Sisters' Birthday Weekend

August 7, 2016

So I've just returned from a week in Red House, where 2 of my real sisters, and another dear friend who is just like a sister, joined me for a long weekend to celebrate all our birthdays.The sisters had never been to Far West Texas before, but I think they really enjoyed their visit. I do know they thought the night sky was incredible! 

They flew into Midland, arriving about 9:30 in the morning, which means that all of us leapt out of bed about 3:00 a.m. - they to catch their flights, and I to drive the 3 hours to the airport to collect them. Because I had rented a minivan to transport the jelly cabinet one of my sisters gave me (perfect pantry solution in the kitchen!), and it wouldn't fit in my car, we had plenty of room and fairly comfy seats for seeing the sights. Uh oh, the "oil change due" light came on, which meant we lost a couple of hours having the oil changed because the car rental agency didn't have any other vehicles available. That being taken care of, we were on our way to Red House.

The highlights of the next couple of days: going to see the Marfa Lights, staring at the night sky, birding at daylight in beautiful Post Park, seeing bunnies and deer and turkey vultures everywhere, as well as a grey fox, a javelina, some prairie dogs, a few hawks, and a magnificent elk with part of his herd. We went to Alpine, Marfa, Valentine (where we took our photo in front of the post office), drove the Scenic Loop to Fort Davis, and then on up the mountain to the McDonald Observatory for a Star Party. We had drinks at the White Buffalo Bar, and we had a lovely breakfast at Eve's Garden; we had Mexican food at Mando's in Marfa, where we barely made it inside before a ferocious rainstorm hit. The storm ended just before we finished eating, and we were treated to a rainbow a little later. We strolled through lush Gage Gardens and enjoyed the cooling breezes beneath the trees. It's a tradition in our family to stop at every Dairy Queen we see on a road trip, and - of course - we honored tradition! We also cooked at home and had friends over for drinks and snacks on the porch.

It was a perfect sisters' weekend! When will the next one be? We don't know yet, but we can hardly wait!