Summer school officially ended for us on Monday! (and the angels rejoiced...) And while we were hoping to get down to San Antonio during the few days we had off together to celebrate that success officially, Leo had to coach soccer most nights, and we couldn't venture too far from home. So we instead decided to put our three days to good use around here!
Day 1:
After getting my hair did (first things first), we grabbed brunch at one of our favorite spots and headed to "2 Guns." The first showing of the day equaled my being a very cheap date-- which is something I take great pride in. The movie is just that much more enjoyable when the tickets are dirt cheap and we're the only ones there! (I know, I know. I'm 70.) But it was a good movie, and I got popcorn for lunch- so a definite success!
Then, on the way home, we went and found something we've been wanting to see for a while now: The grave of Bonnie Parker! As in, Bonnie of Bonnie & Clyde. She's buried less than two miles from where we live, and we've been meaning to go visit her.
Such a small, plain marker for such an infamous person! But it was neat to see. And Clyde is buried only a few miles away, but he's in a private cemetery with trespassing signs posted... No entrada. Trust me- we tried.
Isn't history fun?!
Day 2:
We slept in, made and enjoyed some delectable omelettes, and then made our way over to White Rock Lake. It's a lake right smack dab in the middle of Dallas, and we've both only ever seen it from a distance. Well, it was high time that changed- and we decided to conquer it on bikes.
Strangely enough, we'd never actually ridden bikes together. And Leo was a little offended when I confirmed with him the night before that he could actually ride a bike. I assumed yes, but just wanted to make sure before we actually hit the trail! That led to a lecture all about how "in the village" he once fetched gallons and gallons of water from the river while riding a bike... and used to balance huge bunches of bananas on his head while riding a bike. (You best believe that led to a challenge that will hopefully be completed at a later date.) His "in the village" stories rival any "I walked uphill both ways" stories you may have ever heard... And I giggle because the man telling them went to a BOARDING SCHOOL. But either way- he can definitely ride, and look very cute doing so, and I apologized for having ever doubted him.
It had been years since either of us had ridden, and it really did feel good! Well, actually, it felt hot. But there was a tiny breeze coming off the lake and the faster we pedaled, the more wind we got to help offset the 104 degree temperature.
But we had a blast!
If you look real close, you can see that we each got our own little bike bell, too! Hands down, the best part of the rental.
Not many action shots of us actually ON the bikes, since riding and manipulating a camera tends to lead to bleeding... but I promise we rode. A lot. And the lake was gorgeous!
After biking, we took a lovely nap (Keebler got in on that action), and then Leo had to head to soccer. So I decided to take the opportunity to get reacquainted with an old friend.
But that's a whole long story (that ends with my first successful sewing project!) which deserves its own entire blog. So I'll showcase it later. Just know this: 1) I'm a domestic goddess, and 2) You're all going to be crazy impressed. Stay tuned.
Day 3:
Kayaking!
We love kayaking. And there's a ginormous lake just east of Dallas that we've driven past about 100 times but never actually visited... so we chose to explore it properly with the use of paddles.
Lake Ray Hubbard.
Again, Texas tried to get the best of us with a toasty, 106 degrees- but with multiple applications of sunscreen and paddling fast so as to get a breeze going, it was great! Fish kept popping their heads up all around, we saw tons of birds, and it was wonderful to float around and forget the world for just a few hours...
We got home in time to get showered and head to movie #2 of the three-day-adventure: "We're the Millers." And while the movie was hysterical, the gray-haired, very prim and proper couple sitting in front of us was even more entertaining. They clearly had no idea what kind of movie they were walking into, and watching their reactions to the not-so-clean humor was just priceless. I'm shocked they made it through the whole thing. AND! I got popcorn again.
It's not often we get to spend time together when one or both of us is not thinking about school... Yeah, we find as much time as possible during the semester, but there's always that dark cloud of studying looming overhead. So to get three almost complete days of doing and exploring whatever the heck we wanted was pretty darn awesome. AND we got to see a little more of our fair city!
Excellent times. Lots of popcorn. And fantastic company.
