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It Starts With A Donkey And A Buffalo

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week it’s Part 3 of my 4-part series on my recent trip to visit family in the Wichita Falls Texas area. That would make this the penultimate edition of this series. (I’ve always liked that word – penultimate.)

It’s the final Saturday morning of September, and we need to check on Reno – our approximate 25-year-old family donkey. He lives in a farm in Clay County about 500 feet away from the Wichita County line. He gets checked on every day. He’s fed (a pile of hay and a carrot), given fresh water, and sometimes even cleaned up a bit. (I actually Goggled “do donkeys like carrots”, and Google’s AI confirmed that “donkeys generally love carrots as a healthy treat”. I can confirm that Reno does indeed love carrots.

After our visit with the donkey we checked-in with the buffalo – as in White Buffalo Coffee Bar. It’s a Veteran-owned franchise with 18 locations in Oklahoma and Texas. We went to the one near Sheppard AFB. I got a hot Pumpkin Spice Latte and a breakfast croissant sandwich. Both were pretty good. My cousin liked her drink and food too. I have a feeling that we’ll be back there on my next visit – especially considering its proximity to the airport (6 minutes away).

Next stop – a wonderful roadside memorial off I-44 northbound – north of Wichita Falls and about 7 miles south of the Oklahoma State Line. It features a 77-foot Cross, 3 smaller crosses, and numerous plaques along a circular sidewalk with Scripture detailing the final days of the life of Christ Jesus. It was constructed from 2023 to 2025. KMOC 89.5 – a local Christian radio station – was behind the memorial.

Next stop – a classic car show at a church. We actually stumbled across this one, and this is a recurring theme on my visits to Wichita Falls. We go on a road-trip (either locally or regionally), and we stumble across a place or an event that we weren’t expecting on our way to another place or event. This was a fun event. I love classic car shows and museums. I love guessing the year each car is from before I check out its display card. I love looking inside the cars – especially at their dashboards.

We also checked out a small portion of the Wichita Bluff Nature Area (off Loop 11).

Later that same day (and the start of my final night) – 5 of us went out to dinner at a place called Firefly. The fellowship with family was wonderful, and the food portions were MASSIVE. I would’ve taken a picture of my dinner plate upon receiving it, but I didn’t want to waste any time. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to eat everything on my plate within an hour. (And I actually couldn’t finish it all.)

Next #TravelThursday starts with dinner leftovers for an early lunch the next day, and it’s my trek through the airports and inflight back home to Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Coffee, Mexican, Whataburger, Texas BBQ

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week it’s Part 2 of my 4-part series on my recent trip to visit family in the Wichita Falls Texas area. Let’s continue the fun and food !

After one of my family members picked me up at Wichita Falls Regional Airport (#SPS) – we headed into town to Collective Coffee. It sits caddy-corner to Midwestern State University (#MSU). It sits at a former Shell service station. Its parking area amusingly sits in the former lanes of the gas pumps. The cafe has been open for about 4½ years. It’s in an old building that was built in 1964. I wonder if it was a service station for all of those years ?

At Collective I enjoyed a 16-ounce Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte and a large warmed-up Blueberry Muffin. Both were pretty good. I forgot what my cousin got, but she didn’t like it all that much. She exclaimed, “1 out of 10 – do not recommend”. Upon further review I convinced her to bring her rating up to a 4 out of 10, as service was good. (But memo-for-record – it’s not on the list for future visits.)

Later that same afternoon we went to a sprawling family-owned Mexican restaurant – El Mejicano – to partake in their bargain $10.99 all-you-can-eat buffet. It was a Thursday-night-only special during the month of September to celebrate their 42ND anniversary. The wait to get in was long (about a half-hour). The last time I was in Wichita Falls – 13 months prior for a single day visit with my brother – we also enjoyed the buffet there.

Fun Facts: About 150,000 residents call the Wichita Falls area home. That’s 130,000 in Wichita County, 11,000 in Clay County (to the east), and 9,000 in Archer County (to the south). Wichita Falls itself claims over 100,000 residents. None of my family live within the city limits. (They live in Clay and Archer Counties.) My Aunt and Uncle used to live in Wichita County, but to the west of the city limits.

Late the next morning I got to choose the fast-food restaurant to go pick-up lunch at and take to my Aunt and Uncle’s soon-to-be former house of 40 years. As we approached one of those blue restaurant signs alongside the freeway – I saw Whataburger. If you read my multi-part #TravelThursday series from earlier this year – then you may remember my previous disappointment with the Whataburger drive-thru experience where everyone got a burger except for me. That would not happen again.

Later that same afternoon we headed down to Archer County (Lakeside City) to my first-cousin’s house. My Uncle lives there too. And also my favorite cat Gracie. And also my new canine friend Lacey. My first-cousin picked-up Texas Best BBQ (pulled pork, smoked turkey, and sides), and we enjoyed it all.

Next #TravelThursday starts with a donkey and a buffalo. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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McLean & Tysons

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s Part 6 of my 7-part blog series on my recent trip to and from Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. It was my first trip back to the area in exactly a decade (to the date).

It’s Sunday July 27TH 2025 – our 4TH and final day of me and my brother’s trip down memory lane from our childhoods. And of course – my brother’s wife and their two daughters were along for the ride – which was seemingly a boring ride at times since they had no roots in the area.

Me and my brother have already discussed a trip back to the Washington D.C. area (maybe as early as late next year) to do a “deep dive” into our childhoods (and include Maryland as well) – without the girls. More on that in Part 7 next #TravelThursday.

