Ms. Cinnamon had the afternoon off, so we set off on a mini road trip. The weather was gorgeous and there wasn’t anything else I particularly wanted to see, so she just drove.

We headed out first to the Ray Hubbard reservoir area, where her son’s family lives. It’s a giant man-made lake used for recreation. The communities along the shore appeal to young upwardly mobile families.

Next, we drove the President George Bush Turnpike. Even a quick query on my phone didn’t satisfactorily answer how the toll structure works, although it is clear that your license plate is photographed and you get a bill in the mail.

We then stopped at her son-in-law’s recycling business, where I learned quite a bit about how recycling works and got a tour of the facility. The baler is really cool! I do find stuff like this fascinating, so this was absolutely a highlight of the day, with no sarcasm! He collects all sorts of things and showed off some small thick plastic bags of which he had dozens of boxes on a pallet. I mused that they would be great for scooping the litter box and I suddenly found myself the owner of a full 1,000 count box! I scoop two to three times a day, so that’s a year’s supply!

The visit done, Ms. Cinnamon took me to the Urban Reserve neighbourhood, filled with modern sustainable homes. It’s a lovely project, but those homes are just not my style.

Finally, she took me to another neighbourhood to show off a house she loves and we passed the very ornate Dallas Buddhist Center.

It was a lovely afternoon. I love getting chauffeured around!