Saturday, June 8, 2013

Road Trippin’: Five Insights from Houston to Dallas and Home Again

Cookies for the Road{Cookies for the road!  Recipe here if you feel like baking.}

Paul and I were on the road this week, and it was fantastic!  We did a little tour of Texas, spending a day in Houston and two days in Dallas, visiting friends, eating great food, and sleeping as late as we wanted.  I finally got to see my friend Courtney in her city, where we ate empanadas, drank chai milkshakes at her favorite coffeeshop (Plum Coffee, in case you were wondering), and made an explicit agreement that I would be her grad school cheerleader/sympathizer if she decides to go back to earn her PhD.  After that, Paul and I met up with his college friend Brandon and Brandon’s beautiful family.  From Houston we went on to Dallas, where we hung out with our friends the Minnericks, whose photography will blow you away—seriously.  Wow.  (Also, this.  Wow.)  Paul got his first taste of an all-vegan restaurant, Spiral Diner, and we learned that Jam Jar’s sweet Shiraz is a terrific wine.  (Yes, it’s sweet, but not overpoweringly so.  I was curious and skeptical, but in the end, we killed that bottle of wine, no problem.  It was delicious.)

For me, it was a week of great conversation, the kind that make you hungry for more.  I want to talk more about those conversations in future blog posts because I feel like there’s a lot to unpack.  For now, I thought I’d share a few notable things from this trip, things I’d like to remember for the future.

* I don’t like to collect kitchy things, but at the Comfort Inn where we stayed in Houston, they had a waffle-maker that makes waffles in the shape of Texas.  That would be, I think, the perfect souvenir for my time in the Lone Star State.  (Also, the waffles were surprisingly delicious.  I had a bite of Paul’s, then he offered to make me one.  Then he went back for seconds!  They were that good.  Also, a boyfriend who offers to make you a waffle is a good thing.)

* Sometimes the best way to spend your money on the road is to purchase some privacy via a hotel room. 

* Some people have a knack for changing your mind.  And others have a knack for making you think.  Paul and Courtney fall into that first category—they are rhetorical powerhouses who will win you over.  I am not a rhetorical powerhouse, and I’ve decided that I’m okay with this—at least in conversation.  But if I can get you to think, then I will feel I have accomplished something meaningful.

* Some of my happiest moments occur when I get to listen to smart people talk to each other.  I’m a happy sponge, soaking up all the good stuff.

* Contentment is a small dog that tucks itself into the space between you and another person.  Or how about a dog that asks you to cover him up with a blanket?  Adorable.

Happy weekend, friends.

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