On the Road Again

  Well, we're on our way to explore new places.  It's hard to juggle pets and pet-sitters, getting everything packed, taking school work and necessary books and materials with us and trying not to forget anything important, but somehow we'll make it work.  My husband, Michael, is disappointed not to get to head out with us on our first trip of the school year, but someone has to hold down the fort and keep working to finance the trip.  We really appreciate him for doing that, and for letting us have the opportunity to do this! 

  Our oldest cat, Tigger, is more than 15 years old.  I always worry that he won't be there when we return, but he has proved to be tougher than we ever expected.  I wish there was some way to bring him with us, but I don't think he would enjoy it. 

  We headed up I-35 from San Antonio towards Dallas, which is a common route for us.  The first stop is a no-brainer. 

  Whether we need bathrooms, food, an Icee, Texas souvenirs or a gas fill-up, we always have to hit Buc-ee's.  Somehow we never make it out of there without finding something we need.  This time we bought maps for the kids to highlight our route and keep track of where they've been and a Texas flag bandana for me to wear in the next Spartan race, since it's out of state.  And some kolaches, muffins, jelly beans, drinks and maybe a few other things...

  We love the nice rest stops between Austin and Dallas on I-35.  We made a pit stop and discovered the perfect place to fit in a little training to stretch out sore muscles.  This was the rest stop just south of Belton.

 
 When we hit Oklahoma on Highway 75, we stopped again.  More rest stop fun, and a chance to work out the kinks from sitting in the car.  (Oklahoma-style, this time.)

  We've heard it said many times that everything is bigger in Texas, but Oklahoma may just take the cake on this roadside attraction, which we couldn't pass up as a photo op.  (It's actually a barbecue grill.)

  The drive up 75 to Fort Smith was beautiful, with many gorgeous views of Lake Eufala.  We passed through the Choctaw Nation, Muskogee (Creek) Nation and Cherokee Nation, to name a few.  I saw signs for the Cherokee Trail of Tears museum.  I'm thinking we're going to have to plan a trip back up to this area just to explore the Native American history in the region - we passed so many interesting spots and didn't have time to check them out.  I think we'll research a little more about the best places to visit and plan that for the spring months... 

  More about our first big stop in the next post!