Let the Adventures Begin

So, since last writing I've been up to a few things....

First off, I took my bike out on its first ride since being in Dallas! Sam and I drove by White Rock Creek Lake one day and we saw lots of bikers on the path so I decided to venture out when we had a nice 70 degree day. The fun of biking on trails you aren't familiar with is you don't really know how far they go. I realized that after accidentally biking almost 18 miles. Apparently this lake is huge. I then saw the Santa Fe trail which branches off of it and rode that too. That trail goes closer into the downtown area. That combined with the lake trail added up. Riding around the lake was fun, but I was very happy to finally end up back at my car. The true challenge of the bike ride though was putting my bike rack on my car, the metal bar on my bike, my bike on the rack, and driving to the lake without it falling off, and vice versa in coming home. My bike made it safely though, so success!

Here's a view of the city as I rode on the Santa Fe Trail.

And here's what I look like with Dallas in the background.

Along the Santa Fe trail I found a little bike stand with a pump, just in case I got a flat and was stranded. Not that I would know how to use it, but hey, it's still there!

I also discovered why White Rock Lake is called White Rock Lake. So pretty!

This was taken when I was back on the White Rock Lake trail. Take note of how far away the city looks now compared to the previous pictures! Not kidding when I say I biked a lot.

Birds, ducks, wild birds, etc. are a really big deal here. People were feeding them and they were enjoying it. I kept my distance as I've encountered angry swans before one time when I was younger with Mom. 

Secondly, St. Patrick's Day in Dallas is apparently a REALLY HUGE deal. Not even the actual day so much as the Saturday before it. They shut down a giant section of a pretty major road and have a parade. People camped out Friday night to get good spots. I went to the grocery store Friday night when I decided to make a pie for Pi day and every other person in there was buying alcohol. Prior to the parade they have a 5K which had about 8,000 runners this year. I was one of them! 

The swarm of people ahead of me in the 5K. Green as far as the eye can see. 

Me getting ready to run! Sam woke up at 7 with me to wait for me while I ran. 37 minutes later I finished, with no stopping. Woohoo!

The parade started around 11:30. ALL sorts of floats. Not even kidding, this is a photo of the Tortilla Queen car throwing out green tortillas...

And I even caught one! However, I did not have the guts to eat it.

They also toss out beads, t-shirts, coozies, and even some candy. This was an after picture of my friend Audrey and I decked out in the goodies. Catching beads became and intense game throughout the parade and I must say we did pretty amazing. I even caught some Mavericks beads, but I'll never wear them because the Wizards still have my heart. 

Finally, Sam's mom and sister flew in for the weekend so we had some delicious Dallas brunch, drinks, steak, Whattaburger, and ice cream. And for anyone reading who is wondering what the infamous Sam looks like, here you go! 

Oh, and P.S. we got our first animal for the apartment. Meet Dillo. He may not be a real armadillo, but how cool is he?! He even doubles as a piggy bank. Found him in San Antonio and he is freshly imported from Mexico. :-)

Sending love and warm weather from Dallas, 

Kendra