Wednesday, August 18, 2010

2129 Miles: Coal Trains, Sunflowers, Buttes, and Miles of Miles of Texas


The end of the summer spirit has arrived. The youngest child has returned to college so the nest is empty again.

Said child and I drove 2129 miles from Oviedo, Florida to Golden, Colorado. We had impromptu stops in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Colleyville, Texas to see old friends.

These visits put my life in perspective. The friendships I have been fortunate enough to have have been wonderful gifts. I miss my friends and am so grateful N.W. is a patient son and was willing to indulge my whims to drop by the homes of these great people. The welcomes and smiles were invaluable. Thank you Liz, Laura, and Patty for this.

The time N.W. and I spent driving, reading, listening to Garrison Keillor, listening to music (my intensive lesson in new music, I gained some new favorites) and plotting our next food stop was a lot of fun.

There were laughs along the way: Buc-ees, Kevin Greene in a song, the La Quinta in Amarillo, squeezing the sign in to the backseat of the car, and the hurricane that didn't.

There was so much great food in Baton Rouge at Acme Oyster Bar, beignets in the morning, the Flying Biscuit breakfast in Gainesville, Au Petit Paris in Houston, breakfast in a roadside diner in New Mexico and finally Pei Wei and Jimmy Johns in Golden. We decided to pass on the camo caramel popcorn at Buc-ees between Houston and Dallas.

7 comments:

  1. Sounds like it was a great trip with many memories to treasure--priceless! Wish I could have joined you chez Au Petit Paris!~

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  2. It was, wish you could have met us there:)

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  3. Fill me in on the new music....I need a dose of cool.

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  4. Absolutely wonderful!! We drove cross country a few years ago, and it's one of my favorite vacations--this country is amazing!

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  5. It is beautiful isn't it Diane? Hey MK some new bands for me at least were Frantic Fox, Radiohead (I know they have been around, just new for me)and Rusted Root.

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  6. Sounds like quite an adventure with lots of great connections. I love the photos. You really passed on the camo caramel popcorm? ;)

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  7. Yes, Katherine we had to really restrain ourselves:) I could have stayed and people watched all day, it was better than an airport.

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