#ButFirst – We all checked out of our hotel rooms on that Sunday morning, and we headed over to McLean Family Restaurant for Brunch. It was a Jewish deli in the ’50s and ’60s, and then it became what it is today in 1969. I don’t remember ever eating there during the early-to-mid-’80s when I lived there, but my brother had eaten there a few times. It is essentially your classic diner in a longtime (70-year-old) strip shopping center in downtown McLean.

We drove by the old neighborhood public library and recreation center. They still look the same as they did 40+ years ago.

Next we hit Tysons Corner Center – built in 1968 – and now one of the busiest and largest traditional shopping malls in the U.S.A. Back in the early-to-mid-’80s it was much smaller and more of a neighborhood shopping mall – where you were likely to see your neighbors and classmates and teachers walking around. Nowadays it’s a regional destination where people from all over the Washington D.C. area take the Metro, get off at the station adjacent to the mall, and spend an entire day there. We spent several hours there, and the place was packed and steadily becoming even more packed. My brother pointed out what stores used to be at specific locations. (Very few stores remain from 40+ years ago.)

We ate a late-lunch at The Cheesecake Factory – by request of my brother. I personally think that they are overrated and overpriced, but I won’t turn down an opportunity to eat there about every 7 years or so.

While getting ready to pull out of the mall parking lot – my sister-in-law received the disturbing news that their Southwest flight back to Dallas Texas (#DAL) was cancelled due to weather. My American Airlines flight was very delayed – by several hours – due to the same reason. My brother and sister-in-law then quickly put a plan into motion where they would drive from there to Ohio (450 miles) – where they would have flown to the very next day (from #DFW).

We drove back to the Avis rental agency near Reagan National Airport (#DCA), and I got in line for their airport shuttle. My brother and sister-in-law headed inside to see if they could drive their existing rental SUV (Ford Explorer) from there to Ohio and then turn it in the next day at the Avis rental agency at the Columbus airport (#CMH). (They could, and they did. They arrived at their destination right around 12:30 AM.)

As I was waiting for their airport shuttle to arrive – I got the text message notification that I dreaded – my American Airlines flight to Tampa (#TPA) was also cancelled. And so I headed to the airport not really knowing what I would do once I got there. I’ll explain what I did – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Our Nation’s Capitol

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s Part 5 of my 7-part blog series on my recent trip to and from Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. It was my first trip back to the area in exactly a decade (to the date). And yes – you read that right – I can confirm that this will indeed extend to a Part 7 that will wrap-up 2 weeks from today.

#ButFirst – On that last Saturday morning of July me and my family headed to the nearby Metro station at West Falls Church (within eyesight of our hotel, but not accessible via sidewalk yet due to heavy construction in the area). I was the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) expert of my family, as I’d studied it in the weeks leading up to this trip. There really wasn’t much to study. The Metro is so easy to use – even easier to use than it was 10 years earlier with modern technology added. We took the Orange Line into D.C. to Metro Center (where 4 out of 6 lines come together), and then we transferred over to the Red Line and got off two stations later at Judiciary Square. Why such an awkward location to exit the Metro ?

That’s where our guided tour launched from. It’s also the location of the National Law Enforcement Museum and National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. (Location – Between E & F Streets and 4TH & 5TH Streets in NW Washington)

About 20 of us met our 3 tour guides and their open-air all-electric cars, and we piled in to them – 7 per car. We went on a fun 2+ hour slow narrated tour past many of the popular buildings, memorials, and monuments, and we made a few stops along the way. You can book the “Washington Mall & Monuments By Electric Car Tour” via Intrepid Urban Adventures at their web site. I recommend this tour as a good way to see the area without too much walking. Tripadvisor has over 1,000 reviews for this trip, and it rates at a 4.9 out of 5.0. (That’s how my brother and sister-in-law found out about this trip.)

After the tour we walked a couple of blocks down F Street over to the Capital One Arena – home of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards. My brother was extremely disappointed that their Team Store was closed on a Saturday. (He probably saved himself a couple hundred dollars as a result.)

We walked down 7TH Street from the Arena, and we checked out Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza. We were welcomed and told that Gordon Ramsay Street Burger was brand new and had just opened the day before, so we chose that. (It’s located underneath Street Pizza.) Lunch was pretty good there. I enjoyed my backyard smash burger and fries.

After lunch we took the Metro again to the Smithsonian station, and then we walked over to the National Museum Of American History. We were originally planning to visit the National Museum Of Natural History, but we all agreed that the girls (my teenage nieces) and my brother would find American History more interesting (with modern pop culture) than Natural History. I finally got to see (and take a picture of) Archie Bunker’s chair from “All In The Family”. I was also looking for Fonzie’s leather jacket from “Happy Days”, but I couldn’t find it. (As it turns out – it’s currently not on public view.)

Outside there was a marching band performing, and then later a hip hop concert at The Mall near the Smithsonian station. Artists need a permit to perform on The Mall (especially with amplified sound), but there’s generally no cost to do so.

From the Smithsonian station we took the Orange Line 12 stops – back to West Falls Church. Fun Fact – I maintained a strong T-Mobile 5G cell phone signal all throughout the underground portion of the Metro – including 100+ feet underneath the Potomac River !

Me and my brother ended our day together at Ledo Pizza for dinner about a mile away from our hotel. (As I was writing this blog post I discovered that it’s a chain here on the U.S. East Coast with 116 locations including a couple within a couple of hours of my home in Sebring Florida.)

It’s our final day in Northern Virginia, and we’ll eat and shop until we drop – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp