Lelia and Kelley in Dallas!

So, I was trying to think of what to post about my visit with Lelia and Kelley last Friday. It has been difficult to pick and choose what I wanted to include in my story of meeting both of these ladies who I felt like I know, but I don't really know. My husband likened it to a blind date, like from an internet dating service. :) He makes me laugh!

On Friday, I had to work a bit longer than I wanted to, but I did make it to downtown Dallas around 3:30 and found both Lelia and Kelley kicked back in the West End district, at a local Mexican restaurant. We made the normal and expected "Just seeing you for the first time" conversations when Lelia started closing her eyes. Uh-oh. I have seen that look before...head ache coming on. She took Advil. Lots. We decided to get out and do a bit of shopping, maybe some fresh air.

It did help.

Yes, we looked at Western Wear, and yes, Kelley was frightened by a rattling noise in an envelope. (rattlesnake eggs, of course) We dreamed about cowboy (GIRL) boots that were custom made, and yes, I tried on a purple leather jacket with fringe. (See Lelia's blog.)

Then we went back to the hotel...to freshen up for dinner. Nearly three hours later, okay, maybe two - after naps, long conversations, and changing clothes a few times, we made our way back into the night life to find somewhere to eat.

Now, I have to say that we drove in circles for a long time. And took many, many wrong turns. The GPS lady (what did we name her? Marsha?) was telling us to go to a spa, that my car did NOT want to go to. Finally, we drove by a place called Nick and Sam's Grill when Kelley said with authority, "Let's eat here." So, I pulled in, parked, and we went in to get on the waiting list. Standing shoulder to shoulder in a space that comfortably held 5 people, we were crammed next to about 10 others. There was a nice looking man shoulder to shoulder to me (literally, touching) when Lelia leaned over to me and asked, "Is that Emmitt Smith?" I looked over and looked back at Lelia and said, "Yes." She said, "Really???" I looked again, "Well, maybe not, but it looks like him." She was insistant. "Is it Emmitt Smith?" So, I tapped him and asked, "Are you Emmitt?" He said, "Yes." I immediately began to talk to his wife, Pat, hugging and laughing (she graduated High School in the area where I used to live) while Lelia and Emmitt took this lovely picture.


And then we all three went outside, gushing and calling our husbands to tell them who we just ran into.

We were seated about 30 minutes later, yes, at the table right next to Emmitt and his wife. And we proceeded to enjoy one of the most fun and wonderful meals ever. We let our great waiter, Nick, select our meals for us. He did a great job. We were treated like queens by all of the staff. And when Emmitt and his wife left, they chatted with us like we were old friends.


A night to remember, for sure!

You can read more about it by going to Lelia's blog. She wrote a great article. Go check it out!