Texas: The Lone Star State
State #: 29
Cities traveled to: Waco, Dallas
Population: 29.15M
Minimum wage: $7.25/hr
Famous people from TX:
Janis Joplin, Selena Gomez, Mathew McConaughey, Bonnie & Clyde
Oklahoma: A New Frontier
State #: 30
Cities traveled to: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Indiahoma
Population: 3.96M
Minimum wage: $7.25/hr
Famous people from OK:
Brad Pitt, Reba McEntire, Chuck Norris, Carrie Underwood
Arkansas: The Natural State
State #: 31
Cities traveled to: Hot Springs, Texarkana
Population: 3.01M
Minimum wage: $11.00/hr
Famous people from AK:
Johnny Cash, Bill Clinton
Welcome back for more tales from different cities! It's your favorite dynamic duo, Miki and me, back at it again with our suitcases barely unpacked and our wanderlust at an all time high.
When we last left off, we were waving goodbye to Nashville, our cowgirl boots still echoing Broadway from our unforgettable New Year's Eve bash! Just when our boots started collecting dust (five whole days home) we packed our bags and headed south—again. This time tackling Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
You know, our adventures always seem to start the same—at the crack of dawn, parading through the terminals at EWR. After a quick four-hour flight, we found ourselves in the Lone Star State where everything is just bigger and better, right?
Travel tip: flying into Dallas and driving from there is way more budget-friendly than landing at any nearby Oklahoma or Arkansas airport.
Once we landed in Dallas, Miki and I wasted no time. We hit the road straight to Waco, home of the Waco Mammoth National Monument. I mean, who wouldn't want to spend their vacation observing the bones of the late colossal Columbian Mammoth? Those creatures are no joke standing at 12 feet tall and weighing in at 9.5 tons (the equivalent to five cars)!
This national park is affordable, accessible, educational, and fun. You enter the park and it’s just a small walk to the exhibit where you get to view the fossils from above—providing a better perspective of just how massive they are. I highly recommend it for families with younger children or just curious adults!
After playing paleontologist we traded in our chisels for chips and had an epic Texan lunch. This was our first taste of “everything’s bigger in Texas”. Affordable and generously served this was one of the best meals Miki and I have had far from home. We each ordered two massive tacos that even after our morning adventures we struggled to finish! I also got a side of fries, which were seasoned to perfection.
We then headed to what would be our home for the next two nights, Dallas! Founded in 1841, Dallas quickly developed as a major hub due to its prime location for railroads. We stayed with Miki’s mother’s cousin, Jessica, and her husband, Scott. Their home was nothing short of a castle—beautifully designed and effortlessly welcoming. Interestingly, they were in the process of selling the house that weekend. To add to the chaos, Jessica’s son came down with the flu. Despite all this, they managed to entertain us, care for their son, and finalize the sale of their home. Scott even kept up with his jerky business during all this! Seriously, check out SUCK IT JERKY. If anyone deserves your business, it’s Scott, my Crumbl cookie loving buddy.
From Dallas, we took a day trip to the Wichita Mountains in Comanche County, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is kinda cool, guys.
The Wichita Mountains are more like glorified hills, dotted with rocks, trees, and bursts of tumbleweed. As you climb, you get this epic view of a rushing brook. But be careful—the hills all look alike and as you travel further in you can quickly lose track of where you've been (download an offline map if you go!). Miki and I had a blast climbing the rocks and summits of numerous hills. We hiked the 40-foot hole trail. We were less than successful in finding the hole, but we were prioritizing not getting lost. The wildlife refuge offers a variety of trails and plenty of rivers. While the mountain climbing may not be accessible to everyone, there are paved roads near many of the rivers!
From the mountains, we drove to Oklahoma City. The city surprised us with its modern vibe and booming restaurants. Like Dallas, Oklahoma City experienced a boom around the 1930s after oil was discovered. It’s a built-up city with a great music scene and friendly people. Unfortunately, our time in Oklahoma was short lived and we had to head back to Dallas that night.
We returned to Jessica and Scott's home, our final night in their perfectly nestled neighborhood in our beloved Dallas castle.
That night was a bit chaotic, so I’ll sum it up in brief phrases:
The cowboys. The local Holiday Inn. Elijah's flu takes a turn for the worse. Leftover Crumbl cookies.
That's as much as I remember. But I do remember having fun and being worried for Elijah. From what I hear, Elijah has fully recovered from that flu and is doing great.
We woke early the next morning to start our trek to Hot Springs, Arkansas where we would spend our last night. Hot Springs is incredibly rich in history. The town itself is interesting to navigate. The hot springs are sprinkled all around downtown, some trails that provided immediate easy access to the hot springs, other trails that were miles in that had larger deposits. There are even hikes off the highway that lead to a monstrous view of dense foliage. Miki and I hiked to the top and were blown away with the lookout view.
It’s no secret that the hot springs were thought to be a means of rehabilitation, but did you know that Al Capone–ya know the famous criminal—was sent to the Hot Springs after prison in hopes the water would cure his Syphilis. There are plaques all around town describing the exact details. Fascinating.
It's about then when Miki suggested we go to the local brewery that uses the hot spring water in their beer.
Pause for dramatic effect.
What?
See, I will do just about anything once. But that's where you lose me. I don't need Al Capone’s 90 year old syphilis flavoring my IPA. Miki on the other hand had herself two beers.
To each their own, I guess.
After having dinner at the brewery and strolling through downtown we made our way over to the store to get ourselves a bottle of wine for the hotel room.
To our surprise, as we attempted to check out of the kroger with our $5 moscato, two staff members rushed us. I was flattered, I know we look young but not young enough for two staff members to nearly frisk us was a first for me.
Turns out it is illegal to purchase alcohol from stores on Sundays.
No need to worry though, the lovely kroger staff advised us that we can buy liquor from the bar and take it to go (this concept will never make sense to me).
We retired from the idea of relaxing with a bottle of wine and headed to check in at our hotel…which conveniently had a bar. As we freshened up in our room we flirted with the idea of getting wine from the bar and after seeing it was only 6PM we strolled down to the main lobby and set up shop.
Go to local bars.
If you want a feel for the town you are in, go to a bar.
This experience of sitting at a hotel bar and sipping wine as we talked with the bartender and other patrons of the hotel was one of our favorite experiences of this whole trip so far.
Sharon is moving to the south of France in August with her husband who plays music. Darren is from Baton Rouge but now lives in the rurals of Louisiana; he works for a major engineering company and travels frequently to Hot Springs on business. Tim’s wife hosts karaoke on Sunday nights and he is forever proud of all she has done. Maria and Charlie got into a fight that night and who’s to say if Charlie ever apologized. To this day these characters run through our minds and we would love to sit at that bar and see where the past seven months have taken everyone.
Go to Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. You’ll come home with a full belly, happy heart, and the urge to spark up a conversation with a stranger.
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