My Trip To Texas

I recently took a trip with a group I am a part of to Texas. I had never been there before and didn’t know what to expect, although we always try to have a good time. I decided to do another road trip, I probably would skip that if I was going again but I made it safely. So I tried to do some research on things to do in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the evenings and found a few things to check out. One of them was the Fort Worth Stockyards which included Billy Bobs Honky Tonk which is called the largest honky tonk in the world.

So I started out at night from where I live because this was going to be a 20 – 24 hour trip. The first main stop was going to be the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid in Memphis TN. This was my second visit to the pyramid. I had visited Memphis before with this group and when I did I was roughly 250 lbs so I was at least 100 lbs thinner for this trip and felt great about how much I’ve accomplished. I was tired by the time I made it to Memphis, I was there a bit early before they opened. It was an odd feeling being back there and thinking about how overweight I was the first time and how I felt about myself overall at that time. How different things were this time around! I was finally in a body I could take some pride in. Ok time to get back to the trip… The pyramid is an amazing building to see in person even if you are not into any time of hunting or sport it is worth going in. They have indoor ponds with live fish, alligators, and many more animals. There are little scenic spots for you to look at, restaurants, and the elevator with a observation deck at the top that overlooks Memphis and the Mississippi. I think the pyramid is so impressive to see while driving towards the city because it’s a pyramid. So after walking around the pyramid for a bit it was time to continue onto Texas.

Of course there were lots of gas station stops on the way down and there is the question of what to eat. I try not to eat fast food period but on trips like this it is hard to avoid all together. What I did was take apples, pears, bananas, protein drinks, and peanut butter sandwiches from home to get me through the trip down. I like stopping at the gas stations that have the newer fresh ground coffee machines, they are so much better than their regular coffee. One huge reason to take food with me is I know how my body will react to the food I take and to start a trip off I don’t want any surprises from possible upset stomach problems. Most of the gas stations were very nice and clean.

I ended up being the first of my group to arrive at the Sheraton DFW airport hotel. It was a very nice clean hotel. I had a nice high floor room with a view of the airport. If you like watching jets takeoff and land like I do I would highly recommend a view of the airport. They gave us free dinner that night although it was just burgers and chips in a make it yourself buffet style with cheesecake as a desert. I made a type of salad with what I could and tried a bite of cheesecake, it was still frozen and didn’t taste like it had any cream cheese in it. At least it was free and I still had some food from my trip. Gradually, people from the group started showing up and we sat in the lobby-bar area to chat. I was a bit zoned out from my trip although I started to get a bit of a adrenaline rush after awhile. That night I was to the JFK memorial in Dallas. I was able to park very close to the location and go check it out. It was pretty warm and no one was out which was very nice to get a chance to see it alone.

The next day we got to go to the airport to see a display that the Navy brought in and to tour the Southwest headquarters. The Navy crew told us a bit about what their experience being in the Navy was like which was very interesting to hear. They also showed us the helicopter they flew in from San Diego, we even got to sit in it. Afterward they were giving out squadron patches most of which we just had to answer questions to win. One challenge though was a pushup challenge. A small amount of the group undertook it including myself and I won. Words cannot fully describe the feeling of wholeness and pride I experienced in that moment. It was as if all the hard work over the last two years had been condensed to a single moment. That patch is the best souvenir I have ever received. They continued asking questions until everyone received a patch.

After the static display we visited the Southwest Airlines headquarters. It was interesting to see the inside of the headquarters. It is MUCH larger than I would have expected. They showed up some of the simulators and I even got a turn to “fly” one of them which was incredibly impressive because the cabin is laid out exactly like a real jet. They showed us around to see their social media station and the dispatch office. There are so many people working there and it is so large and complicated it really makes you stop and ponder all that parts involved in keeping this one airline going not to mention all the others. Before we left they took us out on their “social” observation deck that has a view of the runway where employees can socialize with each other. Afterward we were bussed back to out hotel.

