Texas
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Ok, so I thought you guys would get a kick out of my first experience in the south.

- First, I learned the proper way to say, "mudding".
- Second, I learned that there are no orientals living in/near the greater Lubbock/Midland area.
- Third, they grow men really big in the south....i've now got a permanent crick in my neck (there may have been a couple of instances of whiplash...).
- Lastly, although I've been dancing for several years, I really don't know how to dance. The Texas Two Step & the jitterbug are still a mystery to me. I suck. :-(

Other Observations:

As we were returning from a couple of clubs (one I remember was called, "midnight rodeo") I turned to see a used truck lot. I made a comment on how I'd never seen a used truck lot that didn't sell any regular cars. Someone asked me what I was talking about so I pointed it out to her. Dead silence for 10 seconds, then, "jenny...that's a parking lot." That explained why it was in such an odd location without any signage. You guys had to see this parking lot to understand where I was coming from...I'd never seen anything like it!

Thunder & Lightning Storms. I'm from California where it NEVER RAINS. On Sunday morning, about an hour before I was to leave, rain like I'd never seen it before starts coming down. I like watching lightning storms, but am DEATHLY afraid of thunder. TONS of that...distractingly so - I thought I was going to lose my mind. I paced a hole into the carpet.

Tornadoes, on the other hand...I should have been clued in when the high school mascot was the tornado. Dora told me that there was a tornado watch at the reception. I just wanted to crawl into the fireplace and hide. At least with an earthquake you don't have to wait in anticipation of one - it just comes & goes. A little bit of ground shaking and it's over. Tornado watch SUCKS!!!

Shiloh Inn: It's not an inn. It's a MOTEL. (Michael M - there was no marquee with "welcome Allison/Dipardo wedding guests" because there was no marquee. Erin F - think Travelodge in Napa.)

Dry County: Big joke, huge pain in the butt, an excuse to charge RIDICULOUS amounts of money for alcohol in

NON dry counties. There was an area called the "strip" where you can purchase alcohol. They had the best beer selection I've seen in a long time. A lot of those beers I don't even see at the grocery stores in LA!

Bar-B-Queing - apparently, the thing to do is bar-b-que in FRONT of the house instead of the backyard...also, make sure you have plenty of seating...car seats are the best in these cases. (Tim - your bar-b-ques...front yard or back????)

Good Stuff:

Sonic - it's almost as good as In n Out burgers (almost). (still haven't tried the fried pickles!!)

Dancing - they know how to dance & have a good time.

People - all around the NICEST people I've ever met anywhere!

Days - the days are very, very long there - our sunsets occur around 7:30 - 8pm ish. I think it was almost
9:00pm before the sun set in Texas. Muy Bueno.

Nights - you can see the stars so clearly - it was amazing!

Clubbing - I'm still amazed at how cheap alcohol is at the clubs!!! We also got away without paying any cover

charges - not that $5 is a make it/break it deal!

Ice Cream - Blue Bell - YUMMMMMY.

Grocery Stores - groceries/products were so cheap!! It's amazing how much more stuff you can get in Texas than in LA!!

Walmart - come on, guys...I'm so fascinated with this whole Wally World Phenomena (cult) that I have to see what the big deal is!! It's fun shopping for shampoo & junk here. Target is still better.

That's my trip in a nutshell.

Oh yeah - the wedding - beth was a BEAUTIFUL bride!!! Halfway down the aisle beth looks across at Jason, looks really surprised and then suddenly starts laughing because she can't believe she's getting married!! It was a great wedding!!