A weekend visit to the Lone Star State

We had not seen any of our Texas family for quite a while so we decided on a short weekend trip. We weren’t packing our bikes or boats-there was simply no time this trip. As it worked out, there was a baby shower and a birthday party scheduled for this weekend.

We left late Thursday afternoon and stopped overnight in Rolla, MO. The next morning we headed out but not before stopping at Giddy Goat Coffee Shop for our driving caffeine.

We got there just as they were opening so we had a short wait for the coffee to brew.

Two hours, 120 miles and one rest stop later, the 20oz coffee was gone. A quick search and we located 22 Sierra Coffee in Mt Vernon, MO. It was a few miles off the interstate but easy to find.

22 Sierra is veteran owned and has a military-theme with such coffee names as “Death From Above”, “Going Dark” and my favorite “Ambush”. We ordered their brew-of-the-day, Going Dark and we were on our way.

We made a lunch stop at Mom’s Family Diner in Broken Arrow OK to visit with friends. We’ve been there a few times before and it’s always good food. The parking lot is a little small and it always seems busy but it’s definitely worth the stop!

Heading south through Oklahoma, exit 51 on I-35 has a place you have to visit. Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies. We first ‘discovered’ Fried Pies many years ago when we found a photo-copied hand folded flyer in one of the touristy-things-to-do pamphlet racks at the Oklahoma Welcome Center. On that first visit, when we pulled into the parking lot, we weren’t too sure about it. It was a small converted filling station with chickens strutting along the front walk. A rooster would let loose every so often. A friendly dog required an ear scratch before allowing us to pass.

Inside, the cooking was done in the repair stalls and the sales counter looked like the original station counter. Sketchy, yes. We ordered some apple and cherry pies and did they taste wonderful. From that point on, we were hooked. We now stop there almost every trip.

Since the first time we stopped there, they’ve added on to the building and to the menu. While waiting to check out, I counted at least 20 workers making pies, filling orders and who knows what else. A long way from the old “mom and pop” operation of years ago. Highly recommended!!

Saturday morning we planned on visiting a few place so we need traveling coffee. We headed to Zera Coffee in Denton, TX. Zera ( roughly translated from Hebrew meaning “seed”) helps support The Denton Freedom House. We’ve visited them before and the coffee always tastes great. We also had some pastries and bagels before heading out to the day’s events.

I’ll take this moment to mention a department store. Yes, that’s a first for this blog. We paid a quick visit to Scheels, a sporting goods and outdoor store with 33+ locations in the western-midwest. The Colony, TX store is huge and had everything sports and sporting goods. It also had a ferris wheel in the center of the store. Not a 10′ childs wheel but one that was 65′ in diameter. Then there was the fish tank.

No trip to the Dallas area is complete without eating at Babe’s Chicken at least once. Babe’s has been on the must-go list since my family moved to the area in the late 80’s. The original site was located in Roanoke TX and always worth the drive. And the wait. Since they don’t take reservations, it can be busy at times. I hate “waiting” more than a few minutes for a table. I have an internal clock that goes off after 20 minutes or so but I’ve been known to sit in one of their tractor seat chairs for an hour just to enjoy maybe the best fried chicken I know of.

Babe’s now has 10 locations. We visited the Carrollton TX location 11:30 on a Saturday – we were seated immediately. The food came out in no time and it tasted great! The service was excellent as well. By the time we finished, almost all the tables were taken. Babe’s comes highly recommended !!!

Later that afternoon, we went to the Denton downtown square for a festival of lights, concerts, vendors, and food. The weather was perfect: clear and 65 degrees.

While we were visiting all the sites, we stopped into Jupiter House Coffee on the square. We used to go to Jupiter all the time until Christmas Eve 2017 when it caught fire (along with a really cool antique ‘mall’ next door). It took almost a year and a half to rebuild it but it looks really great. And the coffee is excellent. With parking at the door, it’s worth a stop.

Sunday was mostly family visits, a baby shower, and birthday party. And our weekend was over and time to head home.

We rolled out of Denton early Monday. We were taking a detour in Oklahoma. Our first stop was Davis, OK. (exit 51 on I-35. yes the Fried Pies exit) – Iron Wolf Coffee. The coffee shop is just a few doors away from Iron Wolf Gym and Iron Wolf Crossfit. Grab a coffee, pump some iron, and flip a tire. Sounds like a good co-branding marketing plan.

We’d been to this shop before but couldn’t recall if it had the same name. It also looked like it had gone through a makeover. It had more seating and an area for children to be entertained. We had the medium roast and were on our way.

Our detour route took us south of Oklahoma City so we thought getting gas would be a good idea. Gas was $2.30 a gallon so we stopped at Casey’s. I used to think eating as a gas station was a last-desperate act. But that is changing. We’ve got Buc-ees and Wally’s, and others. And then there’s Casey’s. Casey’s pizza, especially the breakfast pizza is pretty good. We filled up on no-lead and morning pizza and were back on the road to Aline, OK. Aline is just 45 miles from Kansas and offered an activity that I personally enjoy-junkyard crawling. Mary, not so much, but she was happy to sit in the van, listen to podcasts and enjoy the sunny, warm weather.

In my never-ending quest to find parts for my AMC Marlin, I located some ‘much-needed’ items at Bud’s Salvage Yard outside of Aline. Bud’s is the way all junkyards should be. Acres and acres (60+) of old cars(5000+), organized by model. And they even had guard dogs. Not a doberman or sheperd, an 8 lb chihuahua that did not like eye contact. This guy sat on the counter on his pillow and let me know who was boss every time I came close. He and I never became friends.

But two hours later, I had found most everything I was looking for and we were back on the road towards Kansas City.

About 6:00 pm, we pulled into Primetime Grill in Ottawa, KS to get a bite to eat before going to our hotel. Primetime had good bar food and was worth the visit but it had something else interesting. A bowling alley. A big newish bowling alley Fusion Alley busy with league bowling. Most of the alleys in our area have gone away. It was refreshing to see that bowling is still alive and well.

The next morning after the hotel’s complimentary breakfast we drove just a few blocks to get our traveling coffee at the Meeting Grounds Coffee Co. We ordered 20 oz cups of their house blend, sat for a few minutes enjoying the shop then it was on to the interstate heading east.

Two hours and 20 ounces later, we needed to stop again. Maple City Roasters in Macon, MO seemed like a good place to stop. But that’s kind of where it got a little interesting. We noticed the sign that said “No Public Bathrooms” and thought that might be for anyone off the street. But no, they don’t have a bathroom. The closest bathroom was the Ben Franklin Department store, half a block away. We promised to return for coffee and headed the visit Ben.

Walking into the store was a throwback to the old department stores: the sounds, the smells, and the merchandise. It was like we walked into a 60’s time warp. But first, we had some business to take care of.

Walking back to the coffee shop, I noticed there were a number of businesses and shops that had the same sign-“No Restrooms”. I’m not sure what the story was there but consider it a cautionary tale when you shop downtown Macon, MO. We had a pleasant conversation with the owner, got our coffee and just as we were leaving, he suggested that we visit his dad’s vintage shop across the street. Yes, thank you. Mary, once again, not so much. She headed to the van to enjoy her coffee and I headed to the store.

Another Time Vintage Store is just my type of store. Hundreds of record albums along with other antiques. But the specialty clearly was guitars. While all part of one store, the instruments seemed to be a separate part called West Guitar Center. I found a record I liked and spent 10 minutes chatting with the owner. I’d like to return to the store again and spend more time. Oh and by the way, he didn’t have a restroom either.

Just a few hours from home now, we drove straight through reflecting on all that we did in such a short trip. We talked about plans for our next trip. I think we should plan a multi-day tour of vintage stores and junkyards. Mary, not so much, but we’ll get it figured out.