I am not for sure what year it was when Kevin moved to Dallas because every time that I ask him, the year changes, but he is thinking it was in 1999. Kevin calls it his " Freedom Tour. " His plan was to drive from Missouri and eventually end up in California with stops along the way in different places like Dallas, Las Vegas, etc. He thought he'd become a big time movie producer in LA.
Well, he made it as far as Dallas when he ran out of gas, and thanks too this idea of his " Freedom Tour " he got the " Turano Adventure " instead ;)
We celebrated Kevin's ten year anniversary of him starting his company a couple weeks ago. I thought it would be really neat to take Kevin to a place with significance to him. A place that would give him perspective and appreciation for his hard work.
I took him to stay a night at what is now " Hotel Palomar " in Dallas. This hotel has significance because Kevin lived in this hotel shortly after he moved to Dallas. Only it was not the Palomar. It was an old beat up hotel that cost 200 dollars a week for him to live in. Once when his brother Jeff came to visit him in Dallas he booked a room in the old hotel and the room they gave him had no bed in it! When he went back down to the front desk to get another room, the next room did not have a phone in it. Today that same hotel has been morphed into an incredible Palomar, and the cost is 200 dollars a night to stay in it. A bonus is that we didn't have to sleep with the lights on so that the cockroaches wouldn't come out, like Kevin had too when he lived in this exact hotel.
It was fun for Kevin to show me around and tell me about what part of the structure they had kept the same and what part of it they added on. As we sat in the hot tub Kevin had the moment that I was hoping for. He reminiced on his time of first moving to Dallas and he was able to see how far he had come since all those years ago.
Just as Kevin has transformed his own life, he also transformed a company. He took his thoughts and ideas and made them into a reality. Just like the beat up, old hotel had morphed into something great, Kevin essentially has done the exact same thing with his company, himself, and he created a family in the process.
I remember when I was pregnant with Brooke I hated how long Kevin worked. He worked until 9pm at night...Kevin has worked so hard to make his company support our family. I think he has worked harder than almost anyone that I know in fact! Because the thing about Kevin is that he didn't just work all those long hours and come home and go to bed. He would stay up with me until 1am and when Brooke was born he would come home and play with her until midnight! He doesn't make our family suffer from his long hours...When he has worked those long hours he still give us time to love talk and play....
He always told me it would get better and the thing that I know about Kevin is that he doesn't just say things...He does follow through...He doesn't work until 9pm at night anymore, thankfully....
Kevin's hard work is appreciated and I feel extremely blessed to be able to stay at home with my children. I admire Kevin's determination with his company even though many people have told him to give up...
He never does...When Kevin believes in something he makes things happen...and I love that about him.
There have even been times that I may not have been as optimistic as I should have about his company, and he stood with his feet firmly planted on the ground, and knew that he would make it work...He never gives up on his dreams and that is a wonderful trait to have!
We had some really yummy dinner! We played with his new remote control helicopter in the room. We had dessert at midnight at the bar, and we played Poker in our pajamas...
