Trip to Houston

Back on February 1^st, Dad and I left for a whirlwind trip to Houston. Our purpose in going was to meet with the board members of “A Child’s Hope,” an organization that I will potentially be partnering with (to read more on that partnership, go here.) We left for Houston Friday night after work, which ended up being around 6:30 p.m.

Our trip certainly started off with a bang. Dad was talking with Mom on the phone as we were driving down our road in the dark. Just as he hung up, he slammed on the brakes because there were 2 deer in the road! We almost never see deer, so it was quite a surprise to nearly hit them! Thankfully we had no other near-run-ins during our drive.

Although the drive to Houston took us almost 6 hours, it seemed so short relative to the drives we’ve made to Pennsylvania and Ohio over the past couple of months. I was slack-jawed the whole time we drove through downtown Dallas. That city is HUGE! I was also amazed at the number of accidents and police officers we saw. I think in this one weekend, between Dallas and Houston, I saw more police cars on the side of the road for accidents and traffic stops than I have in the last 6 months! While both cities are beautiful, I am perfectly happy living in the middle of nowhere. I could never get used to the amount of traffic.

*Disclaimer: I feel like I should apologize for the next four pictures. I was a little lazy while we traveled and took pictures with my iPod instead of my camera. They definitely didn’t turn out great, but there are just moments when I don’t feel like lugging a big camera around.*

Around 8:00 p.m., we stopped to get some dinner at Church’s Chicken. The chicken and biscuit was pretty good, but I’ve certainly had better.

Around 10:00 p.m., we stopped in the middle of nowhere because we saw a sign advertising Dr. Pepper slushies (driving late at night, we were both struggling to stay awake and something cold sounded like just the right thing to wake us up.) The place we stopped at—“Buc-ee’s”—was HUGE and busy for that time of night! It has 32 gas pumps, and a huge store inside. They had just about everything a traveler could want in there, and it was decorated very attractively for a gas station.

Again, another blurry picture because I felt a little ridiculous taking a picture of a jeweled longhorn skull in the women’s bathroom. J Is it just me, or would you have taken a picture too? Please tell me I’m not the only one who does stuff like that! J

The Dr. Pepper slushie certainly helped wake us up (and excuse my hand in the picture. It is definitely NOT that red, but the Instagram filter did that.)

 Alright, now that you’ve suffered through those 4 pictures we can move on. J Dad and I got to our hotel around 12:00 a.m. and got to bed around 1:00 a.m. The next morning, Dad got up at 7:30 a.m. to go running. I slept in, which felt a little strange because normally I’m the one getting up early to run. I got up and got ready shortly after that.

We left our hotel around 9:30 a.m. to head for the home where the meeting was being held. The weather was absolutely beautiful that day! I think it got up to around 76 or 77 degrees. That was enough to make this thick-blooded northerner wish she had worn a T-shirt! J

The home where we had the meeting was absolutely beautiful (the President of “A Child’s Hope” owns it.) I felt so welcomed by the other board members and was quickly put at ease.

We enjoyed a delicious brunch which we took outside. We ate by their stone fireplace as we discussed our organizations and their respective visions.

Dad and I with some of the board members.

We finished up at their house around 12:00 p.m. Dad and I went to get the car washed and had the oil changed. Next, we headed over to one of the local churches. The Pastor of our church in Michigan had taken on a new church in Houston back in June. When our family moved to Texas, we knew we had to get together since we lived that much closer to each other!

So we were thrilled to visit with Pastor R and his oldest son, R. We met them at the church and Pastor gave us the grand tour.

After that, we went out to a local barbeque restaurant. The food was really good, and the fellowship even better! J We were disappointed that the rest of our families couldn’t be there, but hopefully both families will all get together soon.

R and I enjoying lunch.

When I told Dad and Pastor to smile for a picture, I got pretty lame smiles. I made a joke about it, and that made them both laugh. J

Dad and I left Houston around 4:00 p.m. and got back home around 10:30 p.m. that evening after a few stops along the way. It was much harder staying up that night as opposed to the day before. I think it was because we had such a long and full day! Full stomachs may have had something to do with that as well . . . J

Our trip to Houston went very well and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to go!