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Published: January 18th 2014
We had to stay at my folks' house in Bella Vista, AR, for a few extra days as there was a Cocktail Convention in San Antonio and rooms were either way too expensive or non-existent from Jan. 16-19. It turned out to be a good thing because I was able to make my mom happy and get a flu shot. She was very upset that I had not gotten one yet so I went to a Harps grocery store (Walgreens was all out) and got the shot. It turned out the pharmacist who gave me the shot knew my mother and had worked with her several years ago - who knew? Anyway, I made her happy and got myself some extra protection at the same time. NB Andrew and Tim, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and make your mom happy. 😊 We had a good time sitting at their dining room table and planning the Texas portion of our trip. Mom and Dad got in the act, too, and started planning their trip to my brother's house in Ridgecrest, CA, in March. It is very obvious where I inherited my wanderlust. I wouldn't be surprised if my folks
Ouachita National Forest
What a beautiful drive through the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahomadecide to leave early and head for Texas, too. I think they're as excited about this trip of ours as we are. :D
We left Bella Vista at 10:00 am on Thursday, Jan. 16 and headed straight for the Oklahoma border. It was not an auspicious start as only a few miles into OK a rock hit our windshield and made a big crack on the passenger side. Guess we'll have to get it fixed eventually, but at least it doesn't hinder the driver's view. The rest of the trip down small roads on the extreme eastern side of OK was uneventful and extremely beautiful. We drove down scenic route 10 and passed many beautiful resorts along the Illinois River (at least I'm sure they're beautiful in the summer). We stopped in Tahlequah to see the Cherokee Heritage Center, but I hadn't done my homework well enough ahead of time and found out that it is closed in January. We saw quite a few Choctaw Indian casinos along the way, but decided not to stop. We drove through the Oachita (pronounced "wa'-chi-ta") National Forest about halfway through the state. It was an absolutely beautiful drive that reminded me somewhat
Baby Acapulco Restaurant in Austin
We sat near the stage, but didn't stay for the live music - we really ARE getting old! of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once we left the park and headed south, we noticed lots of trees either bowed over or snapped off and lying close to the road. When we had to stop for construction a little way down the road, I asked the worker what happened and he said that there had been a big ice and wind storm after Christmas and they were just now getting the last of the trees off the road. That must have been some storm! We got to Idabel, OK about 3:30 and decided to stop for the night. The oil change light had come on several miles earlier so we took the Odyssey to a Meineke in Idabel and had the oil changed. Thank goodness that's all that was wrong with it. Had dinner at a Braum's Ice Cream restaurant (good burgers) and got to bed early.
Friday, we got up early and headed south for Texas, about 14 miles away. The weather was cold, but sunny. The landscape changed to gently rolling hills and miles and miles of cattle ranches. I wanted to get a picture of one of the ranch gates, but couldn't find the "perfect" one. Maybe I'll find one later in the trip. We still have a lot of Texas to get through. We stayed on the small roads, going through lots of small Texas towns, til we got to Austin about 3:30. We decided to wait til tomorrow to go into Austin and opted to have dinner at the Baby Acapulco Mexican restaurant next to the hotel. The lady at the front desk recommended it and the smells coming from there were really appetizing so seemed like a no-brainer. The food was pretty good and I really liked the Mexican martini that our waitress recommended. She couldn't believe that I had never heard of a Mexican martini! Jim was disappointed with his Margarita. Hopefully we'll get some good ones when we get to San Antonio on Sunday.
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Millie
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Love to keep up with you
Thanks for a blog so soon. So great to hear what you are seeing and doing. Love you, Mom