The Young and the Restless

Epic

Oh man, if there is one word that describes this girl's weekend, it would be "epic". I wish all the sisters and SIL's could make it to every girl's trip, but we'll take what we can get and make the most of it!  This time Margaret and Janessa hosted it in Dallas and we decided to do Dallas right with a Honky Tonk.  But not just any Honky Tonk, but the world's largest Honky Tonk located at the historic Fort Worth Stockyards.  But first we had to get all gussied up at the spa with massage beds, slimming capsules and spray tans all around.  By the next day we were all varying shades of Oompa Loompas.  It's been 2 weeks and my toenails are still dyed yellow.  But we had to be at the top of our game for Billy Bob's.  It's not every day that you get to go to the world's largest honky tonk (I just like saying the word "honky tonk").

(Can we say "bacon flavored taffy"? Kylie loved her souvenir.  And I'm pretty sure the employees loved us throwing their candy all around for the sake of a picture).

Lucky for this guy, he was the first authentic cowboy we met, so he got his picture taken.  Which just so happened to correspond with the very minute he told Margaret she needed her ID that we left in the car that was parked forever away.  But then he felt bad for us, or else just realized there is NO possible way we could be under 21 and then let us in on a good faith measure.  I partook of authentic Texas BBQ, which is saying a lot for my borderline vegetarian habits.  Then we all partook of authentic country line dancing and had the floor to ourselves, because apparently only grandma's start the night out at 7:00 and retire at 10:00 when the real party is starting. Margaret was the bell of the ball and Pedro, the authentic Mexican cowboy, couldn't keep his eyes off of her. The authentic rodeo was awesome, it was such a small arena that you could feel the impact of the bulls running into the railings, the kids would have loved it.  But you're not allowed to think about kids on girl's trips.  I bent that rule a few times, though. 

Next on the agenda for the true Dallas experience, was an authentic haunted hotel.  Apparently Texan's think everything is haunted.  I was super nervous about this before I left because I am such a baby when it comes to this stuff, but when you're caught up in the moment it just added to the excitement and memories of the trip.  The Adolphus is a really swanky old hotel in the heart of Dallas that hosts the likes of George Bush and A-list stars and we just so happened to luck out on a name your price site and got it for a smokin' deal.  The 19th floor is where a jilted bride committed suicide years ago and supposedly haunts it.  There's other stories of people hearing music coming from the 19th floor ballroom that has long since been shut down. So of course the 19th floor was the first place we went.  Okay, so maybe it took alot of convincing on Margaret's part to get us up there and maybe we screamed like babies when we heard creaking and maybe the mirrored elevators with their unpredictable doors were a little creepy and maybe sleeping 3 women in a queen bed so no one had to sleep alone was not the best idea (Margaret wised up the next night and volunteered to sleep on a rollaway bed.  Thanks for taking one for the team so that I didn't have to spend another night curled up in the fetal position at the bottom of the bed).

 
(Showcasing Margaret's sweet tan line since she opted to wear the booties in the tanning booth. Rookie mistake).

After sleeping in to an acceptable hour, we brunched at a cute and sinfully delicious little french cafe. Oh those crepes could be the death of me.  Then Janessa exposed us to the world of Sam Moon, with it's tantalizing aisles of designer knock off handbags, costume jewelry, rhinestone studded belts and the largest assortment of hair pieces that I've ever laid my eyes on.  At first it was a joke when we decided to try them on, but the joke was on us when Janessa tried one on and she was a total babe! Sold. Crepes and hairpieces in one day, it doesn't get much better than that.

I'm a history junkie wanna be.  I know nothing about the past, but love every chance I have to learn about it.  I didn't even realize JFK was assassinated in Dallas, well I'm sure at one point I did, and we were all anxious to visit the sight.  The museum on the 6th floor where the sniper shot him through the window (the corner window that is partially open) was so fascinating, I learned so much more than I ever did in school, and after experiencing it in person it will forever be engrained in my brain.  The audio tour with the witnesses descriptions were so graphic and I couldn't imagine being there and experiencing it in person. 

They have "X's" that mark the three seperate places that he was shot while riding down the street.  We risked our lives, and one of Janessa's shoes, to get a picture on the historic landmark.

Margaret wanted an infamous girl's trip jumping picture.  We moved far enough away from the site so that it wouldn't be disrespectful.  And then we jumped away, much to the delight of on-lookers passing by.  Girl's trips erase all inhibitions.

We graced the Hard Rock with our presence for dinner that night where Margaret was the unofficial birthday girl and endured a serenade for free ice-cream.  Her birthday is 3 weeks away, so it wasn't too much of a stretch.

And then the thunderstorm that hit was the perfect setting for another night of exploring the hotel.  Men coming out of secret passageways in the wall, more eerie sounds, more stories from the front desk clerk and more pictures that make us look like dorks.  And a late night 7-11 run to sastisfy all our junk food cravings and girl talk that kept us up beyond the decent hour for respectable moms who were returning to their motherly duties early the next day.  Another epic weekend gone down in the girl's trip archives.  Thanks ya'll.

(All-time favorite picture of the trip.  Janessa perfectly captured Margaret's desire to forge on in the 19th floor hallway and my desire to run for the hills).