Most people who blog tell you when they are going on super fun vacations and trips prior to going but when your super fun trip is to surprise your best friend (and reader of said blog) you have to cover it upon returning so here it goes!
I mentioned in a post a bit ago that my best friend is a bad ass and in the Army. In fact, Meredith is so bad ass that she will be deployed at the end of the month (I can only assume this is how the Army decides to deploy). A few months ago Mere’s other best friend reached out to see if I would be interested in taking the trip down to surprise her for a long weekend. Naturally I said yeehaw and off we went planning a surprise weekend.
Here are some of the highlights…
Meet Kari, we grew up in the same small town with the exact same name and the same best friend. It’s only natural that we are creepily similar (and totally opposite at the same time) and ended up as co-maids of honor in Mere’s wedding last summer. We are most commonly referred to as “the Karis.”
Mere was working when we got there so her hubby picked us up at the airport and stowed us away at their house to wait for her… he also got us milkshakes that I quickly deemed the best thing EVER. Whataburger, you Texan genius you. I don’t think she was expecting to see us run out of her guest bedroom and instead of the normal crying you’d assume it was a lot of swearing at us… I’ll take it!
It took us approximately 75 photos to get the perfect one for sharing with social media that we had surprised Mere… 24 hours later the whole world knew 😉 Also, please note that this is the only grass in the entire city of El Paso.
I had not realized just how close the border was (i.e. if you roll off the highway, you end up in Mexico) so it was a bit of a culture shock traveling from basically Canada. The food was absolutely delicious. This was the steak fajita dish that I got at Los Jarrones and I cannot explain how amazing it was. Authentic Mexican food at it’s finest!!!
We shopped all day at the outlets on Sunday and it was just what the doctor ordered. I am so freaking pumped about all of the clothes I got. My work wear wardrobe has been non-existent for so long that it feels good to have options! Plus a girls night with wine and cards against humanity never hurts… so many laughs and a great big heart to heart 🙂
This my friends, is the best photo I’ve ever taken. Meet Raja, aka Rajasaurus Rex. He’s got one hell of a personality that dog! When you talk about him he instantly reacts to the point where you feel like you have to apologize to him for speaking that way. He’s smarter than he lets on, I’m not fooled by his running into walls at all!
It was a quick trip to El Paso but I am so glad that we were able to pull it off. Emotional best friend moment: I am so very proud of Meredith. I am constantly impressed with how she handles each circumstance she is placed in. She is not only an incredible soldier but more importantly she is an amazing person that I am 100% lucky to know.
Miss. Meredith, you are stronger than you know and I dare say even cooler than you give yourself credit for. Though let’s be serious your ego is comparable to mine 😉 I will miss you tons but just know that if you think the Karis make great gift bags, just wait til we upgrade to sending care packages halfway across the world!
Have you ever made a surprise trip for someone?
Green Mountain Life 