June 2010 Family Vacation Day 6

It was our last day in Salina, KS and spending time with my father.  We spent the morning finishing our packing and spending what little time we had left with my father and Uncle Herman.  Although we didn’t do a lot here I was glad to spend time with both of them and have them finally meet the boys.  When we first planned this trip we didn’t realize that it was just before Father’s Day. Turned out that this was great gift to my father and seeing us go was a bit hard on him. I will miss him a lot. The good thing is that I left making sure he knew how to see pictures of us and to keep in touch.

The trip to Dallas, TX was very interesting. The boys watched Iron Man and Ben 10 DVDs while Ernest and I both fought fatigue. For some odd reason those six hours seemed so very long to us. We ran into very heavy rain about twice in Oklahoma. In fact, the rain was so bad in one area that there were cars pulled over to the side of the road waiting for it to slow down.  We were amazed at all the casinos you saw along the way. Never knew that there were this many casinos in this part of the country. And they were huge at that.

Let me just say that by the time we reached Dallas, TX the temperature was like 97 degrees and I must admit…Gulf Coast had nothing on this heat. We arrived at our hotel and my first impression of the MCM Elegante Hotel & Suites was a good one. Notice I did say “first impression”. The front desk staff were very nice and helpful. To be honest I felt like I was getting the royal treatment. The young man even helped us with our luggage and everything. Now, with that said the room was decent. We liked the fact that it had a livingroom and bedroom area. But for this to be called a Suite it sucked (and still does). Half of the stuff in this room looked like they got it from the Motel 6 including the refrigerator, coffee pot, and microwave.  However, it was workable. The only reason I selected this place was because of the reviews I saw from different travel sites and the fact that they were the few hotels that offered free internet access within the rooms.

Once we got settled I contacted my sister to see where she wanted to meet. Well, it just so happens that she had already eaten and it made no sense to me for us to meet for dinner and she wasn’t eating. So I offered to meet her on Friday which she said that she will be free. I must admit that I am pretty nervous about meeting her, but I hope I do get that chance. It is a shame that this will be the first time I will be meeting one of my older sisters almost at the age of 40.  We have spoken to each other on the phone several times, but never met face-to-face.

Because of our change of plans we decided to go to a restaurant just up the street that we had seen coming in. The place is called Pappas Bar-B-Q. Let me just tell you that we had no idea that the food they give you would be huge portions. We’re talking small platter size baked potatoes, large ribs, big bowls of mac & cheese. And the food was very good along with the size. The food was so filling that we couldn’t even finish. Upon leaving we discovered that the name Pappas has taken over the entire block and some very high class with valet and all. Pictures to be shown later....LOL.

Before returning to our room we decided to take a trip to see the Cowboys Stadium.  Watching Ernest get so excited just seeing the stadium not only made me laugh, but made me happy knowing he will always remember his Father's Day gift. The stadium is so huge that you could see it 5 miles away on the interstate. Pulling into the parking lot I must admit was simply amazing and I am not even a Cowboys fan (GO 49ERS!). We took a few pictures and then headed over to the Wal-Mart across the street.

My comment about Wal-Mart? These people quickly reminded me why I left Denver. Got into one line and the lady was taking her sweet time going through sales paper pointing out sales and comparing coupons. I went to the express lane only to be behind a lady who decided to take up space grabbing a shopping cart for three small items. Then she left it in front of the counter making me have to walk around to put my items down. I got back at her by grabbing the cart and moving it with attitude right next to her butt. She looked me crazy but I gave the same look back. By the time I left I was pissed. After that we just went to our room and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.