Dallas

 The second thing we need to talk about is Dallas, Texas.

While I was driving to the concert in Durant, I got a call from someone I had been working closely with. That person asked me what my plans for the weekend were, and when I was coming back to town.

I told them I was coming back to town on Saturday. That person encouraged me to stay an extra day, and take some time to enjoy myself and forget about the stress of life.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I wasn't totally sure where the day was going to take me. Dallas was 90 minutes away and Oklahoma City was a little further away.

I love me some Oklahoma City. I love love love love love that city.

But I've been there tons of times, I lived there for a summer in college, and maybe it's time to start making some new memories somewhere else.

I gassed up my car and headed 90 minutes south to Dallas.

And Dallas was very, very people-y. 

I loved every minute of it.

My favorite part of traveling by myself is that you don't really need to make plans. Just go with the flow, and allow whatever happens to just happen.

I first hit the Galleria, where I used to go ice skating as a kid. 

And let me just say that while I remember the place from 20 years ago, I had no idea it was that high class. As in, I know what all of those brands are now and I know how much they cost.

There wasn't a whole lot in that huge, massive mall that I could relate to. I went to the one store I felt comfortable in (Old Navy), and I stopped and got a pedicure on my way out.

That was a very good decision. 

There's not many words in the world to describe the feeling of getting your feet worked on (which was way overdue), after having seen your favorite artist live, after your house that you lived in for six years and LOVED TO DEATH finally sold to a good family, and after all of the pieces in your life just finally start to fall where they should be.

Dallas was a fun time. Also, it's huge. HUGE! 

It seemed like I spent all damn day driving, and I never even left the Dallas metro area.

I stopped and ate at a little Italian place I found along the way. It was one of the better meals I've had in my life. (Doesn't top Austin, though. In other news, Texas has really good food.)

Growing up, my parents always took my brother and I to Oklahoma City and Dallas for vacation. (We didn't go to Kansas City much at all, which makes us totally stand out and weird from every other western Kansas citizen ever.)

OKC and Dallas are my childhood. The entire trip was very nostalgic and sentimental to me.

I finally reached a place in my life where I could go to.both places and not worry about much else in the universe. (Ha, ha. That's really funny now.)

Dallas was a good time. Good city, good food, a little too many lanes of traffic for my liking, but I felt safe the entire time and had a lot of fun there. 

I'll be back sometime in the near future, for sure, Dallas.

Also, I'm terrified of heights. Glass elevators and big giant malls that are like 18 stories high aren't my favorite thing in the history of ever.