Simple Living

Joe’s Bakery is worth a stop for breakfast.  They have some pretty good Mexican food mixed with classic American Bacon & Eggs. The scrambled eggs is amazing and the Barbacoa wow.  It’s like a perfect match with some tortilla’s. Very affordable.  I did small half price plates too and was filling for me. Also, my first few photos with the new 14 Pro’s camera.  It’s an improvement over the 11, not a leap above like the 11 was vs the 6s, but still better.

Spent a day in Fort Worth and tried some of the local things: Cattleman - for a good steak at a good price Billy Bob - for Country Music Stockade - for Texas Cattle History Fort Worth Museum - nice artwork Water Gardens - more cool art Cattleman - Steakhouse for Lunch - Good Ribeye       Billy Bob - Country Music - Went in here by accident, but was interesting and just drank some beer.   Fort Worth - Stockade - Missed the cattle drive, but got to see the Stage Coach. Fort Worth Museum - Super cool and cavernous rooms.  Nice segway from the Stockade.   Water Gardens - A nice stop to check out the modern sculpture art integrating with various forms of water.

I went to the Dallas Arboretum during Winter so it wasn’t much to look at.  The price was dirt cheap as a result and I did enjoy the brisk walk around the grounds and had a nice meal in DeGolyer. It gave me a chance to get a sense of the location to plan for a future trip during Autumn when everything should be in full bloom.

Gonna do an epic road trip for 3 days and 2 nights from Los Angeles, California to Dallas, Texas.  A distance of about 1,500 miles. Route Choice - I-10/20 vs I-40 I debated between I-10/20 and I-40 and opted to try a hybrid and go I-10 to Phoenix then cutover to I-40 and Albuquerque. !!!Important!!! Check the Weather! In hindsight, after my horrendous road trip, I should have checked the weather as there were storm clouds over NM and TX and I was hydroplaning, forcing me to stop in Santa Rosa.  Then powered through to Texas....1,070 miles...terrible idea.  Barely made it to Dallas. My journey: Day 1 - LA —> Phoenix ; 400 miles - 11 am hit the road for Palm Springs - 1 pm - Lunch 🌮 Felipe’s and look at the Dino’s. - 3 pm - Joshua Tree 🌵  - 6 pm - Phoenix, Arizona - 6 pm - Dinner 🌭 Nogales or Lupita’s Sonoran Hot Dogs Day 2 - Phoenix —> Amarillo ; 705 miles 🌧  - 7 am - Breakfast 🥞  - 9 am - Payson, AZ — mountain drive! 🌵  - Noon - I-40 / Route 66 - Painted Mountains - 2 pm -

Drove to Austin.  About 300 miles one way.  In hindsight, I should have left earlier and with a full tank of gas. I ended up stopping halfway to fill up when the Camry could have easily gone all the way without stopping, but a brief 10 minute stop was nice. I’m total about 5.5 hours on the road.  I stopped at about 3 hours to fill up. Budget Hotel - $50 Gas - $67 Food - $50 Parking/Bike - $16 Total $183 Normally, the hotel would have cost $150, but used some Hilton points. Stayed in Pluegerville at the Tru by Hilton.  Decent place, the breakfast was free, it was simple fare with mostly oatmeal, waffles and scrambled eggs.  I’d prefer some choice of fresh cut fruits.  Enjoyed the unlimited free coffee. Room was small, but clean and comfortable. Breakfast at Tru. Austin River Walk.  Was over 91 degrees so could only stand it for an hour or so.  Tried a bike ride and that was fun. Lunch was at De Nada.  Mexican Food.  The Barbacoa was amazing as well as their Queso. Rest of the day was ch