Lyra only knows one way to travel: in style. When she heard that she and Mommy would be moving to Seattle, she insisted on a weeklong roadtrip by way of Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, and Carhenge. Opa suggested that Lyra take the interstate and drive into the wee hours to get to Seattle in four days, but Lyra wasn't hearing that. "How am I supposed to see baby buffalo at night?" she inquired.
Apartment 3020 has been Mommy's Houston home since she moved from Singapore in 2006, and is the only home Lyra has ever known. It might be the best location in town: across the street from Hermann Park and an easy walk to the Houston Zoo, the Children's Museum of Houston, and the Houston Garden Center's Rose Garden. Mommy, Daddy and Lyra all have many fond memories of the Esplanade, but now it's time to say goodbye to all that. So long, Esplanade! So long, Houston!
Day 1 (May 27, 2012)
Daddy's schedule has Team Lyra hitting the road at 6:30am. Love the optimism, Daddy! On her last day in Houston, Lyra doesn't even wake up until 7am. By 8am, everyone and everything is packed in the car. Our destination: Medicine Park, Oklahoma, 450 miles away.
Despite the late start, America's Favorite Baby™ has mapped out an ambitious itinerary for her first day. Breakfast is a tip o' the Davy Crockett cap to her southern cousins: Johnny Reb's Dixie Cafe in Hearne, Texas. According to Sara and Jose, the aforementioned cousins, the Confederate theme stands for "heritage, not hate." Uh-huh, thinks Lyra, as she throws back another hush puppy.
Lyra's next stop is West, Texas, for a stop at the legendary Village Bakery. What becomes a legend most? Apparently being closed on Sundays. Drat! Luckily, in the town known as the Kolache Capital of Texas, even the gas stations have kolaches. Mommy bought a couple while Daddy was topping up the tank. Not half bad, pronounced Lyra.
Showing incredible discipline (and putting the pedal to the metal during a certain baby's afternoon nap), Daddy pulled into the quaint resort town of Medicine Park at about 5pm. Except on this Memorial Day weekend, the town was jampacked with what Ming Yang delicately referred to as "NASCAR people," in for a three-day free music festival. Lawnchairs and coozies aplenty.
Lyra stretches her legs along the path paralleling Medicine Creek. Once you get away from the noise, it's rather lovely.
Lyra helps herself to some fish food offered by a friendly fellow stroller.
After a long day, we were all asleep by 9pm ... only to be woken up at 2am by a drunk couple fighting next door at ear-splitting volume. For two hours. Daddy and Mommy had a rough night of it, but Lyra snoozed through it all. Not for the first time, Daddy wishes he had Lyra's discipline.
Day 2 (May 28, 2012)
We put Medicine Park in the rear view as soon as possible. Luckily, we were only five miles away from the unexpectedly lovely Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Were there buffalo? You bet your bottom dollar!
A field of gold
First buffalo of the day
Lyra and Tiger in a buffalo stance.
Tiger wants a closer look at the buffalo.
Mommy, Lyra, and amber waves of grain. For reals! Wichita Mountains is home to a remnant mixed grass prairie.
After leaving the Wichita Mountains, Lyra started thinking about brunch. Daddy had many thoughts about where to eat. We first passed through the quaint town of Cordell, but all four places on Daddy's list were closed because it was the Memorial Day holiday.
91 miles later, we accepted our destiny and stopped for fast food: McDonald's for Mommy and Lyra and Taco Mayo for Daddy. Lyra enjoyed the fries, but otherwise, the less said the better.
We left Oklahoma and sped through Kansas on country roads, stopping in the delightful town of Hays for an urban and urbane dinner at Gella's Diner and Lb. Brewing Company. Did Mommy have a microbrew with her fish? Must you even ask?
Finally, just across the Nebraska border, we stopped for the night at Annabelle's Bed and Breakfast in Alma. It's a lovely old house with a porch swing and a big grassy front yard. The perfect antidote for a long day on the road.
A game of "Chase the Baby" always ends the same way.
After a vigorous pommel horse routine, Lyra prepares to stick her dismount.
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