BILLINGS - Mike and Judy McNamara visited Billings Thursday afternoon and sat down at their 337th Texas Roadhouse for dinner.
The couple, whose been married for 51 years, has made it a goal to visit a Texas Roadhouse in every state. As of Thursday, they can officially check Montana off the list.
"We enjoy traveling anyway, and we're enjoying stopping at Texas Roadhouse and eating the food," Mike McNamara said as he enjoyed some of the famous rolls. "We don't enjoy fancy cooking, so this is nice. What I'd consider home cooking."
The couple had visited every state in the United States by 2010, but still wanted to do some traveling. Now both 70 years old, they decided they would use the Texas Roadhouses as landmarks or excuses to visit more places.
"I am thankful because he basically sets it all up and drives the whole way," Judy McNamara said. "If he didn't get me out of the house, I wouldn't go anywhere."
The Billings location marks 337 and also checks off the 44th state. By the end of their current road trip, which continues through Idaho, Washington, and then down to Utah, they will have been at a Texas Roadhouse in all 48 continental US states.
"We've been in every state in the United States as of 2010 when we visited Alaska," Mike McNamara said. "So now, we're going back through the country again through the Texas Roadhouses."
The couple said their goal is to reach 400 by January of 2024. They have another road trip planned for November through Florida and then over to Texas.
When asked when they would stop, they said it depended largely on how their health holds up. But they expressed confidence that they could get into the 600s.
"I mean we are 70 now, so it just sort of depends," Mike McNamara said. "We've set a good pace though so I think 600 is possible. We'd love to visit them all."
And while the couple that some of the restaurants aren't as good as others, they said they have never had a bad experience. And that's in large part due to the people.
"Texas Roadhouse is like one big family," Mike McNamara said. "Yeah, the food is good, but now we like it because we get to meet all of these interesting people."
