July 16 - Day 34
Today, we officially hit the halfway mark on our trip. On one hand, everyday of our summer journey feels like a new adventure that we are just starting out on. Yet on the other hand, we are to the point where we easily forget things that we did earlier on the trip. Prior to this summer, the longest trip that we had ever taken as a family of 6 was for 12 days. So, with 33 days still to go, its like we are just starting…
We are in Texas this weekend, staying with the Brame family, just south of Dallas. Based on our itinerary, we were planning to leave here on Monday and drive to Palo Duro Canyon in northwest Texas (this is the second largest canyon in the country). We were planning on spending two nights there so we could explore the canyon and go on a hike or two. However, when I was looking at the weather forecast this morning it currently says that the daytime high while we’d be there would be 108 degrees. Since this temperature is higher than the melting point for some of us (emotionally and physically), we decided to pivot a little bit. We’ll now be staying in Dallas with the Brames until midday Tuesday so we only have one night at Palo Duro. Dallas will be hot too, but at least we can find an indoor activity here that is something other than sitting in our RV. No one is disappointed with this change of plans.
A few highlights from the day:
Rickey had to work for most of the day, so we took the opportunity to have a low key day and let the kids just play. With Kim being pregnant with twins and needing rest, and our oldest two girls desiring time together without all of their siblings, Becca and I took the rest of the kids (8 Brames + 3 Snyders) to In-N-Out for lunch. Fortunately, we were able to borrow their large van to drive everyone…but after driving the RV for a month, it felt small. Also, unlike going to In-N-Out in Oregon (which we have yet to do), there was only one family in line in front of us and we were able to get our food fairly quickly. In Oregon, we’ve heard it can be an hour+ wait time.
While we were eating lunch, we looked out the window and saw a couple men casually riding their horses down the business street, adjacent to the freeway. Since this is Texas, maybe this is a common occurrence? We’re not sure.
Almost 4 years ago and just before the Brames moved to Texas, we went on a double date. It’s a wonderful memory, so with Aubrey being 14 and Makiyah being 15 now, we took full advantage of our built-in babysitters tonight. We were able to go on another absolutely great double date, but this time in Dallas. We are thankful for the opportunities we have had on this trip to connect with great friends in ways we haven’t done in a long time due to the physical distance between us.
A few pictures from the day:
