The Big D

A little late, but better late than never... So last week Sheridan and I went to Dallas for the wedding of a very old friend of mine, Laura, who did gymnastics with me growing up. Laura was one year older, always a little bit better than me, and was a superstar at everything she attempted. We were sort of a package deal for a very long time - the two of us were really close in age and talent level - although she worked really hard, and I was always screwing around, cheating on how many sets of routines I was instructed to do and relying on what little talent I had, rather than working hard to improve. She was the "good one" and I was the "bad one" - in high school, she was studying hard and participating in National Charity League, and I was chasing boys, going to parties, skipping gymnastics practice, and causing trouble. I guess some things never change!! ;)

Anyway, it was Sheridan's 2nd trip to Texas, and first to Dallas. I decided to take him to Gilley's, an old school honky tonk, where Urban Cowboy was filmed (although technically it was filmed at the original bar in Houston) to see what he thought. We had a blast - there was good music, cheap drinks, fun people watching, mechanical bull riding, and all kinds of fun stuff. I didn't teach him to two step yet, but I could see in his eyes that he REALLLLLY wanted to... (not) Anyway, I rode the bull to impress my California boy and it was pretty amusing - I STILL have a huge bruise a week later to show for it, but it was SO worth it! Good times.

Saturday night we saw Laura Belle get married, and it was a lovely event. She had a beautiful dress, a sparkle in her eye, and it made me happy to see my old friend so happy! The wedding was on the 50th floor on an old building in downtown Dallas, at the Empire Room, and was a classy affair. We ate, drank, celebrated, and when that was over, one of the bridesmaids talked us into crashing the Greek wedding next door. That was FUN... until we got kicked out viciously! Gotta keep an eye on those crazy Texans - we're a bunch of troublemakers. Anyway, it was a great wedding and I'm so happy for my old friend.

Otherwise, I took Sheridan to see Dealey Plaza, where JFK was assassinated in Dallas. We visited the JFK museum and learned all about the logistics of the day, saw home videos of the motorcade, learned about conspiracy theories and saw the exact spot where the president was mortally wounded. Here's a shot of Sheridan looking very shady behind the fence on the "grassy knoll"! We had massive amounts of Tex Mex throughout our trip, visited a sculture garden of cattle, had a rental car breakdown, and all kinds of fun stuff - it was a great time in the Big D!

Next stop - Seattle in June for a big Sheridan-style wedding (that's Sheridan's mom's maiden name, so I'm referring to the 9 Sheridan siblings, their spouses, offspring, and signicant others, plus the groom's peeps). Should be lots of fun - both of Sheridan's brothers and their wives, plus his mom, will be there, so it should be a great time. :)

Love, Mer