Another home in Dallas.

Life has the strangest way of giving you periods of relative calm that even border on boring, then following those up with the type of utter chaos where you can't seem to catch your breath. Based on my sparse blogging in the last couple weeks (and even sparser reading and commenting - so sorry, friends!), I'm sure you can tell which season of life I'm in right now. Fortunately, my life continues to be so ridiculously exciting and rewarding, despite the craziness, that I'm just trying my best to soak in every moment before I forget any details. So, back to blogging I go!

The last couple weeks have truly been some of the best of my life. So, without further ado, I will finally finish my long-winded recap of our glorious trip to Texas.

The morning after our jaunt in San Antonio, we checked out of our Austin hotel and headed back to Dallas. However, just about halfway between Austin and Dallas, we passed a Texas city called Waco. Aside from Baylor University and the unfortunate violence the city has experienced in recent history, do you know what else Waco is known for? It's the home and invention place of the nectar of the gods, Dr. Pepper. Billboards tempted us from the highway, but I had already made up my mind - a trip to the Dr. Pepper Museum has been on my life bucket list for years.

So, we made a necessary, hour-long pit stop in Waco to learn the history of my favorite drink. We encountered yet another animatronic character, pharmacist and Dr. Pepper inventor Charles Alderton, who told us about the early days of the soft drink. It was interesting to see the evolution of the bottle and can throughout the years and we loved all the Dr. Pepper-themed memorabilia. We spent some time analyzing the various methods of advertisement the company has employed over the decades, from soda trucks to posters to commercials that the museum plays on a continuous loop. All in all, the museum, which is housed in an old bottling plant with much of the machinery still in place, was interesting, but not very interactive. It was also self-guided and sadly paled in comparison to The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

The highlight of the stop was absolutely the authentic soda shop on the first floor. Here, soda jerks made us traditional Dr. Pepper from a fountain that tasted much sweeter and thicker than the canned version. We also ordered a couple Frosty Peppers, ice cream floats made with Dr. Pepper, that I'll definitely be recreating at home.

With an ice-cold DP in hand, we hit the road for Dallas, where we spent the next couple days spending quality time with Wheat's family. I finally met his not-so-little brother, Chandler, and his sweet family dog/other little brother, Cooper. (Side note: Does anyone else melt when they see their significant other interact with pets?) We looked through old photo albums while I tried to keep my ovaries under control. We had Tennessee barbeque at Red, Hot, and Blue, then followed that up with delicious, upscale Tex-Mex at George W. Bush's favorite restaurant, Fernando's.

We did a quick driving tour of Southern Methodist University, Chandler's alma mater, and had a grill-out with some of Wheat's extended family, who were so kind to me. We enjoyed a nice church service on Sunday at the church where Wheat's dad works and then indulged in even more Mexican food at Mesomaya. Wheat's parents live on the golf course where Jordan Spieth learned to play, so we scoped out Brookhaven Country Club in our downtime. Just in case you were wondering if we ate enough on the trip, we also tried out Whataburger, a Texas fast food mainstay, right before boarding our flight home.

Another highlight of the trip was the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which we explored for a few hours the day before we left. The museum, which is housed within the Texas School Book Depository, details the life, presidency, and assassination of JFK from the very spot where Lee Harvey Oswald fired his fatal shots. It was extremely crowded, but we took our time listening to the audio tour and examining all the footage of that fateful day. The museum recreated Oswald's sniper nest and it was chilling to look out the window onto the street where JFK's motorcade passed on November 22, 1963. The exhibit did a wonderful job of laying out the events, second-by-second, and also explained all the other necessary pieces of information (ex. the grassy knoll, Jack Ruby's shooting of Oswald, LBJ's inauguration). The museum also delved into the Warren Commission, the official investigation into the assassination, and even detailed many of the conspiracy theories that continue to surround the tragedy. My morbid fascination got the best of me and I truly wish we had had a couple more hours to spend in the museum.

After the museum, we made our way outside to explore Dealey Plaza. The street is marked with two X's, one to mark the spot where JFK was first shot and another to mark the spot where the fatal shot was delivered. Despite the busy street being filled with commuter traffic, crazy tourists rush out to get their pictures taken with the X while conspiracy theorists line the sidewalks with their posters and stop visitors to share their explanations of the event. It was truly unlike anything I'd ever seen. We scoped out the beautiful memorial to JFK and the grassy knoll before crossing the street and admiring the gorgeous views of the city and Reunion Tower from the plaza.

...and then, just as I felt myself finally acclimating to the Texas heat (sike!), we boarded a flight back to Indianapolis. It was truly a dream vacation shared with my dreamy guy and his incredible family. I can honestly say that being with them is starting to feel like home.