We started our day in Memphis and decided to stop for a late lunch in Little Rock. We got the recommendation from Kelly of Big Orange Midtown. The burgers were really good and it was a great stop to stretch our legs and be out of the car for a bit. Other than that, Arkansas has a whole lot of nothing to see! 

We stopped in Dallas for dinner and, most importantly, to see the Giant Eyeball. It was, in fact, both giant and an eyeball. The kids couldn't decide if they liked it or not. 

We had dinner on the rooftop of Iron Cactus in downtown Dallas. It was over 100 degrees outside, but it felt awesome to be out of the car. Plus, they had misters to keep us cool, along with our beers and waters. The boys ate their body weight in chips and had no desire to eat their meals. Oh well, such is the life of roadtrippers!

After dinner we walked around Pegasus Plaza right next to the restaurant. There were ponds and twinkly lights, which is more than enough entertainment for 2 little boys. This was such a fun stop on our trip. Not only were we ready to be out of the car after a long day, but it was another fun, new place to see with our kids, even if only for a short time. The food and beer was good, too.

We left Dallas and finished our drive to Waco, TX! When we were looking at the new road trip plans and I saw how close we would be to Waco I told Erik I really wanted to make the stop so I could cross it off my bucket list. I figured it would be busy, crowded and overwhelming, but was hopeful that we'd all still enjoy it.

We had a quick breakfast at our hotel that morning and headed over to the silos before they opened. Silly me, I figured we'd beat the crowds and, since it was a Monday, that it wouldn't be super busy. Let me just say HA! It was a holiday week, in the summer, and the line to get into the actual store was ridiculous. The kids started running around on the lawn, which was really cool, and I debated whether or not I should even brave the line to go in. Luckily, it was so long because everyone was still in line waiting for it to open. Erik encouraged me to go and wait while he watched the boys. 

I met a couple in line in front of me who were on a camping trip with their toddler, all the way from South Carolina. We talked Gamecocks vs. Clemson while we waited. I swear, we always meet people from either WI or SC everywhere we go!

I made a fairly quick pass through the store and came out with t-shirts for the boys and I, 2 magnets and a Christmas ornament. I am way too sensible and realized that with a house full of items that still needed a home on my walls that it seemed silly to buy a decoration that I wasn't sure I'd actually need. Plus, I love buying magnets and Christmas ornaments when we travel because they are a great keepsake and a reminder of all the places we've been together.

Then we got in line for Silos Baking Co so that we could get the boys a well deserved treat for the car ride. Those Gaines' are pretty slick with their planning for the lines at the bakery. You fill out your menu card while in line so that you can hand it in at the counter, pay and be on your way pretty quickly once inside. The boys got cupcakes/muffins and we both got cinnamon rolls. The cinnamon rolls were HUGE and we shared one on our way out of town. The 2nd one came in handy when we were in rural TX and starving. 

We finished at Magnolia after roughly an hour there and loaded the kiddos back into the car. We had a LONNNGGGGGG drive ahead of us thru western Texas in order to get to our friends' home near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Erik drove until we reached I-10, nearly 6 hours later. 

Once we reached I-10 and I took over he drive, we don't have many pictures until our arrival in Las Cruces. But the drive down I-10 was absolutely gorgeous, complete with watching a huge storm roll in over us. The boys were a little concerned, Will especially, about the thunder and lightning. But, they were troopers through it all. If you ever have the opportunity to drive from Fort Stockton to Las Cruces, do it! You will not be disappointed by the beauty all around you.

We made it to Lexington, KY on our first day. We have made this drive plenty of times and knew that this was a good stopping point for hotel and gassing up in the morning. This also meant that we had just over a 4 hour drive to Asheville on Thursday morning.

We spent wonderful time with family while we were back in Asheville. Erik's mom shared this picture of Erik and his brother Jon when they were little. I always go back and forth about who Will and John look like and then see a picture like this! 

We officially hit the road for Arizona on Saturday, June 30. We had planned our new stops in Nashville, Memphis, Waco, Las Cruces and then home!

We are very fortunate to know some really nice people that live all over this country. Erik's college roommate and friend lives in Nashville, TN and was available for dinner with us on Saturday night. He took us to a super casual, delicious pizza place called DeSano. We had wood fired pizza, beer and a quick walk around for some treats for the kiddos after dinner. Thanks again for the hospitality, "Uncle" Josh! The kids loved seeing you again and so did we. 

We continued our drive Saturday evening to Memphis and arrived late to our hotel. After a quick snafu with the original room, we got the boys settled in for some much needed sleep. In the morning, we drove into Mississippi (because why not when you're so close to the border of another state?!), drove past Graceland (it was too early to actually tour the property) and headed to a local place in Memphis called Arcade Restaurant. Elvis Presley supposedly used to dine there and the booth next to ours was his regular booth.

Breakfast was AMAZING. Erik had the peanut butter, bacon and banana sandwich and I had Eggs Redneck. The boys had french toast and blueberry pancakes. If ever in Memphis, we highly recommend you check this place out. 

When we finished breakfast we stopped at the Lorraine Motel. This is such a powerful piece of American History and we had no idea just how close we were to it until we started leaving Arcade and saw the sign for it. We walked around the grounds, saw the balcony where MLK was shot and walked inside for a few minutes. This is a place I really want to come back to when the kids are older so we can do the full tour.

We left Memphis after our stop at the Lorraine Motel. Next stop... Waco!