Texas, you were a dream.
Country dance halls and saloons, my first time riding a horse, Tex-Mex eats, the Spurs and the open road… There’s such a charm about Texas and I loved every part of it. (I’m still dreaming about that cowboy lifestyle.)
My love and I booked a trip to Texas earlier in the year as we signed up for a half marathon with Run Rock ‘N Roll for their half marathon running series. Two weeks before the race and over a Thanksgiving holiday, we started our race prep since we stopped running consistently in May after Yosemite’s half marathon (lol) and looked forward to a little Texas getaway after being swamped with nonstop work weeks, events and outings.
As someone who lives notoriously in the moment and goes with the flow, this trip came out of nowhere and I was nowhere prepared. We spent the prior Wednesday night before our Thursday morning flight at our friend’s Arden Records 2-year anniversary party with an open bar and food. We woke up that next morning on our flight to Texas as I watched the Korean drama Past Lives on the plane, which brought me some real tears from its beautiful, delicate and mature themes about navigating adulthood, relationships, and the idea of soul mates in another life.
“Where you’re going is so much more important than where you’ve been.”
Sometimes you go through life wondering, wishing, if it will ever happen — that you’ll feel the way you do — the happiness, contentment, and feeling like you’re truly okay. And when that happens, it feels like a breath of relief. That you don’t have to go around searching, looking, and wandering for it in all these places.
You realize it’s always been inside of you, reflected back in another.
And that’s what this all feels like sometimes — this relationship and feeling of deep, true love.
Call me a romantic, a sap, or just incredibly emotionally aware person, but as I’ve lived my life for 28 years living and loving herself, truly, wholly, and independently, a committed relationship isn’t something I choose lightly.
It’s sweet. And I’m grateful for our moments of ease to getaway, explore, and enjoy our little adventures.
Day 1: Arrival and a Spurs game
One takeaway? Stadium food in other places hit different. And the wholesome San Antonio Spurs fans were damn cute.
Day 2: A day trip to Austin with coffee, SoCo, Arlo Grey and Austin city nightlife
Bouldin Creek Cafe, recommended by Meg, was a dream. That rose matcha latte and green juice hit the spot, and their vegetarian health bowls were so damn yummy. Downtown SoCo was a dream for Austin lifestyle, clothing and apparel that I wanted to walkaway with my own denim jacket, hat, some real boots and don that classic “cowgirl” style. Terry Black’s BBQ offered real casual, but real good barbecue (especially for a non-meat eater, that meat was so damn tender, I’d only eat it in Texas!). Mount Bonnell was a last minute recommendation by our Uber driver and gave us such a lovely sunset view.
We tried Chef Kristen Kish’s restaurant Arlo Grey, which was beautiful and our favorite dish was this acorn squash salad that blew our mind for some odd reason. The Seoul Sour was yummy as well. And so was sitting at our table for 2 hours as we finally had a chance to rest from our day-excursion and our waitress from Oakland was happy to gift us another entree for home. So sweet.
Downtown Austin is crazy lit. I’m not sure I could hang, but the saloon at San Jac Saloon was my favorite to dance to live country bands singing great covers from Fleetwood Mac to Janis Joplin and line-dancing with my love ’til 2am in the morning.
My favorite? Watching “The Golden Bachelor” finale on the one-hour drive back home to our AirBnb in San Antonio, and crying to Leslie getting heartbroken in front of our eyes by Gerry. And being so invested with my love by my side.
Day 3: Race day pick-up to a San Antonio city tour and Thirsty Horse Saloon
Finally a day to rest, sleep in and have a slower start since arriving. Picked up some Honcho’s Churros and coffee, picked up our race day bibs, visited the San Antonio Mission and Riverwalk, enjoy real authentic Mexican food (some of the best I’ve had) and spend a night country line dancing at Thirsty Horse Saloon – a real San Antonio feat and huge dance hall! – on a Saturday night, which was a whole whole vibe.
Day 4: Half marathon morning race day and rode a horse at sunset
Race morning! We arrived at 7am, ran through a U.S. Army Base and felt like Cadet Kelly, chugged beer and ran through some real beautiful San Antonio landmarks and residences while live bands cheered us on. Loads of fun.
We knocked out shortly after our race, recouped, showered, and returned to eat a meal at Southerleigh at the Pearl District and I rode my first horse with a trail ride at sunset led by these two teenage girls who reminded me of The Last Of Us for their pure country ranch lifestyle and upbringing. What a life.
Day 5: Rest day and flight home
Monday morning, slept in, packed our belongings, tried to grab a last-minute bite from a local Mexican restaurant but he closed that day, and the sweet owner drove us personally to the airport as he felt bad he couldn’t serve us that day. We made it back to LA safe and sound, with just enough time to rest and settle back in before another week ahead.
As I reflect on the end of the year and what a year 2023 has brought me, I’m grateful for all the travels I’ve had the opportunity to do — two half marathons, three National Parks, and several trips back home to the Bay. I’ve spent 29 years of my life hustling, as I left home and packed my car and belongings in my car to pursue this independent artist life at 24. I grew up and came into my own in Los Angeles, and having the time to slow down, travel, and experience things like these is such a luxury for me to do. I didn’t choose an “easy” path for sure, as most friends I know have steady jobs and steady income and enjoy their time traveling with friends. I guess the artist in me craved the romance, the drama, and thrill of making my life feel like a movie, doing what feels best, true and most authentic to me.
I’ve realized that as I tend to live in my own dream world 99.9% of the time, it feels good to be able to be grounded in reality, create moments, memories and experiences with not only myself, but another, who shares those same ambitions.
More to share soon, but ’til next time, here’s a little Texas recap, below.
With love and honesty,
Rachel
beauty within 