Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
We were back on the road last week in Texas in the middle of one of the worst storms of the season. There was snow, freezing rain and lots of ice. Thousands were grounded at DFW, slept on cots in the airport and ate airport food for days. These two California girls were caught off guard, but were fortunate to sleep and eat well and make it home safely.
Mapping the Day
This was our second trip from California to Fort Worth, Texas to see our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter and her parents. We planned to catch up with how much Emi has grown, eat great food prepared by our son and daughter-in-law and enjoy a few day trips around the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Local Story
As the news media has reported all winter, California has been mostly sunny, dry and warm. I guess we didn’t really think about potential storms on our trip. We landed at DFW and to our surprise it was cold, wet and icy. Our son picked us up and said we would be preparing for a “snow day”.
During our four-night stay, there were a few brief windows of time for us to get out of the house safely. Snow turned into ice, then melted and slicked over again. News coverage reported flight cancellations starting three days prior to our scheduled departure.
It was COLD, windy, snowy, icy and did I say COLD?
The morning of our scheduled flight home, the dreaded text message arrived from American Airlines. We were among the thousands of travelers grounded in Dallas/Fort Worth. We all took to the internet and phones to contact the airline to reschedule our flight. Luckily our son’s call was picked up within 20 minutes. Maybe it was because of his local phone number? Not sure, but we were able to reschedule a flight for the next morning to LAX. We grabbed it and strategized how to get to the airport for a 6 a.m. flight.
View from the Table
Since freezing rain was in the forecast for that night and next morning, we opted to leave for DFW that afternoon and stay in a nearby hotel. We again were so fortunate to find a hotel room. Our son drove us on snow-covered expressways, over frozen bridges and away from swerving traffic. He dropped us at the hotel and quickly left to make it home before the freezing rain and more ice.
The hotel shuttle took us to nearby Grapevine Mills restaurant called Love and War in Texas. We were in for a truly Texas-inspired meal with live country music in the background. As we perused the menu, how could we resist an appetizer dubbed Barbara Bush’s Fried Green Beans? “Done and two Bud Lights, please.” We then shared some Barbecue Ribs and Mesquite Smoked Chicken.
All in all, we had a great meal. We discussed on the Tarmac as they de-iced our plane the next morning that Barbara Bush’s Green Beans were good. However, we had some ideas for our RoadTripFlavors version. Enjoy!
Oven-Fried Asparagus Sticks
[button link=”http://roadtripflavors.com/recipe/oven-fried-asparagus-sticks/” type=”big” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] RECIPE[/button]
Delicious! I made this last night for a gathering and it was a big hit. Several people asked for the recipe – so I sent them your link!