and everything. I told Beau he should leave me for his job in the city, but then I would put on a red dress and he would come back and we would live happily ever after running the inn in town. Hahaha cuz isn’t that the plot of EVERY Hallmark movie?!
Sunday we headed back to Dallas to the airport. Had to fill up the truck with gas and wouldn’t ya know it, it cost about HALF of what it would in CA! I guess Texas doesn’t have the taxes CA does. One of the joys of traveling outside of the golden state! Well, that and the fact that there’s a Cracker Barrel in every town….. :)
