Rick and I took our annual temple road trip throughout the middle of June.
We left on the 10th after Rick had served his morning temple shift.
We flew into Tulsa and got a hotel just outside of town. It was late when we arrived but knew we had to get up early the next morning to travel to Bentonville.
The Bentonville Temple was our first stop. It is a new temple having been built in the last few years. It looks pretty big from the outside but is definitely a smaller temple. It sure is a beautiful temple. We stayed for an hour and did initiatory work.
After our temple experience we stopped at Pedalar's Pub for some brick oven pizza.
It took a looong time to get our food but it was tasty.
We then got on the road for the three and a half hour drive south to Oklahoma City.
We got to meet up with the Hamiltons (Aunt Teedle, Mary Evelyn, Cindy, and Haley) in their beaurtiful home.
Mary Evelyn had prepared a nice enchilada dinner with all of the fixins.
I love how members of the family are so hospitable. We got to visit and enjoy each other's company for a few hours. Before we left Rick gave each of them beautiful blessings. Mary Evelyn sure has a difficult time taking care of her sister and her mother. It is a lot on her shoulders but she is full of love for them.
Mary Evelyn met up with us the next morning to do some initiatory work at the Oklahoma City Temple.
We all got to sit in the Celestial Room together and Mary Evelyn shared some special experiences that she had recently had.
We met back at their home and they served us up a paper bag lunch to take with us since we were in a hurry to get on the road. Like I said super hospitable!
That evening we got to attend the Dallas, Texas Temple. The outside reminded me very much of the Las Vegas Temple but the inside was very different. It was so nice inside. Again, we did initiatory since it had been a long day.
We found an excellent restaurant (I can't remember the name of it) close to the temple.
We had some fun desserts and were stuffed silly by the end of the meal.
We got a good nights rest and didn't have to get up early the next day, which was really nice.
We met up with a group of ladies for a food tour in an old part of Dallas.
It was in a very retro part of town right next to the arts district.
We met up with our two guides at Church Broiler which happened to be a steakhouse and our first stop.
Look at that huge bull on top of the building.
I don't think I have ever had steak at 11:30 in the morning but it was tasty and of course, we were in DALLAS!
Our next stop was across the street at Morazan Restaurant.
This was an Argentine Restaurant that served up some good grub.
I don't remember the name of this dish but it had a thick corn tortilla with cheese and then some cabbage and a special sauce on top. It was really tasty.
Our next stop was the Xaman Cafe.
We sat at the bar.
These ladies were high school friends. they all grew up in Missouri and they meet up each year for a friend's reunion. They were fun!
This restaurant had a mayan flair and served up this molasses cookie with a hot chocolate drink.
After the Xaman Cafe we walked over to the arts district.
We stopped at a Mexican Restaurant and got this interesting dish.
I cannot remember its name but it was good. The sauce was too spicy for me to eat.
I thought this was a cute shirt.
Our last stop was at this Paleteria.
We got some Mango ice cream which was delicious.
It was served with chili powder on top which was not!
After our food tour we drove downtown to Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was assasinated.
We took a tour of the Texas School Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK.
After going through all of the historical exhibits we ended at this window where he shot the gun.
he was hiding behind a bunch of boxes and had his rifle out the window.
I hadn't realized it but Kennedy was shot from behind and was shot twice. The one that killed him went into his head.
Here is the Book Depository behind us.
This is the exact spot where the car was when he was struck.
That evening we drove to Globe Field to watch the Texas Rangers play.
First though, we grabbed some Texas BBQ before the game. I wish I could say we loved it.
But the sauce......meh. 😕 You gotta have a GOOD BBQ sauce to make it worthwhile!
A picture outside of Globe Life Field.
Wow! Such excitement to be at the ballpark!
We stopped at the merch store to get some shirts and hats.
Rick spent WAAAYY too much for his shirt!
(Although it sure is a good looking one, though)
We had to get some popcorn. It was served in this cute boot and had refills!
We also shared some peanut m&m's!
Go Rangers!
The next morning we were headed to Houston but decided to take an hour and a half detour towards Waco.
We got to have breakfast at the famous Magnolia Table!
Good food!
Next we stopped over to Chip and Joanna's Silos.
First we had to go into the bakery to get some bakery goods for the drive. Rick got a cupcake and a cookie. I got a sugar cookie.
I also enjoyed doing a little shopping in Joanna's store while Rick slept in the car.
I bought a new hydrojug and a cute piece of pottery.
After the three hour drive to Houston we got to do some more initatory in this beautiful place.
A gorgeous temple!
Next we drove over to Daikin Park for an Astros afternoon game
Outside the park
After buying some Astros merch we found our seats and cheered for the Astros!
Go Astros!! Super fun!
Rick had a HUGE dog.
....and I had some nachos.
It was a fun ballgame!
We stayed in Houston overnight. The next day was Sunday so we found a nearby church and went to meetings. It felt SO GOOD to go to a full Sunday meeting of our own faith. They are few and far between with our current calling of attending other faiths each Sunday.
After church we drove SIX HOURS to get down to South Padre Island which is close to the Mexican border. WE have been wanting to get to South Padre for quite some time so since there is a temple just an hour from SPI we decided to stay there for a few days. We had some nice r&r sitting alongside the pool and enjoying our nice room.
We stayed in the Courtyard, a new facility right on the beach.
We had a nice view of the pool and ocean.
Morning's sunrise....
We enjoyed time at the pool. The temps were warm and the water felt great!
We ordered nachos and drinks poolside.
While we were there we drove back across the causeway and climbed the lighthouse at Port Isabel.
It was a pretty view.
That evening we ate at The Meatball Cafe.
As soon as we sat down the waitress told us that all pasta and bread is made fresh daily.
Score! Rick had fettucini alfredo and I had the lasagna. The food was soooo good!!
The next morning we rented some bikes and rode around the town. We stayed mostly in the neighborhoods admiring all of the fun vacation houses:)
We stopped at a coffee shop and got a little something. I got a muffin and Rick got this delectable crepe. It was stuffed with lemon curd. He was nice enough to share a few bites!
I love anything lemony!
We took a minute to take a picture by the SPI sign.
That evening we got to go on a sunset dinner cruise. I wasn't expecting much but it was really great!
We had a couple on board playing old tunes from the seventies and that was just really nice...considering we lived through the 70's and loved the music! There were about thirty of us on board and we all had a place to sit. Booze was not sold on board but some people were prepared and brought their own. We enjoyed the water and soft drinks on board. I just love being on a boat. It is so relaxing and laid back!
There was a grill and a cook on board. We started out with grilled shrimp and then had fajitas. I think for dessert they passed around a bowl of hershey minis, which I thought was a little funny.
The sunset was really beautiful, and as the sun went down we cruised back to the place we started.
We ended the cruise with a fun fireworks show!
The next morning we had a late checkout so we just enjoyed the pool some more.
In the afternoon we headed off to the McAllen Temple.
Rick wanted to come here because it is a border town that was close to his mission. Many people he knew would cross the border up to McAllen to do some shopping and then head back down into Mexico.
The McAllen Temple is so pretty! It has only been dedicated for a year and is decorated with lots of color like the new temples. The outside has a hacienda look and was so beautiful as we came out and the sun was setting.
We ended the evening with dinner at Cheddar's Restaurant and then drove over to Harlingen to prepare for our early morning flight back home.
This temple road trip was a GREAT time. It is a fun tradition to see different states and different temples each summer. The McAllen Temple was our ninety eighth temple. We are looking forward to getting to one hundred!
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