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School was out, and we were in holiday mode. Buzzing with excitement, we headed to Heathrow Airport, our destination, Dallas, where my sister, husband, and three teenage daughters live.
On the plane, I hummed the "Dallas" TV theme, hoping to bump into Bobby Ewing, much to my daughters' embarrassment.
Just over 10 hours later, we landed at Dallas Fort Worth. Once outside, my brother-in-law and sister pulled up in a seven-seater van, my daughters' eyes lit up — not the usual compact car seen in the UK.
That was the first thing that shocked them out of a long list of things that were different from what they were used to in London.
We arrived at my sister's house, which, by UK standards, was a mansion. My sister's teenage girls spilled out of the doorway with hugs and kisses. Then, with my daughters and suitcases rolling, they disappeared into the house.
A grand tour took us through the two-story house, which has a finished basement with two bedrooms, a full-sized pool table, and a mini kitchen.
Then my sister swung open the double patio doors, only to find two mastiff bulldogs called Samson and Tyson barrelling toward us, followed by our daughters.
"Mom, look how big those dogs are! And have you seen the pool?" They moved aside to reveal a gorgeous swimming pool with a rock waterfall.
After a restful night, the next day we were out and about. Fast food restaurants offered a marked difference in cup sizes, with the US large cup being off the charts. It took two hands to pick it up when filled with fizzy drinks. But the thing my daughters couldn't believe was the free refills.
"What? Any number of times? Any flavor? As much as I want?"
The girls stood by the soda dispenser for ages, pumping this and that.
"Taste my drink!"
"Let me taste yours!"
"Ewww!" they said, laughing, only to start over again.
A visit to a popular buffet restaurant had counters of endless food. There were various dinner options covering appetizers, main meals, sides, a salad bar and desserts, not to mention drinks.
My sister announced to us, "You can fill your plate as many times as you want. You can even swap out the used plate for a new one."
My family's jaw dropped open as the girls stood, making their way to the buffet counters. I could see them pointing and then scooping heaps of food onto their plates.
"Oh! You've got to try everything!" said my niece as we joined them.
"Try this!" encouraged my sister.
"Try that!" said my brother-in-law.
By the time I returned to the table, my plate weighed a ton. There was potato, boiled, fried and mashed. Pasta clinging on for dear life and vegetables bunched together on the plate.
I looked at my plate, feeling overwhelmed, but noticed everyone else's plate looked the same.
"Hey! I want some of that. Where did you get it?" one of the girls said.
In one full sweep, the five girls stood and headed toward the buffet counters, returning with five more plates to squash onto the table. Needless to say, we spent a good part of the day eating more, more and more food.
A trip to the mall proved to be the longest activity in the whole wide world. Of course, our husbands opted out, and who could blame them — five teenage girls were loose in a three-story mall.
Everyone wanted to go everywhere.
"Let's go this way?" the girls said bunched together in a walkway.
"No, this way!" said another.
They drew attention to themselves by the kiosk shops in the middle of the corridor, who knew just what to entice the girls with. A promise of a make-up session, an eyebrow thread, and even straightened hair. With glee in their eyes, our daughters looked like they had just hit the jackpot and took turns sitting in chairs and having various things done.
Only to find that a free test trial left them with half a face of makeup or half a head of straightened hair. My sister and I giggled.
"Let's go ice skating!" announced my eldest niece.
I assumed we would be heading back to the car park to drive there, but to our surprise there in the middle of the mall was an ice skating rink.
As our holiday drew to a close, we drove past the downtown Dallas skyscrapers and out into the surrounding neighborhood.
"Wait a minute, I know that place!" I said.
We pulled up outside a white wall entrance with an arched sign above the driveway gates saying Southfork Ranch. I looked at my sister with the biggest smile. We were here at Bobby Ewings house.
