Texas: mosquitoes, sweet tea, and southern boys

First things first.

Mosquitoes.

I forgot all about them suckers. They are pesty lil things that getchya without you even knowin' it! You Cali friends don't know about them and I have been spoiled rotten to have the pleasure to forget about them. I had more itchin' bites on my legs after the first couple days than...

(well to be completely honest I've been sitting here for ten minutes trying to come up with something funny to compare as many bites on my legs as I had but I can't so just know I couldn't stop scratchin' my legs to save my life) 

ok moving on...

SWEETfreakinTEA

ah heaven...so my first real glass of sweet tea in a long time...I'm gettin lunch at Taco Bueno (another southern delishiousness) and I fill up my cup with Dr.Pepper and out of the corner of my I spot the tea urn labeled "SWEET" and I immediately realize my soda decision is a failure. I looked at my friend and literally out loud with more excitement than a kid seeing Mickey for the first time at DisneyWorld said "Oh my gosh!!! I forgot, I'm in Texas! I can get SWEET TEA!" 

then I proceeded to dump out my DP and refill  my cup with some southern greatness as the gentleman in line behind us tried his hardest to keep his laughter in.

lets not forget...Southern Boys.

they are just....mhm...way better than Cali boys could ever wish to be and I am not sorry if that upsets you.

gentlemen...who open doors for you call you ma'am with a heart meltin' southern accent (which I'm glad to say mine came back a lil bit hopefully it'll stay that way for a lil while) strong willed, two steppin', god fearin', football or baseball playin',  muscular, tan...they have a true love for the Texas Rangers they look good in boots and wranglers and they are just all around way hotter down there and I was definitely provided with some good eye candy my whole trip!

okay and time for details,

so when I first got there I stayed in Denton with my best friend and sister, Caitlin Collins and yes of course I was secretly keepin' my eyes open for Eli Young Band members the whole time I was there. Now I had never experienced the city so she took me out to Fry Street. Apparently this is the bar hoppin' street, Denton is very much a college town with TWU and UNT so this street was crawlin' with students. It was a Tuesday so everything was cheap...and I mean DIRT cheap. I was amazed. .75$ wells and like 1$ or 2$ beers. I tried Ziegenbock for the first time and loved it. I also ran into Aaron Sheppard which was absolutely delightful and definitely a blast from the past. One of the bars I really liked was Lucky Lou's and for good reason...

I walk in and I make eye contact with a girl sittin' down with a group of friends and immediately recognize her as a good friend and old softball teammate from like 14U or something like that...now her names Ali and I always thought great things of her and really liked her so of course I wanted to say hello...but I have those fears that run through every normal person's mind in this situation that are just ridiculous because they are never true and usually the other party involved is thinkin' the exact same thing... it's like a "who's gonna be the one that looks dumb and says something" kinda thing ... those fears were I haven't seen her in probs about 7 years or so...so #1 it may not be her #2 she wont know who I am and I'll look foolish #3 she's with a group of friends and probably doesn't care that I am here at all haha

sooooo I sit down at a table by her and do what any normal person would do at this moment...

Facebook...

and after a good 30 minutes I finally decide it is her and  to interrupt her tables convo to ask who she was and thank the Lord it was her and that she recognized me when I came in too and was thinkin the same thing I was..I was delighted to catch up for a sec with an old friend :)

we then made our way from Fry street to the Square which is downtown Denton and we went to a couple other really awesome bars... 

all I can say is Shiner Ruby Redbird is the ultimate summer beer and Denton is a good Texas experience

The next day was spent with my wonderful family and catchin' up with some old friends People like my daddy and Patty and Sam and Glo and Luke Bedford and Zach McKim and Rebecca Niven and Christina Martinez, and  Drew Smith and Barbara Smith
It was good to see them all plus tons more
I ate at Tino's of course as any good Mesquitian would.

There is just somethin' about Texas. I love it. The people, the traditions, the whole ambiance is just different and wonderful. 

Well Thursday rolls around and I get to go see the boys play at the Ballpark in Arlington. I am one happy girl. Especially because my good friend Jordan Hartsell takes me with her to sit in her amazing season ticket seats... I've never had better seats. ( big THANK YOU to Donna and Jay) I was real bummed to find out my husband Josh Hamilton had the day off and was not in the line up...at least he did come in to hit towards the end.  I absolutely love baseball and the Texas Rangers just as much so it is safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by people who share that same passion. BUT IT WAS SO HOT. Lord I forgot how hot and humid Texas is! I've been spoiled with great weather in California and I have turned into somewhat of a wimp for that Texas sun...

 Unfortunately we lost but I did get a random text from my cousin Leah who just so happened to be at the game as well! I was very excited to get to see her. This girl is one of my heroes...she battled and beat leukemia as a sophomore in high school...that's truly amazing. And she looks great! I'm very proud of her.

After the game we headed to Katy Trail Ice House in uptown. This is a must go if you're ever in the area, I had an old friend tell me about it so I had to check it out. The culture at the restaurant is great, the patio is huge and they have plenty of local Texas beers on tap at their 50ft long bar top. A couple I enjoyed were Shiner Blonde and Live Oak Pilz.We also stopped in at the Magic Time Machine for dessert and old times sake...I really do miss working there. Another must go if you're in the area and I won't tell you why..I'll let you experience it on your own! That night we went out to Cowboys Red River for some dancin' I saw an old friend Cody Lanford which is always a pleasure and also experienced seeing another old friend...except this time I was so epically wrong about who it was...I guess I just had so much courage from the Ali experience and a little courage from the Shiner...

I see someone who looks like an old friend of mine ..and I mean he could be his twin...same hair same build and even same clothing style! and facial structure was crazy similar and it wasn't until I so courageously went up to him at the bar and loudly set my beer down next to him to get his attention waiting for him to turn around and notice me and say something along the lines of "HEY! what are you doing here"  that he turns around and looks me in the eyes ...I realize this is not him...But I'm quick! 

So I just winked and said "have a good night good lookin'" and walked away...not embarrassed because I pulled it off nicely and right after that he passed out put his head down on the bar and was escorted out by security because the alcohol had gotten the best of him by then.

the next couple nights I am skippin' and gonna come back to because they are they days that I got to check of 2 places out of my book so I have a separate blog coming soon for them:)

The last couple nights were spent in Dallas. One night Caitlin and I snuck on the roof of one of the downtown buildings... had an amazing view. We ate dinner in the West End and also went to victory park and Deep Ellum and other places walkin' around Dallas. Another night I went with some friends Thomas, Laura, Caitlin, Jordan and my roadtrip buddy Sam to a bar called Milo Butterfinger's by SMU. I really liked that place we watched the Rangers game played darts and had great company my last night in Dallas.

Overall I had a blast...so much fun that I was so tired I was absolutely worthless on the drive home and my poor friend Sam had to pick up my slack on the drivin' side because I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

It's always good to go back to Texas for a little while...but who knows when I'll be back.