Ryan and I had a great, relaxing trip visiting with his family, seeing the city, and eating some great food, because it's always about the food. I should've taken more pictures, but don't worry, I'll share all the details!
Friday
Our plane left Greenville suuuuper early, before the sun came up. But that meant we got to Dallas at 8 am and had a whole day ahead of us! Ryan's mom made us breakfast (and now, I must have this egg poacher), we hung around the house for a bit, and then headed downtown Dallas to meet up with Tyler for lunch! We tried out Bowery's, a new hot dog joint and were pretty impressed. Tyler took us on a tour of his office (which had a pretty awesome view), then we headed back to the house. A little afternoon shopping with Ryan's mom and brother, then it was time for margaritas at the country club! Ryan's stepsister Laurel, whom I got to meet in March, joined us for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Give this girl steak nachos and tequila shots and you know she's happy! A few of Ryan's high school friends came over to the house after dinner. We had been up since 3 am and I was fading real quick. I feel asleep on a lounge chair by the pool before midnight! Such a party pooper.
Saturday
We woke up late morning and just had to have Whataburger (again). Unfortunately, Ryan's allergies showed up with a vengeance just in time for this trip, and he didn't feel so great. He took an all afternoon nap while I read by the pool. He recovered long enough for us to catch the Rangers game! His friend works in the ticket office and hooked us up with awesome seats! We met up with a friend from Clemson and another of Ryan's high school friends, and had a great time! The Rangers won with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 9th! We went out to a bar in Fort Worth afterwards. Ideal Saturday in my book!
Sunday
This was a bit of a tourist-y day. We went to a diner that Ryan grew up eating in. It turned out that Sunday was their last day in that location, so some of the menu items were $1.68 - the original price the day the restaurant opened!! How cool is that? We then went to the Sixth Floor Musuem in the Texas School Book Depository where they found Lee Harvey Oswald's rifle when JFK was shot. I'm obsessed in love with the Kennedy family, so I was really glad Ryan took me to the museum, and he had never been either! Back at the house, I left for my four miler, then we had a cookout at the house! Ryan's grandmother, Laurel, Chris, and two nephews came over to hang out by the pool and have dinner. I had such a great time playing with the kids and it was such a relaxing evening. I love low-key family get-togethers, even other people's families!
Monday
I was glad we had an extra day to decompress and wind down before hopping on a plane again. We had lunch (Texas BBQ) with Ryan's mom and stepdad, and then Ryan took me on a tour of Coppell where he grew up! It was so much fun to drive around..we saw his old houses, his elementary, middle, and high schools, where he played ball growing up, etc. I loved taking a trip down memory lane with him, since that was way before we met! He also drove me around SMU, where his dad and stepsisters went to college.
Unfortunately, it was time for the trip to end. Surprisingly, Ryan's dad and stepmom happened to be in Dallas for work, so we got to have dinner with them before we went to the airport. We had dinner at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, and I swear to you, it was the most amazing steak I've ever had. It just melted in your mouth. The lettuce wedge and lobster mac and cheese didn't hurt either. I would walk back to Dallas to eat here again.
Goodbye Dallas! Don't worry, I'll definitely be back!
