I have visited the cities of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio several times for work and never found much to write home about so I will focus on my two favorite trips to this state.
In February of 2016, I had a work trip scheduled with my friend and colleague, Stephanie, to Houston but we decided to extend our trip and visit Austin on our way home. My bestie, Julie, and my cousins, Peggy and Sally, met us in Austin. Honestly, when you are with the right people, it never matters where you go – it is always fun! It was a quick trip but packed with laughter. We went boot shopping, ate barbecue and experienced the nightlife on 6th Street downtown and in the Rainey Street Historic District.
My nuttiest trip to Texas was a 72-hour road trip to Dallas to watch my beloved Bearcats play Alabama in the 2022 Cotton Bowl. UC qualified for the Cotton Bowl in December. I was at a flower arranging party with my cousin, Shelli (think 80’s Tupperware party but way more fun and with wine). I had had a few drinks when my friend, Bill, called. He and his wife, Connie, were flying down to stay with their son, Will, and going to the game. He said “Colleen, I have an extra ticket to the Cotton Bowl. Are you in?”. They are some of my favorite people so without hesitation, I said “Hell yeah! I’m at a party right now but count me in and I will Venmo you tomorrow whatever I owe you.” I was going to the Cotton Bowl at Jerry World in Dallas!!
The next day I called Billy and he told me the ticket was $400. What the hell!? I had already committed and I was not about to back out based on price so I started searching flights. Holy shit! $900 for a flight to Dallas? My 29-year old cousin, Wolfgang, is the biggest Bearcat fan I know and is a kindred spirit, always up for a good time. I knew he was crazy enough to drive so I called to ask if he was driving and if so, if I could hitch a ride. Thankfully, he and 6 of his 20-something year old friends didn’t mind this elderly person tagging along. Will lived just outside Ft. Worth at the time and I had a free place to stay. The plan was set!
So many times it works out that the best decisions that you make are when you don’t know what you are getting into. That weekend was the most fun that I had had in SUCH a long time. It was amazing to be around Wolf and his friends during the drive and tailgating. What a delightful group of young, fun, smart, happy people they are. And, of course, Bill, Connie and Will are a laugh a minute. We started game day visiting all the Bearcat parties around the Superdome. Bearcats fans SHOWED UP and we ran into people we knew and made new friends along the way. By the time we got to the game, we were ready! Our $400 seats were worth every penny and we were only about 10 rows from the field in the end zone.
An added bonus is that I ran into my friend, Tommy! I have known Tommy literally my whole life. He worked with my dad for many years and our families have been friends since the 70s. Tommy is a dedicated Bearcat fan and my dad and I had run into him at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans many years before. The picture on the left is us in New Orleans and the picture on the right is us in Dallas. We tried to re-create our picture but we had had a little more to drink the second time so this is the best we got. Ha!