The early itinerary of each day isn’t really worth mentioning. So we would chat as a group in between the conference as to what we would do later. The group decided to go to a honky tonk, not billy bobs. The honky tonk we went to was called Red River. This was the first honky tonk I had ever been too and I didn’t know what to expect. There is a cover fee to get into most of these places. This place was HUGE with a large dance floor, it reminds me of a large roller rink from when I was a kid. They had a stage with a band, Large tv screens, lots of bars throughout, a mechanical bull, and much more. I drank a bit too much for that night. I rode the mechanical bull and nearly fell off as fast as I got on. I didn’t really know how to dance although I did get to dance shortly. All I can really say is it was a blast, we all had so much fun we went back the next day. It was still fun the next day plus I didn’t drink too much this time around. They had more line dancing the second night. I didn’t know how to line dance either but I just jumped in and tried to copy everyone else, gotta learn sometime. If money wasn’t an object I would take a trip just to go to Red River again, I had that much fun.

The third night the group split into two groups, Red River and Billy Bobs. I decided to go to Billy Bobs since the claim was it was the largest honky tonk in the world. This is a bit funny, I drove and didn’t pay attention to any signs so we parked as close to the door as we could without paying then I saw people coming out and just went in that way so we ended up not paying the cover fee. Boy was I glad we didn’t pay to go in there. The dance floor compared to Red River was PATHETIC! There are like 100 pool tables but they are so close together that if someone is at the table next to you, you can’t both shoot from the same side. There is a live indoor rodeo but we weren’t there at the right time. They also have restaurants and a gift shop. I did get a shirt but this was such a disappointing spot after Red River. After Billy Bobs we walked into the Stockyards to a place, I think it was called Armadillo. It was a bar-club place and the music didn’t fit the area. I just decided to grin and bear it for the group. Hindsight is always 20-20 and I would have been saying I wished I would have gone to Billy Bob’s if I had skipped it but now I am saying I wished I had gone to Red River again. Oh well at least I made the most out of my trip there.

The next day most of the group started heading home. I already booked one more night so I could relax a bit and visit a little more. I enjoy exploring on my own a little bit and I think solo exploration is great so you don’t have to worry about anything else. I used some of this time to do some souvenir shopping. So I stopped in Grapevine first and checked out that town. They have a train that I think goes to the Fort Worth Stockyards, which was where I went next. The Stockyards is a very unique place to visit and it was interesting to see the old structure built up. They walk longhorn cattle through the middle of the road twice a day and also have a fake gunfight in the stockyard station building. I got to see both, they are family friendly but underwhelming to see. There is also a maze kids can go through at the stockyards. I didn’t go into Billy Bob’s again as I was disappointed the first time and didn’t want to pay to see it again. They seemed to have some cool bars at the stockyards however I didn’t visit them since I didn’t want to get a drink. The alcohol seems to flow freely there, most people were walking around with a beer in their hand. There are also people who keep driving around the stockyards in lowrider cars blasting annoying music. Overall it’s an interesting spot but far from the highlight of my trip. The stockyards are a spot to check out if you are there but I don’t feel they are worth traveling just to see them. After that I stopped to pick up a pizza at a local spot and went back to my hotel. Later that night I drove around to see Dallas again. I think it is really cool how the buildings change with multicolor lights.

The next day I was getting ready to leave. It always feels bittersweet when leaving after a trip. On one hand I’m sad it’s already over and on the other I’m happy that it happened and glad to have the memories. I decided to have breakfast at the hotel the last day which is $20. It is better then most hotel breakfasts and the coffee is better but the only real reason it’s worth the money is because it’s right there. After that I packed my car and had another cup of coffee in my room while watching the jets and thinking of the trip before checking out.

After checking out I headed down further into Texas to see The Alamo. One of the spots that I got to see on my way out was Buc-ee’s the largest gas stations in the world.

They aren’t kidding about that either it is like going into a slightly smaller Walmart. The only thing that was disappointing about the Buc-ee’s I stopped at is they didn’t have the fresh ground coffees I like. They are putting more targeting into sweet drinks and junk food. It was another several hours of driving to get to San Antonio and I arrived after they closed the interior. I was not aware they closed so early so I was only able to see it from the outside. I was also unaware that the Alamo is in downtown San Antonio as this was the first time I had been there. Afterward, I decided to go down to the riverwalk which is a really beautiful spot to see. They have lots of art, bars, and restaurants along the river and boat rides you can take. San Antonio is a place to visit alone and after my stop here to see the Alamo it was time to head home. So I started off driving at night from Texas and by the time I was coming back through Memphis it was daylight. Coming home was like going from summer back to spring. I made it back home safely and was happy that I could make something somewhat healthy to eat and go to sleep.

I had a great trip and this was one of the few times were the anticipation didn’t live up to the trip. Those are the best ones to take.