Marathons and Sprints

  Early check out was our plan so the alarm went off at 6.30 for sunrise, and we had to do a bit of packing and preparation for a busy 'ol day.  Very much back into the fast lane after a quieter one yesterday, and we were breakfasting on the balcony of the steak house by 8.30, a light one, pancakes, bacon, syrup, and fruit, don't forget the fruit. We then took our jeep across to the other side of the ranch where they had their stables, whilst the roads a little worn, we are not talking complete wilderness, but wouldn't have wanted to be navigating them in my Audi.  Parked up and checked in with the rangers, the welcoming committee including a donkey, keeps the horses chill I guess, also seemed to mellow out Chrissi who had a declared phobia of horses dating back to some incident when she was 11. I've had some interesting encounters with horses whether its up the Neath valley, Lake District or hanging on when galloping past the pyramids ( I kid you not) but this looked t...

  Our lodge was very dark and I quite enjoyed the slow signs of sunrise creeping into the lodge and casting light on the furnishings and cowboy interior. It was a quiet and peaceful time, today would be that kind of day.  Chrissi needed her sleep, I probably needed it too, but instead reflected on the trip so far via blogs and pictures, enjoying my Dallas photo montages. By the time we were up we realised we had a decision to make, a big one in the circumstances, go for a run or hit the buffet breakfast before 10am and not have a run. We chose the healthy option and went for a run, knowing we had a few snacks in our lodge to go for a low maintenance day in semi luxury surrounds. With various noises last night, shuffles in the undergrowth and a developing concern over snakes I chose asphalt for my run, taking the road to the west of the ranch, but still on the ranch; when it ran out, I briefly went off road, heard a kerfuffle in the undergrowth, turned on my heels and retraced ...

  Lovely sleep, chilled out start ... some of our AMTRAK snacks remained so was blueberry muffin and coffee in the Lorenzo hotel room, mixing up the cheap and cheerful with the more expensive eateries. Walked to car hire place next to the very swanky Adolphus hotel, which we poked our head into before being directed one door down the street. No car immediately available, so walked back to the slightly less swanky Lorenzo to check out and then uber back to Avis office.  Looking glass half full today so used that walk to take in a bit more of the interesting Dallas buildings and sculptures. Look up! Car now ready and after a few mins slightly edgy familiarisation - turning it on on - we were out on the roads of Dallas. As soon as I get my bearings I love driving in the US and it feels part of the whole experience and reminds me of some of the fun roadtrips we had with the kids back in the day; plus of course  land of the motor - head out on the freeway. those freeways from ...