Wednesday, November 21st 2018
Los Angeles, CA and Marfa, TX
It’s 6:30am PST and I am waking up for a full day of travel to Marfa, TX. At 7am I am standing in front of the most awkward Lyft driver of all time. He offers to put my bag in the trunk and then asks if I want to watch him do it. I say that I don’t care to watch him but I also don’t want to sit in the car any longer than I have to. He asks why and I say that I like being outside more than I like being in a car. Thus my trip begins.
The airport is busy, but I still make it through security with plenty of time to grab breakfast and coffee. I walk the length of the terminal and can not find any food that looks appealing. I end up with a large cup coffee for breakfast.
The flight to Dallas goes smoothly. Once I land, I have about an hour and half to kill before my next flight. I find a restaurant called Cantina Laredo. I recognize it from Austin and am feeling confident about the food. I order some ahi tuna tacos and add on chips and salsa. The tacos are weird and I remember that I broke one of my food rules, which is to never order raw fish in Texas. I end up not eating the tacos and filling up a chips, salsa and Chardonnay.
By the time I land in Midland, I am starving. The Midland airport has the unmistakable air of small town Texas. The passenger pick up area is small and full of trucks. As always, my parents are early and I find them right away.
It’s already 6:30pm CST and the drive to Marfa is 3 hours. We decide to stop for dinner in Monahans. The freeway is dark and empty and we are driving fast. My Mom can barely read the map and we are past Monahans before we even knew we were there. Oh well, dinner in Pecos.
I use my GPS to direct us to the number 1 rated restaurant in Pecos, according to Yelp. When we arrive the building is dark and boarded up. Number 2 restaurant? Same situation. We finally arrive at the Old Mill restaurant at 8pm. This is a self-professed Mexican and Italian restaurant. They are open but the parking lot is completely dark. We take a few minutes to move our suitcases into the cab of the truck. Something about this place feels very rough.
The hostess is incredibly nice and seats us immediately. The menu is 7 pages long and I am so hungry that I can barely see straight. Eventually I agree on jalapeno poppers for an appetizer and hamburger steak with fried okra and green beans for dinner. The jalapenos are soggy and my hamburger steak is room temp at best. I did not have high hopes for the Old Mill, yet I am still disappointed.
We drive another 2 hours to Marfa. When we arrive, we are the only car in town. We find our hotel immediately but it still takes 3 trips around the block to figure out where the front door is located. The wind is tearing through the streets and there are literally tumbleweeds rolling past.
When we enter the Hotel St. George, it’s as though we stepped into another dimension. The main lobby is almost entirely white, with elegantly placed, recessed lighting. To the right is a high end bookstore that only sells books by local artists and handmade, silk scarfs; to the left is a small lounge bar filled with hipsters. Where did all of these people come from?
Once we get checked in, we only have about an hour before the hotel bar closes for the night. We quickly reconvene in the lounge for a celebratory cocktail. I order a Titos and soda and our Thanksgiving vacation has finally begun!
Los Angeles, CA and Marfa, TX
It’s 6:30am PST and I am waking up for a full day of travel to Marfa, TX. At 7am I am standing in front of the most awkward Lyft driver of all time. He offers to put my bag in the trunk and then asks if I want to watch him do it. I say that I don’t care to watch him but I also don’t want to sit in the car any longer than I have to. He asks why and I say that I like being outside more than I like being in a car. Thus my trip begins.
The airport is busy, but I still make it through security with plenty of time to grab breakfast and coffee. I walk the length of the terminal and can not find any food that looks appealing. I end up with a large cup coffee for breakfast.
The flight to Dallas goes smoothly. Once I land, I have about an hour and half to kill before my next flight. I find a restaurant called Cantina Laredo. I recognize it from Austin and am feeling confident about the food. I order some ahi tuna tacos and add on chips and salsa. The tacos are weird and I remember that I broke one of my food rules, which is to never order raw fish in Texas. I end up not eating the tacos and filling up a chips, salsa and Chardonnay.
By the time I land in Midland, I am starving. The Midland airport has the unmistakable air of small town Texas. The passenger pick up area is small and full of trucks. As always, my parents are early and I find them right away.
It’s already 6:30pm CST and the drive to Marfa is 3 hours. We decide to stop for dinner in Monahans. The freeway is dark and empty and we are driving fast. My Mom can barely read the map and we are past Monahans before we even knew we were there. Oh well, dinner in Pecos.
I use my GPS to direct us to the number 1 rated restaurant in Pecos, according to Yelp. When we arrive the building is dark and boarded up. Number 2 restaurant? Same situation. We finally arrive at the Old Mill restaurant at 8pm. This is a self-professed Mexican and Italian restaurant. They are open but the parking lot is completely dark. We take a few minutes to move our suitcases into the cab of the truck. Something about this place feels very rough.
The hostess is incredibly nice and seats us immediately. The menu is 7 pages long and I am so hungry that I can barely see straight. Eventually I agree on jalapeno poppers for an appetizer and hamburger steak with fried okra and green beans for dinner. The jalapenos are soggy and my hamburger steak is room temp at best. I did not have high hopes for the Old Mill, yet I am still disappointed.
We drive another 2 hours to Marfa. When we arrive, we are the only car in town. We find our hotel immediately but it still takes 3 trips around the block to figure out where the front door is located. The wind is tearing through the streets and there are literally tumbleweeds rolling past.
When we enter the Hotel St. George, it’s as though we stepped into another dimension. The main lobby is almost entirely white, with elegantly placed, recessed lighting. To the right is a high end bookstore that only sells books by local artists and handmade, silk scarfs; to the left is a small lounge bar filled with hipsters. Where did all of these people come from?
Once we get checked in, we only have about an hour before the hotel bar closes for the night. We quickly reconvene in the lounge for a celebratory cocktail. I order a Titos and soda and our Thanksgiving vacation has finally begun!
