Author: dallas

Best Places to Spend Christmas in Texas

Texas may not be known for its White Christmases, but the Lone Star State has a lot of Christmas traditions up its sleeve to share with tourists – Texas-style.

While some people can’t imagine Christmas without being surrounded by snow, down in Texas they know how to celebrate Christmas in style no matter what the weather brings. Downtown Austin, Dallas and Houston deck the halls with Christmas lights, and have Christmas parades, while cities and towns throughout the big state throw themselves into the Christmas spirit.

Where to see Bluebonnets near Dallas

Motorists driving the Texas Bluebonnet country in spring are greeted with stunning fields of Bluebonnets and other wildflowers. Taking the time to leave the freeways and explore nearby back roads is even more rewarding.

Texas Bluebonnets

One of many lupines, the Bluebonnet (Lupinus subcarnosus) became the state flower in 1901. Seventy years later, this designation was expanded to include the Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) and “any other variety of bluebonnet.” Bluebonnets have also been called Buffalo clover, Wolf flower, and El Conejo (for the rabbit some see in the flower). It is thought that the bluebonnet name originated with early pioneers who saw a resemblance between the flower and women’s sunbonnets.

Bluebonnet Blooming Season

Bluebonnets begin blooming in the southern part of the range, in and around San Antonio, in March, and the bloom works it’s way north through May. The season’s peak varies with location, but around Ennis, Texas, it is thought to be April 21, coincidentally the anniversary of Texas’ independence from Mexico in 1836 (San Jacinto Day).

Bluebonnet Towns of Texas

Wildflower enthusiasts can find photogenic fields of flowers by taking almost any freeway exit when Bluebonnets are seen from the highway. A number of communities lying between Dallas and San Antonio publicize local events focused on the flowers, including Burnet and Ennis. Burnet was named the “Bluebonnet Capital of Texas” by the Legislature, and Ennis was designated the “Official Bluebonnet City of Texas.”

Burnet holds a Bluebonnet Festival the second weekend of April, and Ennis hosts a similar event, the Trails Festival, on the second or third weekend of April.

Backroad Bluebonnet Trails Around Ennis

Ennis publishes an area trails map, with detailed backroads around the town. You can obtain this in town from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, at 002 E. Ennis Avenue. The Visitors Bureau highlights the map each year, showing the most prime viewing areas for that year. The map includes about forty miles of backroads, from Exit 259 to Exit 251 off of Interstate 45.

Some of the more beautiful areas include the shores of Lake Bardwell, southwest of the town of Ennis, and the Neck Road–Highway 813/Highway 660 loop about eight miles north of Ennis.

The Greater Bluebonnet Area

The Central Texas Bluebonnet Travel Council publishes a travel guide for the greater Bluebonnet area, and this guide can be picked up at any Texas tourist center. The area covered by this guide runs from Dallas/Fort Worth on the north end through Austin to San Antonio on the southwest and to Houston on the southeast. Although Bluebonnets can be found in many places in the state, the best viewings will be found within this area, which includes Interstate highways 35, 45, and 10.

Bluebonnets and More

The Texas bluebonnet country offers much more than wildflowers, but if you are able to visit this area in the spring, the flowers likely will be your most vivid memory. Each spring, Texas wildflowers thrive along the highways between Dallas and San Antonio. The state flower, the Texas Bluebonnet, is the most spectacular and prolific.

 Fun for Kids at DFW Airport

Getting stranded at DFW Airport may not necessarily be such a bad thing. There are plenty of activities to keep the children entertained.

Everyone can agree that travel can be stressful. Traveling with children can be harder, especially when layovers occur and extend for unknown periods of time, such as they did on Monday, July 27, when storms loomed over Dallas, Texas, sending lightning upon the runway, leaving travelers waiting for several hours.

As hard as it may have been for those stuck there, the wait was less painful than it would have been in Atlanta, Georgia, or Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina.

If everything is bigger in Texas, the Dallas airport is proof that bigger can be better. Among the areas where DFW stands above the rest are:

• Two great USOs
• Free video games at McDonald’s for toddlers and grade-schoolers
• Terminal seating situated for families
• Terminal B’s Junior Flyer’s Club

USOs in DFW Airport

The United Service Organization has proudly supported US troops since 1941. There are thousands of volunteers that give of themselves with no expectation of anything in return.

Raising the bar is the fact that DFW has two USOs where some airports have none. Terminal D’s modest USO station at gate 21 has everything a military family needs to alleviate themselves of having to spend high prices for snacks and meals. Instead, they can give a donation (or not) have sodas, water, coffee, fruit, Pop-tarts, Girl Scout cookies, soup, and more while picking up a newspaper or magazine at no cost.

