Well, we've been here in McKinney for 2 months now. Wow! So, I thought it was about time we went on a little road trip to shake our getting-settled-into-our-monotonous-routine lives. So I packed up the kids and the hubby and we headed north (as all smart people do) and went to exciting Durant, Oklahoma. Why Durant? It was the first city that's listed on the yahoo maps on my computer (there are actually a few more little towns before Durant, just none that were shown on the map magnification level that I was on).So, we hopped on Hwy. 75 and an hour later, we were in Durant. Now in case you think there was nothing to see, let me tell you that we saw lots. Lots of trees, lots of grass, in some sections lots of cows and horses. We even saw that Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas, the last town on this side of the Texas/Oklahoma border. And when we got to Durant we were welcomed by the Choctaw Indians' casinos. Durant IS the Choctaw Nation's Headquarters, afterall.
We turned onto Main Street and started looking for a restaurant. We spotted the Mexican restaurant we'd seen on a billboard--they proclaimed to be #1 (#1 what was not mentioned).
At 5:30 on a Friday night the parking lot was packed! Not a good sign. We were starving. I sent Joseph in to reconnoiter our chances for getting a table in the near future. We were in luck! We unloaded the van and headed in to what we hoped would be a delightful culinary experience.
Now, some of you might remember the "queso" blog a few weeks back. Sadly, this unfortunate creation had found its way across the Red River into Oklahoma. However, it was on much fewer of the entrees. There was hope! So, we gobbled down chips and "spicies" (what Rachel calls salsa) and waited for our main meals to arrive. I had opted for the very Mexican spinach enchiladas--covered with sour cream sauce and cheese. While I'd never before seen a spinach enchilada, I figured you couldn't go wrong with so much dairy. It was in fact, quite yummy, even if not very authentic. And quite the yummiest Mexican food I've had since leaving California. We ended the meal with a couple fried ice creams and headed on our way.
We took a slight detour on the way out of town so that we could see the world's largest peanut. It's a statue commemorating the peanut growers of the area in a time past. It also marks the location of the town's time capsule to be opened in 2020.
As we got back to the Texas border, we were welcomed by a large sign proclaiming "Proud Home of President George W. Bush" and a reminder to "Drive Friendly--The Way the Texans Do." I had to laugh at that one--maybe it's the influx of California drivers, but they're not all friendly.
It was a three-hour tour, and we were grateful to be home. But I love road trips. I love seeing America and its people. I love learning bits of history--like Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas. Who knows, maybe we'll even stop by and see the house where he was born? I'm sure we can fit it in the next time I have a hankering for some "good" Mexican food.
