We got to go on vacation this year! We didn't go anywhere in 2020 because of Covid, but this year, we planned a road trip to the mountains of New Mexico, which felt like something we could do fairly safely, even in light of a global pandemic. Lucky for us, vaccinations for 12+ were approved in May, and all of us were fully vaccinated before we left on our trip in mid-June. While the pandemic is far from over and the boys and I still prefer to mask up when inside, it did mean we could enjoy restaurants and feel a little safer overall. And we did have a really great trip!
DAY 1:
We've never done a long road trip before, but it was really nice to load up the car with everything we needed. Ready to go!
We are not fans of driving all day, so we purposely broke up the 14.5 hour drive into three segments. On day one, we drove to Fort Worth via Waco.
Did you know that Dr. Pepper was created in Waco? I'd been to the Dr. Pepper Museum years ago, but Gene and the boys had never been. It was really fun and we learned a lot about the history of fizzy drinks.
Complimentary Dr. Pepper sodas at the end of our visit!
When we finished touring the museum, it was lunchtime, so we found a Mexican restaurant nearby (Hecho en Waco) and had a great meal. The boys found an armadillo sculpture outside and promptly named it Digby.
And then we walked a few blocks to Fabled Bookshop, which was pretty high on my list of places to visit!
It is the cutest bookshop! The entrance to the children's section is through the wardrobe doors, which is adorable.
We came away with three books, a new travel mug and some tea for Henry.
Then we drove on to Fort Worth, where we had dinner at Braum's, which is an Oklahoma store/fast casual restaurant. We'd never even heard of Braum's until two of my coworkers raved about it, and we knew we had to try it out when we were in north Texas. It was great for a quick dinner.
DAY 2:
On this trip, we decided to stop at all the kitschy roadside attractions we could find, to break up the time and make it a little more fun. So, on day 2, we stopped by Decatur, Texas to see the mural and dice sculpture.
The phrase "eighter from Decatur" originated here, which is why there's a dice sculpture in town. Apparently, a local named Will Cooper would place dice with his sweetheart next to him, shouting "Ada from Decatur, county seat of Wise" for luck. Soon, that became "eighter from Decatur," which caught on when people needed to throw an eight. Who knew??
We went around the corner to a cute coffee shop and got coffees and pastries to go.
Wise County Courthouse
Our last stop in Decatur was the Petrified Wood gas station. Built in 1927, the owner covered it in petrified wood eight years later.
Next, we went to Wichita Falls, were we took a short detour to see the largest shovel in Texas.
Also in Wichita Falls, we went to see the World's Littlest Skyscraper. Built in 1919, the town paid $200,000 for what they thought would be a 480-foot skyscraper, but the plans created by J.D. McMahon were for a four-story, 480-INCH tall building, which is what was built. The town was swindled but now it's an attraction worth a quick stop.
We stopped in Chillicothe and saw a Rubik's cube sculpture,
and then took a quick break at a rest stop.
The sign says to watch for rattlesnakes, but we didn't see any!
We saw lots of wind turbines in the Panhandle.
And then we rolled in to Amarillo, where it was 102 degrees! It was Father's Day, so we went out to a steakhouse for dinner with our favorite dad!
Part 2 of our road trip up soon!
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