1350 Miles Later

Rami And Beth

Well, I am sitting in the cafe of the Beeman Hotel, as girls' lacrosse players and their coaches and families grab coffees before they are on their way to play in a tournament for lacrosse clubs, not schools. So it's a busy place at 6:45 in the morning. I just talked with one of the lacrosse moms from Baltimore, and she said there are close to two thousand girls here in Dallas, showcasing their skills in front of college coaches. Her daughter, by the way, is only a sophomore in high school but that's when coaches start the process of recruiting. 

We had a six-hour drive to Dallas which seemed like an eight-hour drive. I think we are getting tired of driving on truck-laden highways. We got off to a good start and were out of Memphis in ten minutes and on Interstate #40, heading towards Little Rock. Once we crossed the Mississippi just outside of Memphis, we were in the flatlands of Arkansas, the land of wheat and cotton fields. What a contrast in geography to Fayetteville, where our granddaughter  Marlena goes to college, a land of mountains, valleys, and trees. Once we got beyond Little Rock, it felt like we were traveling through South Carolina because the road was guarded by pine trees. Once we got close to Dallas mile-wise, we were not close to Dallas because of the traffic, which was horrendous, especially for us coming from a podunk town like Ashville. At times, the traffic was at a standstill and I can remember waiting under a cloverleaf of four or five overpasses, as thousands of cars seemed to be at a standstill as well, life in a big city. We arrived at the Beeman Hotel at 3:00, happy to finally be able to stay somewhere for a few days. I showered, Evie relaxed and we were on our way to Beth and Rami's 9th-floor apartment by 5:00. Beth was waiting for us when we drove into their parking garage and Kaia, their dog, was just as happy to see us when we opened the apartment door.

Mom And Daughter

It was good to see Beth and especially Rami because he was not able to visit Chautauqua this summer. He quickly pulled out a nice bottle of white for Evie and made his specialty, Old Fashions, for the two of us. After a long drive, it was a perfect way to kick back, knowing, too, that I won't have to drive for five more days. Yippee. Dinner was an old recipe from the 1980s Silver Palate Cookbook, Chicken Marbella, with olives, capers, and prunes. We have not had it in ages and forgot how good it was. For dessert, we had homemade apple pie with ice cream to top the evening off. We left at 8:15, exhausted but happy to be in Dallas with family. We both were in bed by 9:00.

Night Lights