No Cali November
Trammel Crossing
Pedernales Falls
A couple weekends after getting back from California, we scheduled a primitive spot at Pedernales to help ease our transition back into the real world. This was the first time both of us had been…it only took moving to Dallas to convince us we needed to go.
It was a quick overnight trip. The park is great and when they say primitive, they mean it (for a Texas State Park). We were warned several times that it’s a 2mi hike in. Sounds great, we thought. And it was. Other than wanting to get back out and see the rest of the park. Next time we’re bringing bikes.
The fall colors were a great surprise, and the water was still impressive for late fall. I can see why this is such a popular spot in a Texas summer.
Project Furbaby Retrieval
That’s right, we’re planning another trip out to San Francisco to pick up our new furbaby. Flights are booked, Airbnb is happily reaching out with open arms, and our chariot is reserved for the 1,733mi trip back to Dallas. Crazy, right?!? We’re super pumped and Kelly has done a fantastic job planning stops along the way for the wild child toting a thimble-sized bladder. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and we are hoping to hit up 4 national parks on the way, weather permitting: King’s Canyon, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, and Petrified.
“She’s the one on the left”. I’ll let you decide which left, we’re going with the tongue out left
For those that are around us a good bit, or even for a few minutes (sorry), you probably have heard and weighed in on her name. We were between Darcy (we like the name) and Louise (we love Bob’s Burgers). So, as most southerners do, we are rolling with Darcy Louise! Darcy most days, Darcy Lou if she’s ever in a sweet mood, and Darcy Louise when she’s not in such a sweet mood. The next year is going to be a whirlwind with her but that’s what life is about, right?
Our Dallas Nest
The inside of our new Dallas apartment is shaping up quite nicely. We’ve managed to squeeze a lot into 620sqft. So much so that I think we could comfortably go down to 500-550…with outdoor space. One item that we have been trying to figure out is the tv console. We need it on wheels to roll out of the way when we put the bed down. A cheap Ikea hack made this possible but it was a little rickety and felt big in the room. Enter the next “cheap” Ikea piece. This one actually looks really good, rolls super nicely, opened up the room, and allowed us to re-purpose the old console for more storage. Kelly assembled everything but the doors, which she pretty much refused. Apparently, I am very particular about my door gaps and flushness. Thanks, Mercedes-Benz.
Random Tidbits
We made a quick trip to Detroit for a few days while up there for a work meeting. This was the furthest north Kelly has been. A great friend (Eric) and his wife (Lisa) were gracious, as always, to hang out with us for two of the nights. This was even more impressive because one of the nights included 8” of fresh snow. I think they came out that night just to see what Kelly Cloud looks like in cold, snowy conditions. Chuckles were had by all.
Kelly’s car is slowly on the outs. The engine light keeps coming on…when I drive it. We just found out the catalytic converter is dying. Maybe it’s those WOT I-30 maneuvers? She always complained about the lack of power in the fit, there’s a free 10% bump. You’re welcome!
Work is brutal for me right now. Long hours and lots of CAD. So much so that I’ve developed tennis elbow in my mouse wielding arm, and most recently it’s flaring up on my keyboard banging arm. This better not be the beginning of me “getting old”.