Sabbatical Part 6: Deep in the Heart of Texas
Texas is a huge state. Fortunately, we didn't have to drive across it in one shot. M's high school friend Sam lives in Dallas, so we stopped there to visit for two nights. I also took the opportunity to watch some baseball at the new park in Arlington.
Friday, September 23 - Abilene to Dallas, TX. ~181 miles.
Visually, Dallas does not have a lot to recommend it. It's flat and unattractive and feels like a suburb that got completely out of control instead of a city. During our September visit it was ungodly hot. The traffic is heavy, and the roads confusing. I've driven all across this country. I've driven in Los Angeles, across Manhattan, and in Chicago. Dallas is the only place I've ever been where I'm convinced that I would never have found my destination without GPS. The interstate is a maze that climbs higher into the sky than anything else in the city. Let's hear it for GPS.
Speaking of the interstate, M has a cute magnet on her car of a Sasquatch with hiking gear. While we were pulling into the city a truck pulled up along side and motioned for her to roll down her window. When she did, the driver yelled "I believe in Bigfoot too!" That was fun, and yes, the driver in question looked like the kind of guy you'd expect to believe in Bigfoot.
Anyway, we made it to our AirBNB and cranked the air conditioner. It was glorious. Then we met Sam and her family for dinner. One major plus side to Dallas was an extensive supply of restaurants from throughout Latin America. We had dinner on a patio at Gloria's Latin Cuisine, a Salvardoran/Tex-Mex chain. It was a chain, but food like that largely can't be found in Cleveland, so I enjoyed the hell out of it. We had a very nice meal together on the patio.
Saturday, September 24
This was a good day to take it easy in the air conditioning. We continued our binge of Latin food with takeout from Pollo Compero. I may not have exactly the right one linked, but Pollo Campero is also a chain. In this case, it's a chain of fried chicken restaurants based in Guatemala. If you see see one, you know there is a substantial Guatemalan community in the vicinity. M was familiar with Pollo Comparero from her time in the Peace Corps, and since I missed getting food from there when I was in Oklahoma City in 2019, I wasn't going to make the same mistake. It was very good fast food fried chicken, and I would absolutely eat it again.
That night, I went to the Guardian/Rangers game, which merits its own post. While I was gone, Sam came over and drank wine with M. When I got back to the house, I ran out to mail the birthday cards for the week, and stopped for Dairy Queen on the way back. That ice cream tasted really damn good when I was filling up the gas tank.
Sunday, September 25 - Dallas to Little Rock, AR. ~320 miles.
After packing up the car, we went over to Sam's house. M and Birdie swam in their pool with Sam's kids and their adorable otter-like dog. It was a fine way to spend the morning.
From there, we got back on the road to the east. We had a snack at Wendy's in Plano and drove the rest of the way to Little Rock. Due to a complete misreading of the map, we bypassed Hot Springs National Park, which was the only attraction in Arkansas we had any particular interest in given our schedule.
Trip Stats
We bought two tanks of gas, taking us to 16 for the trip.
We had dinner on one patio. We got takeout three times, one of which was ice cream. Trip totals: 16 patios and 14 takeout meals.
We stayed overnight in two AirBNBs for three nights. That took the trip total to 10 AirBNBs for 14 night
Friday, September 23 - Abilene to Dallas, TX. ~181 miles.
Visually, Dallas does not have a lot to recommend it. It's flat and unattractive and feels like a suburb that got completely out of control instead of a city. During our September visit it was ungodly hot. The traffic is heavy, and the roads confusing. I've driven all across this country. I've driven in Los Angeles, across Manhattan, and in Chicago. Dallas is the only place I've ever been where I'm convinced that I would never have found my destination without GPS. The interstate is a maze that climbs higher into the sky than anything else in the city. Let's hear it for GPS.
Speaking of the interstate, M has a cute magnet on her car of a Sasquatch with hiking gear. While we were pulling into the city a truck pulled up along side and motioned for her to roll down her window. When she did, the driver yelled "I believe in Bigfoot too!" That was fun, and yes, the driver in question looked like the kind of guy you'd expect to believe in Bigfoot.
Anyway, we made it to our AirBNB and cranked the air conditioner. It was glorious. Then we met Sam and her family for dinner. One major plus side to Dallas was an extensive supply of restaurants from throughout Latin America. We had dinner on a patio at Gloria's Latin Cuisine, a Salvardoran/Tex-Mex chain. It was a chain, but food like that largely can't be found in Cleveland, so I enjoyed the hell out of it. We had a very nice meal together on the patio.
Saturday, September 24
This was a good day to take it easy in the air conditioning. We continued our binge of Latin food with takeout from Pollo Compero. I may not have exactly the right one linked, but Pollo Campero is also a chain. In this case, it's a chain of fried chicken restaurants based in Guatemala. If you see see one, you know there is a substantial Guatemalan community in the vicinity. M was familiar with Pollo Comparero from her time in the Peace Corps, and since I missed getting food from there when I was in Oklahoma City in 2019, I wasn't going to make the same mistake. It was very good fast food fried chicken, and I would absolutely eat it again.
That night, I went to the Guardian/Rangers game, which merits its own post. While I was gone, Sam came over and drank wine with M. When I got back to the house, I ran out to mail the birthday cards for the week, and stopped for Dairy Queen on the way back. That ice cream tasted really damn good when I was filling up the gas tank.
Sunday, September 25 - Dallas to Little Rock, AR. ~320 miles.
After packing up the car, we went over to Sam's house. M and Birdie swam in their pool with Sam's kids and their adorable otter-like dog. It was a fine way to spend the morning.
From there, we got back on the road to the east. We had a snack at Wendy's in Plano and drove the rest of the way to Little Rock. Due to a complete misreading of the map, we bypassed Hot Springs National Park, which was the only attraction in Arkansas we had any particular interest in given our schedule.
Trip Stats
We bought two tanks of gas, taking us to 16 for the trip.
We had dinner on one patio. We got takeout three times, one of which was ice cream. Trip totals: 16 patios and 14 takeout meals.
We stayed overnight in two AirBNBs for three nights. That took the trip total to 10 AirBNBs for 14 night