4.03.2010

Good Friday in Dallas

Whenever Casey has a holiday weekend, we try to make a small day trip out of it. We hit Houston in September, San Antonio in February, and this weekend.....Dallas.
A 3 hour drive from Austin.
Traveling with the kids seems to be getting easier. Lucy has always been great in the car. And Owen's finally catching on too. It helps that they are such good friends with each other. Often times, they're just sitting back there saying silly things to each other and laughing. After an hour it can be a bit obnoxious but hey, at least they're not fighting (though that happens at times too).
Casey and I visited Dallas once 5 years ago (with my family) but we were interested to try it out again.

First stop, the Fountain Place. There's a large tall mirrored building (which makes picturing taking easy).....
And in the courtyard are tons of fountains! Smelled just like Disneyland's water rides.
We walked around, listening and watching the water, while Owen threw in leaves.
And since spring is officially here, red tulips were everywhere. Lucy thought she should smell each one of them. I asked what they smelled like.
"um....water!"
I had to explain to Owen a few times that these are not like weed flowers (which I let them pick) and that we should just look at them. No picking. He started bawling. I guess the boy loves his flowers?
Mama and kids.
Next we drove around the downtown, taking in sites. Cool trolley wires:
Big billboards:
with the Mad Hatter:
Large murals (which was kind of funny to us since we'd just watched The Cove the night before. A great movie. Definitely one-sided, so more of an expose rather than a "documentary" but quite informative and interesting. Recommend).
And eventually we drove through Dealey Plaza, where JFK was shot.
When we came 5 years ago we did the full-blown tour. And took some serious pictures. This time we just did the drive thru.
After the downtown I visited a darling fabric store called City Craft (more to come about that on MADE).
While I found some great oilcloth, guess who found the candy jar at the counter?
Yep, this girl:
She also wanted to take a picture of us in the car, while waiting at a stop light:
And she really wanted me to take her picture with Ronald. Funny girl. And NO we did not eat McDonald's on our Dallas visit. We actually bought a pizza from a local place. But there was limited seating, so we took it to the nearby McDonald's while the kids ran around. Quite perfect.
The next two stops were my favorite of the day. In the nearby city of Irving is the Mustang Museum.
We were too late to go inside. But all we really wanted to see was the amazing Mustang sculpture in the front plaza. It was just as impressive as we had hoped.
8 different bronze horses, in beautiful formations. The details are amazing. And combined with fountain work, it really looks like they are running and splashing in the water.
This was my favorite stop because the whole atmosphere was just relaxing. The plaza is very large and open, with water and walkways. We just relaxed and walked around. Sat down for a bit.
This photo reminds me of a similar one from our San Antonio trip:
We walked across the water bridges.
Looked at the horses.
And behind the building we found a beautiful lake with a large patio/deck.
And more red tulips. Mmmm.
The forecast had said it was going to rain all day. But the weather ended up being perfect. So we soaked up the late afternoon sunshine.
And Owen took a few falls. He must be having some growing pains because the kid has been falling non-stop. He's got scabbed-over knees to prove it.
But he wasn't sad for long when Casey asked if he wanted to "fly"?

One, Two, THREE!
And for our final stop we went to the Galleria Mall. Just a normal mall with the normal stores. But on the bottom floor is an ice skating rink! I'm bummed I didn't bring my camera along so these were taken with Casey's phone. Cool looking mall and rink:
And the real highlight was that Lucy tried skating for the first time! It was more like Casey dragging and pushing her around the rink. But each time around she got a bit stronger. And she loved it! I had my doubts. I'm so glad she was eager to try and that she had a great time doing it.
Here's a 15 second clip:


And that's Dallas in 7 hours! We left Austin at 11am and we were home by midnight. Great trip.

15 comments:

Nicole said...

What a fun day!! I LOVE the picture of the sun coming out of the clouds, gorgeous! Cute little clip of Lucy skating. I am also envious of shorts & short sleeve shirts. Great pictures & recap!

Kate said...

What a great trip, I can't wait for the summer here in AK to do those day trips....Alaska is magical.

Also, don't you think it's so funny how our sense of smell can have the biggest memory triggers. I know EXACTLY what the water rides at Disneyland smell like, how funny that you can smell it in a fountain in TX.

Karis said...

I love all your little trips that you guys go on! Really fun! All your pictures are great! I especially love the on with Lucy and Ronald....she looks so in love and happy. So cute!

The Hyer Family said...

Hi Dana...it's fun following along on your Texas adventure...seems like you are really settling in and enjoying it there! Have you ever thought that your Owen looks like my Charlie...although you might not even know what Charlie looks like these days...Every time I check in on your blog and see a pic of Owen, there is so much about his look that reminds me of Charlie...cute kids!

Jean said...

What a wonderful day-trip!! Beautiful pictures as always - especially the clouds and sunlight, and those pretty flowers! I LOVE that mustang fountain. It is so cool-looking. And the craft store looks amazing. I can see that you do your research before you travel!!

Lettie B. said...

The sculptures all around Dallas are pretty cool. I think I missed the mustangs, but saw a similar one of some longhorns. I like how they made it look like the horses were actually making a splash.
Sweet picture of flying Owen.
Next time you guys go (if there is a next time) you should check out Sonny Bryans to eat. There is more than one location and one is especially quaint. They serve super good BBQ there.

Leslie said...

glad you enjoyed your time up here. i've been wanting to go to city craft ever since i read about it on your blog! and our kids are always up for skating at the galleria. i usually find a way to sneak off to Zara. :)

Becky said...

wow - looks like a fun-packed day. Those horses do look amazing. They remind me of the horses in the fountain in Versailes.

lyndsey said...

what a fun day trip! i love that you guys are out exploring texas. that pic of you & the kids is adorable...both w/ their little hands on your legs. and glad you watched the cove! good movie but i toootally agree on the one-sided-ness.

Kristena said...

Sounds like you had a great trip! And you were only 5 hours away from us. Shoot!

I noticed that Owen is falling a lot... Poor guy! Jacob is too, so I totally relate. He busted his lip Saturday night (and bruised his chin), and he looked completely beat-up on Easter morning. Being the rambunctious boy he is, I have a feeling that this is just the beginning!

Saunja said...

Ah, we love Dallas. Great pictures. We never went to the Mustang Museum, though. Bummer. Looks like you had a fun day!

Kam Belly Soup said...

those first water falls reminded me of gucci gardens. remember that place by southcoast plaza. so bodnars to me. and those horses are so rad! i want to explore new places.

dietcokegrrl said...

What a fun day trip!! And I'm embarrassed to admit that the only place out of all of the ones you did in ONE day...was the Galleria.

You found some amazing spots! Love all the fountains. And amazing pics, as always.

Diane said...

Your photos are always so amazing. How did you learn to take pictures so well? Do you recommend a photography book or some super sweet lense??

Suman Family said...

so many great pictures! i love the old school dallas pics too, never seen them before. it's so fun that you are out there exploring texas. we need to come visit you guys! oh, and love lucy skating. i wanted to do that this winter but felt ava was too young too. maybe next year.