In case you were curious, we stayed the night in Tulsa last night. I realize that I forgot to mention that part, LOL!

Anyway, we slept in a little this morning, leaving around 9 or 9:30. We gassed up at a Kum & Go, to which both of us tittered, because we have the sense of humor of a 9-year old boy. I was hoping to pick up some donuts from Merritt's Bakery, close to the hotel, but nope! Apparently they're closed on Sundays and Mondays! Geez, people, I just want a donut make with love...

We headed south, on our way to Texas, just enjoying the journey, when, there, upon the horizon, did shine a glorious sign - Daylight Donuts! We found one (not the original one, but okay...) in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. I pulled in and grabbed my wallet. When we got to the door, we saw that they closed in four minutes! Oh no!

They were already mopping floors and cleaning up when we came and and waited behind an ancient old woman buying about 10 dozen glazed donuts. She gushed to us that they were the best damn donuts she'd ever had and drove over 2 hours to get here so she could take a bunch home to her family. Okay, that's certainly a glowing recommendation.

We opted to just grab one donut for each of us (big mistake, huge!), and went to the register to pay. Right after I swiped my card did I see the sign on the register that said "minimum charge $5." I apologized to the cashier, who passively-aggressively said "Hey it's no big deal, there wasn't a sign or anything." Like, I get it, Susan, I didn't see the sign, calm your tits. But in my defense, I was trying to be quick so you could close the store on time! Also, apparently, these were not Daylight Donuts, but a Donut Top operating under the Daylight Donuts franchise name (is that legal?) Don't really care what the name was, that old lady was right... these were fucking amazing! We both inhaled them in the parking lot... they were soft, but toothsome and chewy. Lots of crackly glaze that made a huge mess in the car... swoon...

Riding our donut high, we made it to Atoka before we needed a potty break. Billboards told us there was a Love's Truck Stop up ahead, but when we got there, it wasn't what we were expecting; it was more of a large 7-eleven. And busy as hell! I was able to potty and pick up a magnet, but the line for the men's room was super-long, so we decided to backtrack to Choctaw Plaza on the northbound side of the road instead. It was much quieter and the bathrooms were much nicer (should have just stopped there in the first place!).

In Durant, just north of the Texas border we stopped for some divisive fast food - Long John Silver's. I love it. Hubby tolerates it. Many people on the internet despise it. Who cares, let's go inside and chill for a bit!

Oh...

Fucking cooties.

The dining room was closed, and they were operating Drive-Thru only. I was surly, but I really wanted some greasy seafood, so we ordered and ate in the car.

Seafood Sampler (Shrimp, Chicken, Fish, Hush Puppies, Fries, Popcorn Shrimp)

It was still good, but in retrospect, we should have bailed and found a local joint (there was literally a Braum's right across the street!)

Full (but still slightly salty) of greasy seafood, we got back on the road, braving the INSANE traffic between Oklahoma and Texas, and stopped at the Texas Welcome Center, with its massive Star monument thing. After going potty, we went inside to pick the brains of the two employees there; I wanted something to do in Dallas, and ironically, neither of the employees could think of anything! As expected from my own research, Dallas isn't really a touristy type of place; it's a Big City, businessy type of place. Fair enough... we'll just play it by ear.

Welcome to Texas! Bienvenida a Texas!

We picked up some stickers and brochures then went to goof around with the big monument. It gave me Plinko vibes.

Mom and Dad Visit Texas

Do you see it?

From there, we headed into Dallas and parked at Reunion Tower. The plan I'd laid out was to walk around downtown Dallas, visiting the area(s) where JFK was assassinated, and some other tourist stops in the area.

So much traffic! So much roadwork!

As we walked toward downtown, Hubby asked what the plan was, and after I told him, he said he really didn't want to do that... He didn't really give two shits about JFK, and I think I was only interested in a "I'm here, I should do it," kind of way, so we ended up just saying fuck it and walked back toward the car. We diverted over to the DART station, which is their public transportation system. We kicked around the idea of just picking one and getting on, but after poking around the touch-screens at the station, we were thoroughly confused and didn't want to get lost, or end up too far from the car with no way to get back if any of the trains stopped running. (Wherever we go on our next adventure, we really need to factor in subways and such... I need this adventure!)

Should we do it?

From Reunion Tower, we skipped over to the Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge, a bridge that spans over the Trinity River, connecting Downtown and West Dallas, paralleling the newer 2012 Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Originally constructed as the Lamar-McKinney Viaduct in 1933, the original bridge was built to carry vehicles across the river to West Dallas. It was completed 27 years after the river's 1908 flood that submerged most of the area. In 2016, it was renamed after Dallas' first black Mayor, Ronald Kirk. Currently, the bridge has a playground, a splash park, lounge chairs, and shadecloths to beat off the Texas sun. Under, there are many trails surrounding the bridge in the Trinity River Basin and on the levees.

Not being a bridge lover, Hubby chose to stay in the car while I went to explore the area, and take way too many photos. I didn't really know much about the bridge beforehand (the info above is from Wikipedia), so I was delighted to see how fun it was! Near the entrance, there were multiple people with carts selling toys or food or drinks. Little kids were blowing balloons or running around with their parents. Further in, there were people on dates, or groups of friends just chillin' (maybe looking for a date). Parents watched their kids play on the playground.

Toys on the left; Food on the right

More food (that I had no idea what it was)

The bridge is even painted in a cool way!

Rock-climbing structures, shaded areas

When I got near the middle of the bridge, I took an obscene number of photos, but I'll spare you (too late), and just share a few that I really liked.

Looking toward Downtown Dallas

Closeup of Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge suspension wires

I walked the entire length of the bridge then returned back. I saw at least 3 photo shoots during my walk (one engagement, one birthday, and one other one). I saw young, old, seniors, families, lovers... it's really an asset to this community. And man, did I feel like a minority! I practically glowed in the dark, I was the palest thing on the bridge, and I didn't hear a lick of English for the entirety of my walk!

Back at the car, we headed to the hotel to check-in and chill for a bit. I went out and picked up dinner from Whataburger, and we ate dinner in bed.