What brings me to Dallas? Seether, of course! The start of my second summer of Seether. I have my tickets in hand. Well, on my phone. I have the Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum deluxe edition plus T-shirt on order. Well, pre-order. I got to listen to Deliver Me once before they realized their mistake and took it back down. I listened to Leech on the airplane. Yeah, that didn't work out. Pretty bad if you can't hear Seether through the earbuds stuck in your ears. And the flight crew had an announcement in the middle of the song. "Dong". "Something, something about safety." Don't you know you are interrupting Seether!
Yes, I know I'm being ridiculous. Let's move on. So with the March practice under my belt, I took out my ID early, put everything, including shoes and phone in boxes to be scanned and remembered to tell the official by the scanning booth I had a belt on. He had me take it off and he held it while I was being body scanned. In the plane, wedged into our seats which had comfort-sized foot room for the length, but not for the width. We had A and B and poor Mr. C had to move to let us in. Not only that, we had to wake him up so I could go all the way to the back to go to the bathroom. Sorry, Mr. C, but it was a three hour flight. I felt I was running the gauntlet through people on either side of the very narrow isle. Being squished in three to a row on either side meant some overhang and me being a bigger gal, both up and down and across, I was apologizing all the way down and all the way back up. Mr. C proceeding me on the way down. I thought he had to use the facilities as well, but turned out he gave up on his peaceful nap and stayed back talking to the flight attendant until he had to go back to his seat.
We gathered our belongings and picked up our luggage. And then I realized that the rental car info was not in my folder of papers. Yes, I said it, papers. Like you print out and put in a folder. So when your laptop doesn't connect to wireless and your phone dies, you still have the information you need. Except when it's at home, on your desk. What was the car rental company I used? I know it started with an "A". I think it did, anyway. And I know it was at the top of the half circle of car rental places in the car rental building off site of the airport terminals. Which are also designed in half circles. What's with Dallas and circles? The freeway has a system of ring roads. Back to the rental. I remembered "A" and "top of the half circle of agencies" and "Mid-sized Ford Malibu". But not the name.
We guessed right on the first try and was soon getting lost getting out of Dallas with the help of our not so helpful Google Map Lady. I tell you, she was messing with us. It took 3.5 hours for a less than two hour trip. Yeah, I know the traffic out of Dallas was pretty slow, but she seemed determined to take us the long way to Flint. Hey, I did get to see license plates from Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee. And so many Texas license plates! Yeah, my husband didn't think it was funny, either.
Out of the heavy traffic of Dallas and we are on Federal, State, Local roads. We would be on one road and the directions would lead us to another road. "Merge onto I-20 East. Keep left to stay on I-20 E. Take exit 540 to FM 314." Wait, we are going to a radio station? No, F M is Farm to Market road and most have four digits. FM2661 S. The speed limits surprised me. A road I guessed was posted at 50 was 60. On another, I had to speed up to 70. And guys, Texas is BIG. Texas has a lot of roads. "Keep right on the fork to stay on US-80 E" for 19 miles. "Merge on to I-20 E" and stay on for 23.4 miles with another 17.5 after you keep left to stay on it. Turn left onto State Highway 64 E. Stay on it for 10 miles. Turn right onto FM 2661S. Yes! we are almost there. Another 10.7 miles.
East Texas is quite lovely, with lots of green fields, trees that grow close enough to make a bower over the road in some places. The roads are bordered by tall trees, green grass and fields with very attractive cows. I followed a truck with two calves and three cows around a left turn and my husband said, "You know he moved to the right so you could pass him by going in the middle lane." Well, no, I was too busy looking at the pretty cows in front of me. The fawn colored one was looking at me with "cow-eyes" over the tail-gate. Cattle. I'm still looking for a longhorn, but it's early days.
We checked in and here we are in a nice room with the usual hotel artwork of birds, flowers, nature scenes and . . . This:
What the hell is this? A detached leg over a piece of bacon? A coffee maker with eyes? Maybe I'll figure it out if I look long enough. [My husband says it's a cat shitting in a lady's shoe--I love that guy!]
On the other hand, this is the view towards Lake Palestine last night.
The next morning I had a waffle with pecans on it in the shape of Texas! How cool is that? And fried okra and sweet tea yesterday. There is a restaurant around here with a sign inside that says, "It ain't food if it ain't fried." This is Nettie's Southern Kitchen. An encouraging bit of hyperbole and it speaks to me. There was an Fantasy Flash Cards with the Seether guys in 2020 asking them questions and one the the questions was, what would be your last meal. Shaun's was KFC chicken. Just the skin. Yeah, sort of disgusting, but not.
Although I complain about the heat and humidity, Sweet Tea, Barbeque, fried okra and fried green tomatoes--am I living in the wrong state? It's been in the lower 90's with 60% humidity or above. I haven't put lotion on my arms yet and my skin is nice. No lizard skin here!
O.K., I really did go to the concert on Sunday. I'll cover the day in the next post.
EM
PS: I don't really hate the Google Map Lady. Considering she doesn't live in Texas, she does pretty well. Better than I do. But giving me directions like, "Use the right two lanes to go left and left" and telling me to get on a highway that has an on ramp going to the left with another road right next to it. Neither are marked. I found myself going down the highway going South in a Northbound lane for a minute. Holy Shit! Only one time, but it was more than enough. You are thinking, "This woman must be directionally impaired." Well, duh! But I have great taste in music. I do tend to get off exits early or late. My husband says, "Just look at the blue line." "Well it's not blue." "Cause you aren't on a street the Google Lady knows." By the time we are back to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, the Google Lady will have developed an exasperated sigh every time she has to "recalculate." "Hate you too, EM!"
PSs: I don't mean to be rude, but look at a picture of Lake Palestine. Does the Dogwood peninsula look sort of like a body part or am I just that kind of gal. It's probably just me. Forget I said anything.
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