Snapshots of Garland, Texas // Spring Break // March 2013

Remember that whole spring break thing? That happened almost a month and a half ago.. well.. here is the last post. Finally.

In the car on the way down to Arizona, I saw that Bethany Dillon tweeted about a show she was doing in Garland on the last day of our trip. We checked out the map and decided that we couldn't pass it up, tickets were only $12 and I never thought that I would get to see her play live.

For those of you who don't know who Bethany Dillon is, she's a fantastic Christian singer. I first heard her music when I was a teenager, but have continued to love it more and more over the years. She started in her early teens and received a Dove award!

In 2008 Bethany married Shane Barnard of Shane and Shane and soon after they started their family. Now she is a full time mom, look how cute her kids are!! So, since her recording was becoming less frequent, and she was mostly playing local (Texas) shows, I just figured that I would never get the chance to see her live. So glad that I was wrong!

Whether or not you typically like Christian music, I think that you will find her voice beautiful. She even plays guitar and writes her own songs, which you can't say for everyone! I especially love her acoustic tracks.

Bethany has 6 studio albums and 1 EP. The EP, For Those Who Wait, is her most recent release. I am really loving it!

I still think that my favorite album is Stop and Listen. It's relatively upbeat and the lyrics are really relatable. Give it a listen on iTunes or YouTube!

Before the concert, we stopped at a little place called Generator Coffee Shop, and I had the best time relaxing and enjoying the place! 

We were so at home that we didn't even leave for dinner! The atmosphere is really nice and cozy. There are lots of windows and comfortable wooden chairs. We got iced coffees (good!) and talked about life and how much we'd learned so far on our trip. Then we grabbed travel Blokus from the car and played that for a while. 

We ordered dinner, Kyle got the Cuban panini (good) and I got the Chicken Stew (also good!). We relaxed, played our game and talked for a while and then some live music started. The music was actually pretty good and we listened while we played until it was time to walk across the street to the Plaza Theater. I should also note that we got some brownies for my sister's b-friend and he said that they were AMAZING!

The concert was really great. The opening bands were entertaining and the music was pretty good. One thing that I always love about Christian concerts is that the performers always talk about things that are going on in their lives. One couple told stories about funny things they have had to say to their kids, it was hilarious! "I see no reason that you need to take nun chucks to bed with you." "We don't pee on our hands on purpose." and "Get your penis off the table!" It had the whole audience laughing pretty hard.  

Bethany came on with her husband Shane. He played with her and did some background vocals. They told some really cute stories about their kids too.

They played some of my favorites and it was nice to hear the stories behind her songs. I felt like I could relate to them more with the explanations!

If you live in Texas, keep a lookout on Twitter to see if she will be doing any other shows in her area.

I keep thinking about Generator, I had the most peaceful time there. I found myself wishing it was local to where I live! Sometimes you happen upon places that are just right! 

After this we drove to Oklahoma and stayed the night somewhere. There was a blizzard that night and we made the slow trek back home the next day. Luckily we didn't have to rough of a go! But boy, was it slow and boring! :S

Have you ever changed your travel plans for a last-minute event? Did it work out? Or found a place so perfect that you wanted to haul it back to your own town?

All for now,

Alexandra

First two images are not my own, and were found on Google.