TOLLS AND LANES FROM HELL

Hey there Campers;

Wednesday ended with a beautiful cloud formation. I am always fascinated by what one can see in the clouds. 

Thursday was a travel day. We left Tulsa and headed toward Texas. As usual it was hot by 7:00 AM. As we travel I am always grateful for the "freeways" we have in Cally. The toll roads can be a nightmare. If you take the wrong road you get charged for getting on and off the road. $1.50 each way. Really??  We went through a total of 4 Indian tolls.They don't take pennies or bills so you better have the right change. Oh well I guess adventure cost something.

We stopped in McAlester for lunch. My niece Sarah who is from OK, says there is nothing like a Sonic. So every year we make sure we go there. I had my standard grill cheese with lettuce, pickles and tomatoes in the middle. Lo did the same. Don't forget we are in the south with everything being about the meat. Don't even think about asking for a veggie pattie. We splurged and had a slushie. The pineapple/orange was great. Lo had a pineapple/blue coconut. Ok. Nobody said they had to make sense. But they were good.

 

We pulled into our favorite hotel, WalMart for the night in Durant, OK. I decided to shop a little. Serena called me and we chatted for a while. It was good to hear from family. By the time I got back to the Hilton, Lo said he was getting worried and was getting ready to come to see what was taking me so long. Told him Serena called. He said he was surprised I made it out that fast. Funny, funny.

Friday started off cool. Now don't be fooled by that. You just need to enjoy it while you can. Seriously! We ventured into Texas.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in Denison, TX. There is a huge statue of him along the freeway. They are really proud of this man. Did you know that President Eisenhower was responsible for the interstate highway systems we now have? Did you know he was a 5 star general in WW II? Google him. He was a man of the times.

As we come into Dallas, their freeway structure reminds me of Los Angeles and Houston. Crazy!! Look on the coral columns. Yep. They are letting everyone know they are the Lone Star State. If you can say anything about TX they are proud of their state.

 

We thought we were coming in late enough to miss the commute. Well, it is 10:30 AM and the freeways are still bumper to bumper.

 


Ok. Call me crazy. Why are they building a bridge that has no water under it? I looked down and it was dirt. Is the water coming later??

 

We arrive at the Traders Village RV Park in Gran Prairie. It is cool as it is right next to the Giant Flea Market.

After getting settled, we decided it was time to eat so we went to the Cracker Barrel. If you ever travel south you have got to stop at at Cracker Barrel. It is like old times down home. Other than a soul food joint, where else do you see bean n' greens on the menu.

 

 

We decided to go to the outlet mall but, we missed the exit. Yep we are getting real good at doing this. The signage is poor and we really weren't paying close attention. So we get back on the freeway in the wrong direction to turn around to the right direction. Don't even try to make sense of this. I remember looking at the visitor's guide book and remember that the Dallas Cowboy stadium was in this direction we we decide to take a venture. We stumble across the Texas Rangers stadium. It is really huge and beautiful. I saw the ticket parking attendant. His name was Cliff. I asked him who the Rangers were playing tonight. Well, talk about small worlds. They were playing the SF Giants. Cliff said he knew the Rangers will beat the Giants. I told him to text me if they did. I did not get my text but he was right. Rangers 6 Giants 3.

 

 

 

Well right down the street is the Cowboy Stadium. As my sister Nita would HUGGGGGE. That stadium is so big you could but the new 49er Stadium inside of it and still have room. It looks like a big space ship landed. It is very well done. Even the water tower has the Cowboy star. According to the Visitor's Guide the Cowboys are "America Favorite Team". I just happen to see this another way. "America's Favorite Team to Hate." Go 49er's! One can take the VIP tour for $27.00.

 

 

 

 

I will give it to Dallas. They know how to do things big. That old saying of go big or go home really applies here.

We get back on the freeway in the HOV lane and realized that the freeway we need is in the right lane and we can't get out of the HOV lane. OK so back to the other direction. I noticed that several columns had hats on them. I thought what does that mean. It took me a minute to realize we were near the Cowboy Stadium. The hats are in honor of Tom Landry the great Cowboy coach. To be honest, when my son John got me into football we both were Cowboy fans. I had to leave them when they dumped Hershel Walker and then Tom Landry.


One of the amazing icons of the city is the George Bush Expressway and Turnpike. I thought we stop giving him money when he wasn't president any more. Not to worry. I am sure Obama will have a turnpike in Chicago. Chaching!
  

 


As we try to l get back on the freeway, Lo ask was he "suppose to get on that crowded freeway?" I had to take a double look at him. Well, how else were we to get to the outlet?? We take the frontage road then the freeway and found the outlets. You know I had to check the shoes out in Bloomingdales. They had amazing deals on kids clothes. It has been so hot that we needed to buy Lo some button down shirts. They had the cutest little train you could ride through the mall.

 

It was near the end of the day so we went back to the Hilton. We will be visiting our friend Mary Jacobson tomorrow.

Question of the Day:

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was what number president?

Bonus Question;

What years did Tom Landry coach the Cowboys?

Well, until next time Campers

Lo & Bren