Nice Day

Some days are unexpectedly delightful. Today was one one of those days.
I was prepared to work in my yard today, after my morning walk, but wasn't really in the mood. I expected my wife to have a long list of things to do, many of which would involve me...such as doing laundry, doing grocery shopping, and a few other odds and ends. But I was in for a surprise. She suggested, for the second consecutive weekend, a long drive in the country. A long drive in the country would be expensive (gas and time) and wasteful (gas, mostly). I have been having mixed feelings lately, But I quickly agreed with her suggestion.

After packing a little bag with bottled water, we headed out, going north and then east. We drifted toward Honey Grove, a tiny town that I thought I remembered but, when we got there, I realized I did not. I remembered someplace entirely different. We had lunch at a cafe on the town square (Red Brick Grill)...a pork chop for my wife, a chicken-fried steak for me. Both of us selected, for our three vegetable accompaniments, the salad bar (rather nice), fried yellow squash, and green beans. I asked for, and actually received (a rare thing, I'm disappointed to say) some sliced jalapeños. While everything reminded me of the overcooked style I grew up with, it was tasty.

We drove all over northeast Texas today! It was such fun. We stopped off at a couple of campgrounds on a little lake, taking in views of blue herons, fish jumping out of the water as they tried to snack on bugs that skipped along the surface of the lake, etc. We looked at land, with dreams at work...wishing we could find a secluded lakefront place we might afford...and we just let ourselves go with the trip. It was marvelous. After a brief stop at home to unload groceries from a brief stop at the grocery store, we went out again, this time stopping at a bar/restaurant called Ozona Grill. It was wonderful. We each had a margarita on the rocks and asked for an appetizer that we enjoyed. We sat outside, in the shade of trees on a patio. It was glorious. I do not want to go to work tomorrow. I may well play hookie. If so, I will be very productive in our back yard, creating a hideaway. Or, maybe not.