Pasadena, Texas

When I was a little girl, Urban Cowboy was HUGE. The music, the movie, and the famous honky tonk, Gilley's. So when my uncle, who lived in Houston, announced he was getting married, we all packed our bags and made our first trip to Texas. We stayed for almost a week, and of course had to hit some of the more famous spots. We actually visited NASA's space center in Houston. Something I wish I had appreciated more at the time.

The highlight of all the sight seeing though, was of course a trip to the famous Honky Tonk frequented by John Travolta  & Debra Winger in Urban Cowboy, Gilley's. Because us kids were in tow, we had to visit in the afternoon before the crowd came in. It was my first experience in another state outside California, and well, Gilley's was Texas in a nutshell.

We were able to sit on the mechanical bull and take a few pictures and dance around that big old empty dance floor where they had danced to Johnny Lee singing this classic country tune form the soundtrack. If ever I'm flipping radio stations and catch this song, or catch Urban Cowboy on TV, I'm always brought back to being that little girl on that big old honky tonk dance floor. Twirling and twirling with no intention of ever stopping.