An American South Road Trip: Two Stops in Texas then onto Little Rock (Part 2)
As written in the first part of this blog post series, this road trip included parts of Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. This post focuses on the time we spent in Texas and Arkansas.
Trip dates: Saturday, May 18, 2019, to Sunday May 26, 2019
Written August 1, 2026
In May of 2019, my partner and I flew into Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to begin a nine-day road trip east to Atlanta, Georgia where we’d fly home. Having some experience with a weeklong road trip in 2016, I felt I was able to plan out this trip where we could cover a lot of ground and still experience a city in each state.
This is a close-up of what our first few days of driving looked like.
Saturday, May 18, 2019 – Arrival in Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington area, TX (Day 1)
Our day started around 5:00AM when we were picked up by Winston Transportation Group to arrive at JFK in Queens in time to get onto an 8:10AM flight to arrive in Dallas/Fort Worth airport at 11:09AM. Ater landing it took us approximately an hour to collect our luggage and pick up our car from the Alamo rental site at the airport. While we were waiting to disembark from the plane, I scoped out a place for lunch and found WhataBurger. We’d never eaten here, it was on the way to the hotel, so it was a quick decision. Besides, we still had several hours before we could check in to the Holiday Inn – Arlington NE – Rangers Ballpark by IGH – Arlington so it would be nice to stop along the way and see one of the neighborhoods.
An hour later we settled into the hotel room and discussed what we’d do with the remainder of our day. Four hours later, we were on the road to Dallas to have a Texas-style barbecue dinner at Pecan Lodge. The line was long, but it was clearly a popular place to eat. We were able to do a lot of people watching. Towards the end of dinner, the rain that had been pitter-pattering through the day became a steady downpour. Having already had a full day, we decided to drive back to the hotel.
Sunday, May 19, 2019 – Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington area, TX (Day 2)
Today was all about baseball. We had afternoon tickets to see the Texas Rangers play against the St. Louis Cardinals. A trolley car service picked us up right outside the hotel and dropped us off at the stadium. Along the way we got to see AT&T Stadium and enjoyed looking out the window (and taking photos!). It was a nice sunny day, in the low 80s. A nice day to be outside. The game went into extra innings, but the trolley was still there to deposit us back at the hotel at the end of the game.
In the evening, we headed over to a restaurant in Fort Worth called Rio Mambo. It was approximately a 30-minute drive from the hotel but this way we could say we didn’t miss stopping in the city. Plus, we got to check out some Mexican cuisine in Texas!
Photo 1: I think it's a grainery not far from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. It's in Irving.
Photo 2: Dallas skyline. Photo taken from the car.
Monday, May 20, 2019 – Arlington, TX to Houston, TX (Day 3)
Another day of baseball! With a four-hour drive ahead of us, we fueled up at the local IHOP for breakfast (it’s steps away from the hotel entrance). Then hopped in the car to drive south. The game in Houston was in the evening so we had plenty of time to arrive in the area, check in to the hotel and get to the stadium.
About 90 minutes from Arlington, we pit stopped in Fairfield, TX at a Love’s Travel Stop. Across from Love’s was a place called Cooper Farms, it sounded interesting, so we walked over and looked around in the store. Oooh boy, if I lived closer! There were so many treats that I wanted to try, but we had limited room in our suitcase and no home base for the next several days. They are big on peaches, and they have an assortment of unique soda flavors like Red Licorice and Texas Sweet Peach. We settled on peach flavored frozen drinks to take with us in the car.
I drove straight through to Houston after that. As we got to the outskirts of Houston, the traffic began to build. I suppose arriving around 3PM on a Monday afternoon might not have been one of my better ideas, but we were checked into the Sam Houston Hotel by 5PM. Enough time to freshen up and get to the stadium. The hotel is walking distance to the stadium and not far from the light rail. But the main reason I chose this hotel was because it is listed as an historic landmark. Built in the 1920’s, it was part of the economic expansion of railways and oil in Houston. We didn’t spend enough time to get a real feel for the place, but we got to see glimpses of the past.
