Day 1—April 13, 2023 OKC
A few months before this trip, Chuck and MaryAnn and Audra and I went to Ft Worth from Oklahoma City on the Amtrak. We left Friday morning and arrived in Ft. Worth about 2:30 p.m. We had a blast and thought it would be a great trip to do with a larger group of friends. We chose this weekend because it was Chet and Chuck’s birthday weekend. It was time to party! Little did we know how special of a trip this would turn out to be.
The group consisted of Chet and Amy Cornelison, Scott Dibben and Ellen Rae, Shayne and Tina Shirey, Chuck and MaryAnn Cornelison, Leonard and Jennifer Smith, Johnnie Jones, and Audra and me. This was the first time I had seen Johnnie since we graduated high school MANY years ago.
We all drove separately and arrived at different times. The plan was to get checked in at the hotel, head to dinner, visit, then head to the Amtrak station the next morning. We stayed at the Hampton Inn behind Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. We had window views into the ballpark.
Day 2— April 14, 2023 OKC & Ft Worth
After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the Amtrak station to catch the train to Heartland Flyer from OKC to Ft. Worth. The trip is scheduled for five hours and thirty-five minutes and makes five stops to pick up and let off passengers along the way. It stops at Norman, Purcell, Pauls Valley, Ardmore (all Oklahoma), and Gainesville, Texas before its final stop in Ft. Worth.
All stops except Ardmore was VERY quick stops. (On our previous trip with just Chuck and MaryAnn, we saw a lady get left because she was not on the platform at the departure time. Her travel companion was forced to decide to keep going or jump off at the last minute.) Ardmore was a 10-minute for smokers to get off the train to smoke. We jumped off just to get fresh air and stretch our legs.
The ride on the train was reminisce of band trips from our high school days. We were laughing, joking, and telling old stories. There were some delays along the way, so we didn’t get into Ft Worth until about 2:30 p.m. However, because we were visiting with friends and having a grand old time the time passed quickly.
We arrived in Ft. Worth like Wyatt Earp arriving in Tombstone. We had hat boxes for our cowboy hats and large suitcases for our wardrobe for the weekend. We corralled our bags and headed to the curbside pick-up for Uber rides. With a group that large, it was impossible to get a single ride for us all, so we made a plan to get to the hotel, get checked in, then meet at the hotel lobby to hit the town.
After we got settled in the hotel and freshened up, we hit the town, the Stockyards. After the long trip, the first priority was lunch. We went to Paloma Suerte for lunch and drinks. I ordered the Brisket & Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Jalapeños to start. My meal was the Grilled Prime Skirt Steak Fajitas. O-M-G! This is a MUST TRY! Coors Banquet and Lone Star would be the beers for the weekend.
After lunch, we walked around the Stockyards shopping taking in the sights of Exchange Avenue. After we walked around shopping, we made it back to Second Rodeo Brewing for drinks and finger foods. We found a large table in the back of the restaurant where there was a local band setting up to play.
Day 3— April 15, 2023 Ft Worth
We started Saturday with an early breakfast at H3 Hunter Brothers Ranch. I had the Rainbow Trout and Eggs with a Bloody Mary. After breakfast we walked down Exchange Avenue to explore the rich history of Ft. Worth. This former military post was long the Chisholm Trail. Cattle driven from South Texas through Ft. Worth and on towards Kansas and Missouri. Twice a day, the heritage club puts on a cattle drive. This is a live demonstration of what a real cattle drive was like. In the Stockyards building, there is a gunfight reenactment.
We had drinks at the Love Shack. We sat upstairs so we could watch a parade that was coming by. Then we headed down to the street to watch the cattle drive down Exchange Street.
After the parade, we ate lunch at the legendary Riscky’s BBQ. Although Riscky’s is known for their barbeque, they serve a lot of calf fries. Calf fries, as the byproduct of young bulls becoming steers. Yes, bull balls! I had always heard they were very tasty but had never had the opportunity to try them. I always said I would try them if I ever had the chance. Well, it was time to put up or shut up. They had calf fries, and a whole bunch of them. So, I did. They were tasty. Shayne said these were not as good as his homecooked calf fries. He said when we go back, we would plan a calf fry fry and he would prove his were better. Deal!
After our late lunch/dinner, we headed over to Billy Bob’s (The World’s Largest Honky Tonk) for the rodeo and concert. The rodeo (not really a rodeo, only bull riding) was pretty good. There were about eight riders (none were a seven-million-dollar bull rider, though). Nonetheless, it was fun to watch. One of the guys got bucked really hard and had to have medical attention in the arena. It was pretty intense for a while. He was ok in the end.
Our friend Connie was unable to come because her dog, Marley, was getting ready to cross the rainbow bridge. We got word that Marley passed while we were in transit. We toasted Marley with tequila shots.
Drake Mulligan was playing on stage. It was a great performance. We had a great time! Near the end of the night, we met a lady who was celebrating her 90th birthday at Billy Bob’s. Chuck and I took a photo with her.
After we shut Billy Bob’s down, we were all hungry (and needed food to soak up some of the beverages). We took an Uber (so we thought) to Whataburger on NE 28th Street. Turns out it was a scammer that took advantage of us. It was less than a half mile from Billy Bob’s and he said it would be 20 each, and with 11 of us in this vehicle it would be $220. We negotiated with him, and it cost us $45. He definitely saw us coming. Whataburger was PACKED! It was, apparently, one of the only places still open at that time of night.
Day 4— April 16, 2023 Ft Worth & OKC
We had all day in Ft. Worth before heading back to OKC that evening. Our departure was scheduled for 5:25 p.m. and arriving in OKC at 9:27 p.m. We checked out of the hotel but arranged for our baggage to be stored in their secure room while we ran around Ft. Worth one last time.
We didn’t have a lot on the agenda, so we didn’t get a super early start. We met in the lobby and had breakfast, then gathered our luggage and headed to the check out.
We headed back to the Stockyards to roam around some more. We visited a couple of shops we missed earlier and re-visited a couple of others. We had lunch at The Biscuit Bar. After lunch, it was time to head back to the hotel to get our luggage and head back to the Amtrak station.
We had a lot of time before we could board, so we walked around downtown Ft. Worth (with luggage in tow. We stopped at a coffee shop for coffee and dessert.
It was time to board the train and head back to OKC. The trip was fun and seemed to go pretty quick. We were all visiting and reminiscing about the funny things of the weekend. After we arrived back in OKC, we checked back in to the hotel for a good night’s rest before heading home the next day. This was a fun time and needs to happen again!
