what i did on my summer vacation: part 1.

Finally blogging our road trip.  Just to let you know there are going to be elevendy billion photos and probably a lot of words too.  These road trip posts will probably  be mostly for Craig and I to have our trip documented, so feel free to skim :).

Part 1:  AIRPORT FUN & TEXAS

Free local beer & wine on our flight to Seattle.
Thanks Horizon!
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Killing time in the Seattle Airport.
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View from the plane.

There were so many OSU fans on the plane who were also headed to the same football game were.  People were chanting the fight song on the plane – pretty hillarious.  After landing in Texas we headed to a Super 8.  Super 8 is pretty much our go-to motel.  We’d much rather spend money on doing fun things than on a room you only sleep in.  We made the mistake of staying in a Motel 6 once.  No bueno.  Super 8 isn’t the most classy place ever, but it’s decent for the price…about $20 more than Motel 6 on average, but worth every penny.  The beds are consistently comfortable and they’re much less sketchy.  We still rip the comforter off immediately when we walk in the room though.  We saw a Dateline about how rarely they wash those things.  Yuck!  Bed bugs…mmmm…no thanks.   

The first thing I said we must do in Texas 

was eat true Texas BBQ.
Check.
I’m super excited about this.  Obviously.
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After BBQ we went to see the OSU V.S.   TCU football game at Cowboy Stadium.   That place is incredible.  Words can not describe.  I was super excited about how much people love football here.  I’m not a huge football fan myself.  I like Oregon State football, but only because I went to school there and I have sort of an invested interest.  Other than that, I could care less (much to Craig’s dismay).  BUT…seeing how excited everyone was about football kind of made me want to care about it…until I remembered that I live in Oregon where there aren’t any sports except basketball.  Lame.
Biggest jumbo-tron EVER.
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Cute fans.  Everyone was decked out in cute TCU regalia.
Not just team t-shirts and jeans.
I notice these things.
After the game we spent the rest of our time in Texas hunting for a car to roadtrip home in.  We decided to buy a car instead of renting one.  Renting a car would’ve been $2,500!  So…we decided to just buy one and sell it when we got home.  We finally found one and then we were off!
Things I noticed about Texas
*The freeways are SUPER clean.  Like….freakishly clean and this is coming from someone who lives in Oregon where the roads are already pretty clean.
*You can smoke in restaurants (some anyway).  WHAT???  I was in shock when someone lit up in a Waffle House (which I LOVED by the way.  I think we need one in Portland).  You can’t even smoke in a bar in Oregon.
*Nobody walks or bikes.  We did quite a bit of walking over three days and I could count on one hand the number of pedestrians we saw.
*Everyone is put together in Texas.  Everyone has hair done and an “outfit” on.  It would probably be exhausting if I actually lived there and felt pressure to dress up every day, but coming from Oregon, where it’s perfectly acceptable to wear yoga pants and flip flops year round, it was a breath of fresh air.
*There are a bajillion fast food restaurants!
Next up….New Mexico – tomorrow!

xo
{Lauren}

Comments

  1. I’m from california, but i’m here in texas for school.
    the roads are huge! and have you had a good prime rib steak wiht sauteed mushrooms/! MMMMMM
    TCU is good. i think we lost to them when we played them (i go to baylor)
    and the traffic lights are horizontal! plus, everyone says y’all and “laaaaak” instead of “Like”

  2. I ~love~ vacation photos! Thanks for sharing! Yumm, that BBQ looks so good! Have a lovely week! Siobhan

  3. what kind of car did you buy?! sounds like you guys had a good trip… Texas is awesome, but it is pretty done-up at times. haha. It is weird that you can smoke places isn’t it?!

  4. I loved the photo of you wit the killer whale!
    And that photo from the plane is such a majestic site!!! I love your list of things you noticed in Texas! I love clean freeways and dressing up everyday would, indeed, be tiring.
    Happy Monday!
    xo

  5. I loved reading this post cause I am from Texas. The “things you noticed” is so TRUE!! And yes, when you’re in college you HAVE TO HAVE the most fabulous outfit for schools football game. LOL Hope your BBQ was good! Have fun!

  6. Awesome start to your road trip chronicle!

    People think I’m an extremely anal germaphobe for doing this, but I am one to tear the comforter off a hotel bed as soon as I enter the room too. It doesn’t matter how high-end the hotel may be. None of our body parts or clothes are ever going to touch that thing, ever!