Photo 1: A sample of the soda varieties at Cooper Farms
Photo 2: Baseball bumpers outside of Minute Maid Stadium in Houston
Photo 3: Lobby area inside The Sam Houston Hotel
Although Minute Maid stadium is near the hotel, we opted to Uber and left the driving to someone who knew the area. We arrived early enough to look around the stadium and be seated before the anthem. This stadium has a retractable roof, that was closed for the night, so we didn’t get to see too much of the night sky, but at least it was climate controlled! Our seats were behind a friendly couple, and they adopted us for the evening, chatting throughout the game as if we were family. We learned that they are avid baseball fans and go to the games regularly. The night went quickly. The Astros won the game against the White Sox.
We were back in the hotel before 11PM, which was good because the longest drive of the week was upon us.
Tuesday May 21, 2019 – Houston, TX to Little Rock, AR (Day 4)
On the road by 11:00AM, I wanted to get about 2 hours of driving behind me before we stopped for a meal. We aimed for Lufkin, Texas because there was a restaurant called Newk’s Eatery. It seemed like a chain food restaurant that served sandwiches. We had never eaten at Newk’s, so it seemed like a fun place to stop. Since we were traveling, we kept it simple and ordered two turkey sandwiches and sat at a table near the window so that we could stretch a little before getting back into the car. It was a short visit, but I’d eat at one of their franchises again.
The rest of the drive to Little Rock was very solitary. Truly, the first 2 hours the road was quiet too. I saw few drivers on the roads that I drove. It was a bit frightening being surrounded by what looked like grass for miles and no gas stations or rest stops in sight. There had been flood warnings the week before we arrived so I think we might have been detoured this way to avoid flooded roads.
It was after 8:00PM when we pulled in front of the Courtyard by Marriott Little Rock Downtown. It was kind of like being back in civilization. The area we were in was quiet, but the hotel had people coming and going. We were famished. My partner found a restaurant that was open late and around the corner from the hotel.
We walked into Stickyz a wonderfully eclectic place with live music and a menu filled with different chicken finger dishes. They had burgers and other items too. There was a solo guitarist on stage with an intimate audience. A perfect low key ending to our day of driving.
Photo 1: The emptiness of I-49 in Louisiana
Photo 2: View from our room at the Courtyard by Marriott Little Rock Downtown
Photo 3: Entrance to Stickyz
Wednesday May 22, 2019 – Little Rock, AR to Memphis, TN (Day 5 - part A)
Since we arrived in Little Rock after 8 the night before, and Memphis was a short drive. We stuck around Little Rock ate breakfast at a local eatery (now closed) and spent a few hours looking around the Clinton Presidential Library. We were able to use the town trolley car (bus) and the driver acted as a bit of a tour guide, explaining the different parts of Little Rock that he drove us through. By 4PM we were on our way to Memphis, TN.
Halfway Point
We were a little more than halfway through our Southern states’ road trip, but it was a whirlwind. Spending time in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington and Houston felt similar to driving around the suburbs of New York City, but with less traffic. The roads seemed newer and wider. Our plan was to get a brief glimpse of each part of the city, and we did.
Little Rock had a different type of vibe. The area we were in felt a bit trendy, but it also had its own style. For instance, the restaurant we went to for breakfast was cafeteria style. Those aren’t common in NYC or its suburbs. Also, the people that we encountered while visiting the area didn’t appear rushed even though it was a weekday. I didn’t see many tourists.
Photo 1: Inside Globe Life Park - Texas Rangers 2019
Photo 2: Inside Minute Maid Park - Houston Astros 2019
Things I learned from experiencing this trip: There really are more interstates and main roads that are isolated, even during peak travel times.
Things I keep in mind when organizing a trip for myself: Go back for more. I’m sure we missed a lot in the Dallas area, I’d like to spend a week and possibly drive to other cities nearby but make Dallas the home base. I’ve visited Houston previously, but my father worked there for a bit and said I need to see Galveston. A third visit to Houston might be in the future. And Little Rock, I’d like to spend at least a 3-day weekend. Would need to hit Stickyz again!
Things I keep in mind when organizing a trip for myself: Make notes of good experiences. For instance, I’ve always had a good experience using Alamo rentals and I seek them out first when possible. We don’t always use a car service for transportation to the airport, but for years Winston has offered a good commuter price to the airports, so I seek them out when I make my itineraries.
Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT and Perplexity.
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