My beloved Texas….our traveling adventures

SUMMARY

Todd and I fell in love again on Oct. 11, 2015; it was nothing short of a miracle. To celebrate, we took a second honeymoon Oct. 24, almost 20 years after we started dating the first time. We have vowed to spend the next 12 months acting like newlyweds. We’ve never been happier.
Thank you to our friends who helped our kids out.

5 things we learned from our adventure in the wild wild west

• Texas is a VERY LARGE state.
• West Texas is a great place to fall in love again!
• Everyone should see the moon through the amazing telescopes at Mcdonald Observatory.
• Four days is not enough for Big Bend let alone all the other great places.
• SEX in the wild wild west is the BEST!

Since our family migrated from the north four short years ago, we have traveled to numerous cities, but in the end, we definitely prefer the smaller remote ones like the one we chose to call home, Kerrville, Texas, whose population is 21,000. We hadn’t ventured very far west until this October, during a four day romantic getaway in the wild Wild West. 

Why do they call it the Wild West?  

We drove 1,000 miles round trip and never found a single Walmart or traditional chain Store.  If being completely off the grid is your idea of a great escape, just go west.  All around Big Bend, you’ll have little or no cellphone coverage, not even your data will work. However, inviting roadside picnic areas are plentiful.  

We decided to Push the RESET button on our marriage…

Pack you’re guns, a gas can and a picnic basket because gas stations, civilization, fast foods and even restaurants are few and far between.  You quickly learn to be strategic about your drinking habits if you know what I mean…

We are kicking it off with a second honeymoon and a 12 month plan to act like newlyweds!  

Although we’ve travelled alone to Bora Bora, Hawaii and numerous romantic places during 19 years of marriage, we agreed to call this our official “second honeymoon”.  That’s because we pushed the RESET button on our marriage and agreed to act like newlyweds for the next 12 months much to the dismay of our teenage daughter who requested we wait til next summer when she leaves for college.  

The Jewish husband devotes 12 full months to bring JOY to his wife; he is free from a job or going to war during this time so nothing will interfere with setting up the rest of their married lives for success.  This brings all future children into a loving environment of stability.  Jews have THE lowest rate for divorce and typically enjoy great prosperity while Americans today have the highest rate of divorce, debt, addictions, medications and obesity in all of history. We believe passionate marital sex would go a long way to reverse these trends and change our next generation. 

Our first stop Saturday night was the Mcdonald Observatory that inspired a whole new appreciation for the sky, one part of God’s vast creation and a new appreciation for His deep love for us, the crown of His finished work.  We attended a twilight program followed by a star party.  I’m not gonna lie, it was very cold at 6800 feet above sea level in October as a cold front came in. We shared a cup of Hot chocolate at the star date cafe where the cashier replied to my question, “what’s the wifi password?”

After driving and hiking the breathtaking skyline trail, we enjoyed southern hospitality at the Indian Lodge with a Sunday afternoon pot roast meal. 

“There’s no public wifi; your phone’s as good as a paper weight up here”

We stayed the night in the beautiful Davis mountains in what we lovingly refer to as our little love shack on wheels. We fit our queen mattress in the back and were quite warm and cozy.  Sunday morning, we woke up to this view in the state park.  

Sunday evening, we travelled to Big Bend, where Visibility was over 130 miles, which added to the feeling of vastness contrasting to your own the smallness of your own person.  Although we felt small, we felt nothing of insignificance.  Instead, we felt incredibly valuable and worthy; in awe of our Creator and Redeemer! 

We stayed in a primitive campground with only a handful of people, I suppose because it was a cold Sunday night in October.

Next comes one of our favorite memories and what we look forward to on our next visit…

We hiked to the hot springs to watch the sunset on Mexico across the Rio Grande River.  The springs really were hot and full of red mud due to the recent rain.  We didn’t mind, it was an added benefit of a mud bath before bed.  We left before dusk because we forgot guns and wondered if Mexicans might try cross the border and the drive back included a curve without much space for error or you’d fall off the gravel road. 

Monday, we hiked the beautiful Santa Elena Canyon, finding it even more picturesque  than the brochures we saw or even than the 

photos we took that day. 

We devoted time each day to meaningful conversations about our relationship, memories of our love affair, our current romantic life, our future, dreams, family, likes and dislikes, being vulnerable and renewing our vows to make our marriage a picture of Christ’s love for His bride and creating our own little paradise on earth that points people to Jesus and looking forward to Heaven.  

We reviewed material and listened to favorite love songs that take us back to our courtship and honeymoon to make romance blossom again. We called this our little love shack, we put a queen size mattress in the trailer and were very cozy under the big Texas starlit skies in campgrounds. We had been pouring every extra penny into remodeling our house so this was how we did our second honeymoon on a budget.

Our final destination before home was Marathon, a small antiquated town deep in the heart of West Texas.  The town boasts of 3 gas stations, the place where Big Bend and starry skies meet.  It is so quiet and small that from the center of town, from the Gage Hotel.

Step back in time…literally, to a town where the train still runs almost every hour and time stands still, no one is in a hurry, stores close at 8 pm and people still drive trucks from the 1970’s.  The only form of entertainment after dark besides stargazing is…you guessed it.

One of the best parts about west Texas is definitely the night sky featuring the brightest stars and darkest skies you’ve ever experienced.  What they say really is true, the backdrop is black velvet and the stars like shining diamonds; there’s no interference of city lights or pollution to dim their beauty.  It’s a spectacular sight to behold.  

Ending our romantic getaway at the Gage Hotel was just perfect…A hot shower in a hotel room vs. a campground was luxury.

Welcome to the Gage Hotel, the towns finest and in my opinion its only interesting attraction.  

Be sure and wear your western boots as you walk across the old wooden floor in the lobby as the sound itself will transport you back in time 100 years and you’ll feel powerful as you command the attention of those nearby.

I will admit, I was shocked at the rugged amenities because I felt the price tag deserved more luxury.  I guess they call it rugged luxury.  We could imagine Buffalo Bill staying in our room in years gone by.  It was an upgrade to have a room with a private bath, but the community bathhouse was nice enough as I toured it.   I’m not sure what kind of upgrade you’d need to get a television in your room, but the absence of one sure adds to the charm, in my opinion.

We had a dinner reservation for 6 pm at the 12 Gage Restaurant next door, where we sat in the courtyard by the warm fire, enjoying Texas Quail and chicken fried steak.  We admired the sunset from the 27 acre Gage  Garden that hosts many weddings across the street, ending our evening in the hotel courtyard by the fire pit.  

Tuesday proved to be another perfect October sunny day.  We enjoyed a lazy afternoon in the hotel’s back yard with the swimming pool and refreshing green lawn (fake grass surrounded by desert) just reading our books in lawn chairs by the sand volleyball courts.

We are Enjoying a lazy day in the gardens at Gage Hotel, downtown Marathon, a city so quiet, you hear the church bells, roosters and train whistle crystal clear.  Mostly, it’s the sound of birds and wind though today.

On the way home, we stopped at a locally owned Mexican restaurant, Bienvenido’s, in Ft. Stockton, where I had the best authentic Mexican meal since we moved to Texas.  You see, we were very spoiled with home cooked Mexican meals our pastor regularly made for us in Michigan.  This came close, but still fell short of his gourmet meals. 

In conclusion, we encourage everyone to take a second or third honeymoon and push the reset button on your marriage.  Why? 

The state of the marriage produces the state of the family and the state of the family produces the state of the community. 

Marriage is only hard work when the glory has gone out of the marriage. Take time to get the glory back and reignite the passion, you and your children and your children’s children deserve it!