500 miles, 2 stops, hours of sing alongs, we finally saw the sign. Welcome to Marfa! It had been such a long time planning, when we saw Solange, Beyonce and a group of friends exploring this remote West Texan city. My cousin Terry and I knew we had to share this experience too. December 2015 would be the year to do so. With two months of planning, we found ourselves sitted in our rented altima, at 6am, asking the lord to guide us as we began this 7hr journey. It was very exciting. We were finally doing it.
We finally arrived the town at about 1:30pm. We would be staying at the El cosmico. We rented a tee-pee to spend the 1 night we had in town. Upon arrival, we were notified that, check in time was 3pm and we could check out the town before checking in. It had a very hipster vibe but I liked it. We were extremely hungry but too excited to see the infamous Prada store in the middle of nowhere. I guess we could go see Prada before getting something to eat? We both agreed. The store is about 30 minutes drive from Marfa and is located in a small town called Valentine. It was so surreal. I remember Terry waking me up like yo! We are here, son! We are here. With excitement, I hurriedly woke up to see the beauty in the desert. There it was, Prada! It was emotional I wont lie. We immediately changed into photo ready outfits( yes we are major posers. Instagram wasn't ready for us lol). Luckily for us, there were a few tourists around. Terry and I had been wondering how we would capture a picture of us two in front of the store. It's only right to have that moment. A Spanish coupled initiated conversation with me and we got to talking about Spain, my experience in Barcelona, etc. I took the opportunity to ask them the favor of taking our pictures which they agreed. We spent more than half an hour just savoring the moment. If there was anyone in this world I would share that moment with, it would be Terry. We understood the importance of that moment. May I add, it was freezing.
Fast forward, we drove back into the city to find some food. The most annoying part about Marfa is how early things close. Also, the internet(that's a story to come). Not only were we famished, we were extremely tired. The only place open was a lovely organic grocery store called The Get Go Grocery. We rushed in there to grab something to hold us through till dinner time. I even started eating a warm baguette as I shopped(I was that hungry). We took advantage of the moment to visit a quaint bookstore in the area, a few museums that were still open to the public, of course the Marfa soap store as a fellow soap maker, as well as see what the town had to offer. What a small town it is. With a population of 2000, you can visit it in an hr or less.
We finally checked into our teepee and decided to rest before heading to dinner. Boy was it cold. In our thick coats, I took a nap and Terry went in search of wifi. An hr later, we got ready for dinner. Since it was almost New Years eve, all the restaurants were fully booked except for Mandos, a tex mex joint. We rushed over there because, crackers, bread, hummus and fruits could only last us so long. Upon arrival, Terry and I realized we hadn't seen any black people for the however amount of hours we had been in the city. It just dawned on us even more when we got to the restaurant. We were finally seated and got some quesadillas and flautas. The food was ok but when hunger sets in, anything will do. We left there at about 9pm and headed back to the "hotel". Our place of rest was like an ice box. We couldn't stay in there to chat and drink wine so, we decided to spend quality time in the warmth of the car. The parking lot was filled with cars and in one of them were two black girls drink rhone blanc and searching for internet. Yo I see black people! Terry said. Yes! It was exciting to finally see our kind. Sometimes it just makes you feel a tad bit better. We stayed in the car listening to music and drinking wine. Suddenly I saw the bars increasing. It was loading faster, omg my internet is working! Never have I seen someone so excited about having wifi as Terry was lol. Ok I was too. I had an important phone call to make and I needed service :). We would lean against the dashboard holding our phone up to get the most bars as possible. Finally I came up with the brilliant idea of parking the car infront of the hotel lobby for wifi usage. It worked and we were in internet heaven. I mean, we had to get the latest gist from theshaderoom, how dare us not be aware of what was going on lol. Finally we decided to go to bed. We had a long day ahead of us.
The room was like an ice box. Terry slept in her fur coat, I layered my sweaters and we had two blankets and a plush throw to keep our legs warm. I remeber thinking, who sent you guys here? Nonetheless, it was all part of the experience. I would be sharing this story with my kids one day. After a cold night, we woke up to everything frozen. All the water we had was frozen, including the food, my face wipes, everything. How crazy is that? We decided to get ready for the day because, we wanted to leave early to get back to Dallas in daylight. We visited marfa burrito for breakfast and met this lovely couple from NYC. They gave us beautiful advice on marriage and life in general. They even assisted us with ordering food because, Ramona, the lady who owns the place refuses to learn english so, her customers must speak spanish to her. It's lovely and all but por favor, have someone who atleast speaks english. Just for that, I ended up eating a bean burrito when I wanted a spicy beef burrito. We left there and headed to the Chinati foundation to see the exhibitions. Unfortunately tickets were sold out and we couldn't wait for the afternoon session so, we saw the free installions and headed back to good ol Dallas. Almost a thousand miles later, we did it! We finally went to Marfa! What a way to end the year.
Overall, the trip was fantastic. Memories were built and we got the opportunity to see the beauty Texas has to offer. The scenery on our way back was breathtaking and we had to stop a few times just to capture what we saw. There are plenty other things we didn't get to see or do for example, see the Marfa lights, the Mcdonald Observatory, the Big Ben and many more. Obviously our main attraction was the Prada store(sue us for being vain) but there are plenty other things I look forward to seeing again. I would recommend going with a loved one because, the stars at night is magical. You just have to see it. Also, don't forget a heater if you go in the winter time and stay in a teepee :).
Xoxo
Kesh
Kesh