Texas 2023
Our Easter journey to Texas began after teaching a class about Holiness on Wednesday of Holy Week. The class ended around noon. Then we faced a long drive to a center of unholiness, Las Vegas, It was nearly midnight as we navigated the Las Vegas lights to the Best Western Strat Hotel, the best deal in town:
Thursday's journey was in the daylight as we crossed the border into Arizona and headed towards Albuquerque. Barbara and I rotated time behind the wheel challenged by endless potholes in Arizona and New Mexico. Albuquerque was a welcome sight in the early evening:
It was a relief on Friday morning to leave potholes behind as we entered Texas. We spent most of the day crossing the state from Amarillo in the northwest to McKinney just north of Dallas. The sun was setting as we checked into the Best Western. Adjusting to another time zone and three long days of driving, we slept in Saturday morning before braving the Texas freeway and expressway to Melissa, a quick 20 minute ride. We parked in the Sidler family's driveway then walked to the front door where we were greeted by Jenny and Steve with the rest of the family being protected by their dogs, Roxie and Sparky. Steve and Wyatt put the dogs in the backyard so that we could visit. As we caught up with the family news, the dogs joined us still providing great security. Later on, we voted on a nearby restaurant for everyone to enjoy an authentic Tex-Mex dinner. The enchiladas were a fantastic introduction.
During dinner, we talked about our last visit in 2019 to see Wyatt and Helena graduate from Melissa High School. Their graduation was in Allen, Texas, so we didn't see the high school. We decided to drive by the high school after dinner to see where where Sienna attends as a sophomore. We realized that schools are bigger in Texas, but we never imagined that Melissa High School would be larger than many junior colleges with a football stadium bigger than some universities':
On the way back to the motel we had to see one more super-sized Texas attraction, Buc-ee's, the world's largest convenience store and car wash attached to an enormous gas station:
On Easter Morning we attended Mass at St. Gabriel's Church in McKinney, followed by a Texas-sized Easter Egg hunt:
When we re-joined the Sidler family, Wyatt and Helena had hid Easter eggs for Emma outside and inside:
Sienna posed with Jennifer by the fireplace before glazing the Easter ham:
We posed with plates filled with Easter ham, brisket, potato casserole, and salad:
After dinner, Steve and Jennifer relaxed with Sparky and Roxie and the rest of us. A while later, we gave everyone a good-bye hug then returned to our motel to rest up for an early morning trip to Alamosa Colorado.
On the way out of Texas the next morning we stopped to click pictures of some Texas blue bonnets..
...checked out a picnic table stop in Oklahoma and tried out a nearby cafe for lunch.
We took a little side trip to Alva, Oklahoma to visit the University where Barbara's Mom & Dad met...
...and married in a church a few blocks away. Barbara posed at the church entrance where Ged & Ruth took a wedding picture over 80 years ago.
We arrived at the Best Western in Alamosa (Barbara's birth place) by nightfall. The next morning we took a few pictures of the church where she was baptized:
Heading northwest through Colorado, we stopped for a few Kodak moments on the way to Salt Lake City.
