Happy Easter and Lone Star State, Days Ten, Eleven, and Twelve

I'm taking a break from the A-Z challenge today to wish you Happy Easter and to finish our vacation summary.

Happy Easter from my third-grade self. 😊

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Travel, Visiting, and a Blast from the Past

On day ten, we traveled from Austin back to Dallas. But first, we had lunch with my former supervisor, who had recently relocated to Austin from Maryland. It was kind of crazy that I hadn't seen her since a year ago, when I retired, but met up with her in Texas. It was fun catching up without the constraints of a manager/employee relationship.

Then it was on the road again. Austin was another big city with impressive traffic and lots of confusing interchanges, but we made it back to the open road. As we got closer to Dallas, we decided to stop at Buc-ee's. Buc-ee's is essentially a truck stop on steroids, and we were told that it was a must-see. They began in Texas after we left and have spread across several southern states, but none have made it as far north as we live. One of Buc-ee's claims to fame is its very clean restrooms. They did not disappoint in this area. 

There was a lot of Buc-ee merchandise of all kinds (and lots of other pretty nice stuff). Buc-ee was available for pictures.

But I quickly found what I was looking for-the fudge counter. We got a pound of assorted varieties to take to our friends in Dallas.

We stayed with friends in Dallas the next two nights and had a good time telling stories and eating delicious homemade food. However, we did go see a couple more things. First up was South Fork Ranch, from the TV series Dallas fame. If you're not familiar, Dallas was the longest-running nighttime soap opera from 1978 to 1991. It gained international fame with the cliffhanger of "Who shot JR?"

Me and my friend, that dastardly JR Ewing.

We toured the ranch house. Some of the show was filmed here, and some on a sound stage in Hollywood.

Ward got to try out Bobby's Mercedes 450 SL.

The plan for the afternoon was to do some hiking in a nearby park. However, it was very windy, so instead we went browsing at one of Ward's favorite stores, Woodcraft. There are none close to us, so he doesn't get the chance to go there as often as he would like.

I looked around for a while, then went to the car to read and let Ward browse to his heart's content.

The next afternoon, we headed to the airport for our flight home. Despite extra delays in many airports because of TSA staffing, we had no problems. In addition, our flights were on time and routine. Just the way we like them, and experience has taught us to be thankful for that when it happens.

We are home now and getting back into our routines and responsibilities. It was a great vacation with just the right mix of sightseeing and visiting with friends. I just wish we lived closer, and we will try to make the next visit so long in the making.

Thanks for coming along on our trip.

Until next time...