  7. So far looks like a great time. Can’t wait to read more!

  8. yay, you’re finally blogging about your trip!

    so, being from just north of the NC border, i’m gonna have to say that carolina bbq is the BEST EVER! forget texas and that nasty sauce!

    virginia used to have some of the cleanest roads because people incarcerated in VA would be put on road crews to clean them up. now, thanks to budget cuts, the state is cutting back on road crews, so they aren’t as clean as they once were. i miss clean roads!

    around here, only the hipsters bike downtown, otherwise, people use their cars even to drive across the street. i hate it, and i wish this was a more walking/biking friendly place.

    last, you’re cute. i like your style.

    XOXO!

  9. i really want to take a road trip now…
    so many places in america i haven’t seen!!

  10. Looks like so much fun! I live in England and have never been to Texas but is definitely on my to do list during my American Road Trip (a girl can dream right?). Glad you had a fab holiday!
    Much love,
    http://misshannie.blogspot.com

  11. These are amazing pictures!!!
    I can’t believe you bought a car, that is so adventurous! Are there pictures of the drive back?
    You look lovely on the picture of you at the restaurant!!
    xoxo
    http://www.joiedevivre-chiara.blogspot.com

  12. Aw can’t wait to read more!!!! Thinking of you friend!!! How are you?? How is life? XO mucho mucho mucho!

  13. I’m from Texas and these are too funny because they are true!
    No one walks because nothing is close together!
    Waffle House is amazing!!!
    And the only places you find where someone is not dressed up is at Walmart or a college campus!
    Gotta love Texas though! Nothing like our sunsets. =)

  14. What a fun trip! Cute pictures!

  15. We actually just got back from Dallas this weekend! I like reading your perspective on Texans…they are a different breed (even though I’m only one state away). Speaking of being put together, there was a girl at the OU/TX game who was dressed to the nines! Perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect outfit…I was just so impressed that she looked like she was going to a fancy cocktail party at a football game!
    Also I went to the Cowboys stadium last fall, and you’re right. It’s impressive.

  16. Yay, can’t wait to see the rest of the photos! 🙂

    is everything bigger in Texas?!

  17. That picture from the plane is absolutely breathtaking! What a beautiful sight. I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of your vacay.

    See you soon friend!

  18. TEXAS, oh my beloved TEXAS!!!

    we are serious about football 🙂 and that stadium? AMAZING! My dream is to see the cowboys there.

    can’t wait to see the rest of your trip but you have to know i’m bias and love TX most 😉

    ha!

    i miss home!

  19. eee i live in texas and it’s all true. you should see the girls for UT games! they get SO dressed up and look adorable.

  20. I always was so surprised at how clean the freeways were in Seattle (especially compared to LA) so I can’t imagine the cleanliness in Texas! And it seems strange that they also allow smoking inside restaurants! crazyy

  21. I love texas roads! They are big, but watch out for the cray cray drivers. We do have bikers and peds, but only in the trendy areas where things are closer together. Things are really spread out in TX.

    I am a little freaked out when people smoke inside, no matter where it is. In Lubbock, you can still smoke inside most bars.

    I CAN’T get over you going to a waffle house! haha. That is the worst thing you can do on a road trip. I did that once in Jan. while driving to NY. Never again.

    I think people in Dallas get a whole lot more dolled up than the other TX cities, but I could be wrong. I also think people in Nashville are a heck of a lot more put together than anywhere else I have lived. It’s funny looking in as an outsider in a new state.

    Can’t wait to see the rest of your trip 🙂

    xo
    k

  22. Wow. Lots of Texas lovers. I lived in Texas for four years. Waco, Austin, and Corpus Christ. All of which, I hated. The people were obnoxious, and at times rude.

    Clearly I didn’t meet any of YOU guys, because I wouldn’t have hated it so much. Maybe they just hate people from Cali. 🙂

    Enjoying the vaca photos.

  23. oh i wish i got to show you around in montrose and the heights…you would love it!
    or austin tx you would die!!! man oh man someday!
    xo
    ps you look super fit! gorgeous girl!

    keep the trip pics coming!
    B

  24. That’s kind of a genius idea, just buying a cheap car and selling it once you got home. I kind of love this idea, and why have I never thought of it before? Thanks for the tip, now you should do a post about that, how you found a good car.

  25. That’s funny – as far as smoking goes, it’s the exact opposite here. 95% of counties don’t have a smoking ban. My small town just passed one about a year ago & it’s crazy how many people are still fighting it. It would be so nice if everywhere was smoke-free!

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