TREADING THEIR WAY ACROSS AMERICA: THE TREADWAYS DO DALLAS, PART 1
For Sarah Treadway (President & Co-CEO of Magnolia Hotels), re-planning her family’s summer vacation a few months back was a no-brainer. As the COVID-19 pandemic’s damaging effects on the hospitality industry became increasingly clear and the company furloughed hundreds of valuable team members, Sarah felt a deep desire to connect with & support the remaining few team members on the property who are keeping our hotels safely open for business. Sarah & her husband, Shea, quickly hatched a major road trip plan: pack up their four children, their South African au pair, and enough supplies in a 32’ trailer for an eight-week trek across America to visit each of the six Magnolia Hotels!
First hotel stop on the journey…the Magnolia in Dallas, Texas!
At 8:40am on Saturday, June 6th, the seven travelers finished loading up the trailer and headed South from their home in Denver. Sarah & her crew arrived in Raton, New Mexico by lunch. This marked the first time in New Mexico for Shea, Michaela (the 20-year-old au pair), Horace (5), Gus (4), Louise (2), and Hugh (2). After lunch & a few more hours on the road, they made it to Black Mesa State Park in Oklahoma (a first-time state for all of them!) Black Mesa was very nice and VERY windy. Hugh’s sippy cup full of milk blew straight off the picnic table and they had to move their suburban to block the fire pit to get it to light.
It was so windy in fact that the seven of them decided to sleep in the trailer and not set up the tent. The lucky toddlers got the master bedroom with the only queen bed. As the Treadway crew pulled away the next morning, Horace said, “Can we please come back?” He thought the park’s merry-go-round was the greatest playground equipment of all time!
On Day Two, they made it to Texas. Near Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon State Park, which has the second-largest canyon in the US. The group camped right down at the bottom of this gorgeous canyon. A highlight: 4 Colorado kids learned how to shuck corn in West Texas that day. The crew arrived at the Magnolia in Downtown Dallas, TX on Day Three. Where did Shea park the 32’ trailer you might be wondering? How is the Magnolia Dallas team holding up? Stay tuned for all the details & more in “Treading Their Way Across America: The Treadways Do Dallas, Part 2,” coming soon.