Girls Weekend in Dallas 2008

Once upon a time, there lived four damsels in distress. The first damsel in distress was a mother, Carla, with three daughters (well, technically, she had 4 daughters, as well as 3 sons, but they appear in other stories). The eldest daughter, Phaedra, had 3 kids at home, was working full time, and was going to school to get her HR degree. The second daughter, Shannon, had 4 kids at home and was going to nursing school full time. The third daughter, Merrilee, was a middle school Spanish teacher, and therefore, a little unhinged.

It was a crazy time for all of them. As Phaedra's and Shannon's birthdays loomed nearer, Merrilee conspired with her mother to plan a girls' weekend getaway. They decided to keep at least a part of the plan a secret, so they could surprise Phaedra and Shannon. The two elder daughters agreed to go, although they repeatedly tried to torture the information out of both the mother and the third daughter.

So... the four girls hopped into a Ford Fusion and drove to Far, Far Away (aka Dallas, Texas). Their first stop was to the Galleria, an amazing 5-level mall with a skating rink and many amazing stores. The girls absolutely loved it, especially Phaedra, who always had a flair for the chic sophistocation of New York-style boutiques, like Saks Fifth Avenue.

After several hours of wandering around that wondrous mall, the girls headed to their grand hotel room at the Hampton Inn. They quickly readied themselves for the surprise part of the journey. Carla and Merrilee were bursting with excitement... they couldn't wait to see the looks on Phaedra's and Shannon's faces.

They finally arrived at the surprise destination... the palace of Medieval Times! The four damsels arrived just in time to have their photograph taken of them wearing their crowns and they darted into their cheering section for the Yellow-and-Red Knight.

The show was spectacular! Carla was enthralled with the horses... it had been a lifelong dream of hers to see the gorgeous Lipizzaner horses that performed in this show. Shannon was especially starry-eyed, as she is a medieval maniac. The food was great, the silverware nonexistent, the knights charming, the swordplay breathtaking, and the overall atmosphere absolutely enjoyable. The beauty of both Phaedra and Shannon caught the eye of the Yellow-and-Red Knight... he tossed a flower to both of them. What better birthday gift?!

After the show, the four lovely ladies headed back to the Galleria and Merrilee was ecstatic to find that Zara's, her favorite European store, is actually here in the U.S. They stayed until the mall literally kicked them out, and then the girls headed back to the hotel room for pedicures, girl talk, and a great, uninterrupted sleep.

Ok, no uninterrupted sleep. SOMEBODY was snoring- loudly- so Merrilee kept asking them to be quiet and turn over. Unfortunately, no one else heard the snoring, they only heard Merrilee's requests for silence, so Merrilee took the blame for waking everyone up. Oh well, it was still fun.

After a great breakfast in the lounge, the girls headed back to the car and drove back to Close Close Up (aka Oklahoma) to return to their hectic everyday lives. Hopefully, though, they had enough fun and relaxation to help them through some of the tougher days. Except for Merrilee, who's still a little bit unhinged. :)

The End.