Get R Done!

Well, we wrapped up our trip to the Lone Star state and we’re taking some time to recount all the memories from the last month. I’m currently at a quiet RV park which overlooks the Will Rogers Downs horse track in NE Tulsa, quite a contrast from the dynamic nature of North Dallas and Austin. From trips to the zoo where you can go face to face with enormous giraffes to the Fort Worth Stockyards, a historic longhorn herd district that preserves and teaches the art of cattle droving, to grabbing a “Whataburger” and realizing that it pales in comparison to In-n-Out (Texans let’s talk about this in a civilized manner or at least agree to disagree). Suffice to say, Texas truly is one of a kind, a big state, a small country, a lot of character.  

In Austin, we had the opportunity to meet with several acquaintances from our past. A teammate of mine who is using breakthrough technology to improve the cattle industry, our friends from Boise who have now woven themselves into our RV journey on three separate occasions, and my grade school principal and piano teacher who have recently transplanted themselves from California (apparently they weren’t the first Californians with that idea). We never get bored hearing the latest chapters of their stories, we never regret the investment of time. In addition to the storytelling, we took a drive thru the hill country, hiked up to an overlook of Lake Travis, and saw the famous Texas memorial stadium before heading north. 

Lake Whitney, nestled amongst the rolling hills 30 minutes NW of Waco (and within striking distance of Chip and Joanns Magnolia Silos), was our next home. Each RV site was completely surrounded by trees and you could use the birds as your morning alarm clock. I enjoyed early morning jogs to the waterfront, observing various animals and soaking up the beautiful sunrise. But the weather would take a turn and by nightfall of the 3rd day the ominous clouds had moved in, the wind was picking up, and the rain started to fall…and fall…. and fall. Now, before I go any further, let me tell you something about Daniel. He is infatuated with weather. Always looking up the forecast, reading a book called “Wild Weather”, and, for some reason, constantly asking if its hurricane and tornado season. So it was only fitting that when my phone and Nikki’s buzzed simultaneously (you know the sound---when some federal agency is trying to warn you about something really important) that Daniel would be the first to grab the phone and read the phrase “tornado warning, seek immediate shelter!” Try putting that one back in the box. We spent the next 2 hours in a bathroom trying to calm the kids down and enjoying hearing about the life story of an elderly couple who was equally rattled by the weather. (NOTE: Ally says I talk too much to strangers but what else was I supposed to do?). Although the alleged tornado never came closer than 30 miles, we were up all night because rain and hail aren’t the best ingredients for a good night’s sleep in an RV. Episodes like this show us the limits of our human abilities and force us to rely on God’s protective hand. 

So with that, we headed up to Prosper, a city in the northern suburbs of Dallas, to spend time with our friends from Hawaii. They were also in our small group and we were able to reminisce about our time on the island and catch up with each other’s lives- multiple meals together, watching their kids sports, and doing an absolutely insane 500 AM workout.  It was especially great for Ally because she has a great friendship with their two oldest daughters and they got some quality girl time. We made this the kids spring break (another shameless plug on the benefits of homeschooling) so they could spend time with them AND because a surprise was in store—my folks flew in and surprised them for Easter. Countless board games, sleepovers, a trip to the museum of Illusions, coming up with our own theory of the JFK assassination, and of course some much needed Dim Sum. Man, what a packed two weeks. Our time in Prosper was a time to Prosper, to fill our tanks with more stories and to reconnect with our island friends. We made tentative plans to meet up next year in San Diego, and I’m writing that here to bind them to that!

So that’s a wrap. We definitely got r dun in Texas and r definitely dun with Texas, for now. It’s too monstrous to absorb in one month, barely scratched the surface so we’ll mess with Texas and their oversized high school football stadiums on another trip. But before I completely sign off I realized that I didn’t fully qualify my April 1st post….most of the content was correct- I did read that book, I was energized with the thought of going global with our adventure, but I did not receive any such approval from any other member of the family. In fact when I suggested to Ally that we fly around the globe, she looked at me with that - “are you kidding me look” so I guess I had to be truthful and say, yes, April fools.   

Much Aloha, Mike and Nikki