Other Desert Cities

On my first full day in Lubbock, TX I went on a pre rehearsal run between highways. From what I saw then and on a map later, there isn't much to do in Lubbock, yet there are many hotels. But why? I also noticed that Texas has different versions of things we have on the East Coast. The rabbits have longer ears, the crows are dainty, and the grass is dead. People sometimes spray the grass shades of green and pretend it's still alive. And then we left Lubbock.

This is the only photo I could get of the jackrabbits.

I got a glimpse of home at the Fire Museum of Texas in Beaumont. I learned that Philly was the first city to have an under ground system to help firefighters extinguish flames and Radnor played a part in the development of chemical extinguishing. Facts from not Philly: fire poles became a thing in 1878 and dalmatians cleared path in the streets for fire trucks and got along with horses which is why most firehouses had them. While waiting for the gift shop to open Dianne and I learned from the chief that Beaumont is building a new multimillion dollar fire house, right now there are twelve.

We made our way over to the Art Museum of Southeast Texas to see an exhibit inspired by Mexican folklore, and we took a look and listen to All of Beethoven's Ninth (a painting and also the symphony.)

Our ride home was one of the first for our Uber driver. He and his wife (hey fam) told us about their adopted daughter they picked up on the street after seeing her thrown out by her family at age two. She's five now and has a yellow pet snake.

I took my first trip to Buc-ee's in Wharton and that was interesting.

(Photo from Fort Worth Buc-ee's)

It was at least 100º in McAllen every day. I wasted time in Barnes & Noble one afternoon and heard the following:
Mother to her 5 year old: Look, David, it's a book about you. It's called Assholes.
After hearing about Aretha Franklin's passing we all went to PBD’s to dance to her music. I held down the floor for the first few hours, and then we were all presented with roses purchased by a man in green at the bar. The drag show was after midnight, and the queens received most of our roses.

I pretended I was in LA for a second and I don't know if I liked it also it was 102º.

One of the most striking exhibits at the International Museum of Art and Science was  Nancy Moyer's statement necklaces. They featured photos and sculptures of people in cages, the police, the president, and everything border issues. I also so some Picasso lithographs. It's been a while since I've seen his non-cubism work. Max Vityk collection "The Outcrops" featured 3D abstrations of Earth’s crust millions of years ago.

I am v aware that my name is Steve and I work for Nickelodeon.

At The Patio on Guerra guacamole is referred to as "South Texas Butter" so.

Of course I went to Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco. After analyzing the long list of cupcakes, cookies, and pastries I decided to eat the lemon lavender cupcake. There was at least a quarter cup of lemon buttercream icing on top, which I found incredibly ideal. Aubrey, one of the employees who discussed my parents' upcoming kitchen renovation with me, said that Joanna is home with the new born, but Chip is often in his office above the market and sometimes comes down. I kept an eye out but did not see him. The gardens were rusty and wonderful, and I'm inspired to design the house I won't have until 2028.

Other Texas things: diet Dr. Pepper is a big thing in this state. There's a Dr. Pepper museum in Waco that I did not visit.

During our opening in Waco I looked to the back of the arena and saw the silhouette of Doug Dimmadome, owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome.

OKC

Just before our arrival in Oklahoma City, Bird motor scooters were scattered around the city's sidewalks for recreational use, much like Philadelphia's Indigo bikes and NYC's City bikes. OKC has a bike share system as well, but unlike the bikes the scooters don't have a docking station. "If this was Philadelphia those scooters would disappear overnight," was my first thought unfortunately. No disrespect to Philadelphia, but as a city Philly is pretty self destructive.

Oklahoma City has a small canal running through the center of town, much like San Antonio. Instead of remembering the Alamo, OKC likes to remember industrialization. The city is filled with large statues commemorating the 1800s and a series of historically themed murals completed in 2007 to commemorate the state’s centennial. The botanical gardens are filled with caterpillary plants, Japanese lanterns (flowers,) and clock vines and I touched most of them. And I saw a chocolate tree (the pod of delicious was out of reach) and an enormous koi fish (also out of reach.) 

"Don't Know Why" is performed softly in the background.

One morning after ordering my breakfast burrito at Cafe 7, the employees learned I was on tour with Paw Patrol. A few of them have kids that love that love the show so they had all kinds of questions. I ended up discussing my career over breakfast with the parent of a local sixteen year old actor/pageant queen/graphic designer on the brink of applying to college, which was pretty neat.

We went to a Dodgers minor league (OKLA) game. They sold foam fingers/Oklahomas and the baseball game the stadium sang “Oklahoma.” My friend Dianne is from Australia, and it was her first time going to a baseball game! It ended with fireworks. The home team didn’t win, it’s a shame. 

On our last night in OKC we ate at a restaurant with many free tortilla chips (which filled me up before dinner.) half way through our meal we learned that two days prior the restaurant was robbed at gun point. Bye, Oklahoma

Everything's Bigger in Texas Except the Canyon

My time in Amarillo is best described through pictures so here:

Sometimes I would look at these flags and pretend they meant Center City Philadelphia.

Actual candid

I think this was also candid, but who's to say

The Heart of Amarillo had me thinking about Love Park back home

We went looking for a lake, but it dried up so we all did this

This was the beginning of our adventure at  

When I was little my mom brought home this CD titled When The Living is Easy that came free with purchase from William Sonoma and on it was "Route 66." Through the years "get your kicks" meant several different things to me, but I've finally figured it out.

I've had one bite of steak before, so here is a picture of my second bite. 

There are cats

This restaurant seats five hundred people at a time and serves forty kinds of fudge. The inside is filled with stuffed animals, horns, haunted house holograms, and musicians. It's known for its seventy-two ounce steak, which is free if consumed within an hour. My sirloin was eight ounces and that was enough. Dianne dared me to eat half of my jalapeño pepper, served along side my steak with a little Texas flag, and I said I would do it if she did as well. A few minutes later a large cup of whole milk arrived to help us with the burn. I didn't realize until after I drank it all that it was meant for us to share.

On our way to Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the United States, our Uber driver told us that Amarillo is the second windiest city in the country. The gusts come down from Rockies and power the windmills on the farms throughout town. He told us that everyone in Texas is family, and they will treat us as such, which I found to be very true this week. Palo Duro is also home to the locals' favorite musical TEXAS.

Spanish skirts on the right

I saw this moth in town. 

Esquire Jazz Club uses these as coasters and I don't know how I feel.

Cadillac Ranch

There were gnats

The Polk Street Christmas Tree was created by Jacob Brenden, Chris Guinn, and Michael Wellborn to recognize Amarillo's contribution of gas to the Texas panhandle. 

The Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts reminds me of the Epcot Ball.

Our hotel provided complimentary made-to-order omelets every morning and a wine/beer/well drink/cheese/guac reception every evening. After our three show day the chef presented us with this plate of fancy cheesecake. I had two slices of the baileys.

Other things I would like to note:
Every car has a huge crack in the windshield--suspicious.
Scratch Bakery serves up delicious macarons also free bottomless grapefruit mimosas.