Families looking for a bit more can go to Terminal B- which is just minutes from anywhere with the Sky Link train- where a larger USO is available at gate 15. Among the many more snacks and meals that include sandwiches, ice cream, and candy are approximately 30 reclining chairs with a family-friendly movie playing. If one is looking for quiet, there is a sleeping room, a baby room, and a room to store luggage. Additionally, bathrooms are stocked with complimentary toiletry items and a reading area is located upstairs with a small library.

If all of this wasn’t enough, the staff never fails to be friendly.

Free Video Games at McDonald’s

DFW has an array of dining, but for families, there are few things that can compare to a toddler being peacefully occupied during rough travel.

Among the four terminals at DFW, there are six McDonald’s restaurants. Like the USOs, they are not all the same. Terminal D has several toddler-friendly video games such as Mario Kart and a version of Mario’s Yoshi games where eggs are coordinated to score points and solve a puzzle. For grade-schoolers, there is a street soccer game as well a Harry Potter game. The best part is that they are free!

While much of this may not be as exciting for those without children, the healthy use of a child’s energy having fun will prevent its application upon screaming and crying, allowing everyone to better cope with bad weather during travel.

DFW’s Terminal Seating is Situated for Families

Unlike many terminal seating set-ups where long rows of chairs may or may not be situated toward a national news network, the seating at DFW is arranged in half-hexagons allowing for families and friends to more easily pass the time with comfortable socializing.

Few airports can match this set-up, and most pale in comparison.

DFW’s Junior Flyer’s Club Allows Kids to Safely go Wild

As mentioned before, the use of DFW’s Sky Link rail system allows travelers to move from one terminal to another, or within the same terminal, in a matter of just a minute or two.

Parents with children that need to expend some physical energy should venture over to Terminal B where they’ll find the Junior Flyer’s Club, a small playground with a padded floor, allowing children to run, jump, and play on a few hundred square feet of a 2-dimensional landscape where children can pretend they are flying, driving, or swimming.

While it still stands that direct flights and shorter travel to destinations are preferable, being the victim of a layover could be a great opportunity to have some fun in between connecting flights when traveling through Dallas, Texas. Hopefully, other airports will begin to follow suit.

Road Trip Across Texas

Forget the price of gas – Texas is always entertaining and diverse. What other state offers such a diversity of food, culture, and pleasures for both humans and aliens?

Grab a map, hop in the car, and drive as springtime in Texas is calling you. A driving holiday this time of year features an abundance of bluebonnets, the state’s official flower, and red and orange toned Indian Paintbrushes color the landscape.

Brenham

Especially in the Hill Country, where life is sweet in Brenham – home to Blue Bell Creameries. For the past 108 years, the ice cream made here has been delighting Texans and many devotees from the southeastern to southwestern states.

A free tour is offered on weekdays, with a taste of the Blue Bell magic promised for all. But do not dally – the tours are first come-first served, and limited to a certain amount of visitors.

College Station

Drive north and you arrive in College Station – home of the Aggies.

What is an Aggie? An Aggie is a proud student, or alumni, of Texas A & M University. Here geniuses in nuclear technology, engineering, and the obvious agriculture, are trained in all of the university’s 10 schools.

Stop by the visitor’s center at Rudder Tower for an update on all the activities.

Huntsville

Leaving student life behind journey to Huntsville in the Piney Woods and its equally large population of like-minded folks.

Huntsville is known primarily for having the oldest prison in Texas, which in turn has the largest prison system in the United States.

If you never thought of capital punishment as a tourism attraction – think again.

One of the highlights at the nearby Texas Prison Museum is “Old Sparky” the electric chair once used on Death Row for 40 years during the 20th century.

For loftier viewing – check out the 67’ statue of Sam Houston one of the state’s most illustrious statesmen of the early Republic – as Texas once was.

Traveling and touring drum up an appetite and here BBQ rules.

Driftwood

In the town of Driftwood, the Salt Lick still creates it smoky goodness on an open pit.

Hit the state capital of Austin and two places for tangy sauce, messy fingers, and good times rule – Stubbs (try the ribs), and the Iron Works that is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2008.

Terlingua

From BBQ to chili – Terlingua, in the Big Bend Country is known for the world-famous chili kickoff every November. Just remember asking, “where’s the beans?” are fighting words here.

Aside from the arrival of chiliheads – the vastness and diversity of the Chihuahuan Desert can be explored and understood at the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center.

Marfa

Full of gas? Continue on to Marfa.

The movie “Giant” with Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean was filmed here over 50 years ago, and still, the fans flock to this small town. Now more than the bright lights of Hollywood have attracted visitors. Marfa’s night skies often light up with unusual tones. Are they atmospheric or alien in nature – you can decide at the Marfa Mystery Lights Viewing Center?

These are just a few Lone Star ideas. Discover your own in the largest state in the continental US.

As the old saying goes…

“The sun is riz and the sun is set, and we ain’t out of Texas yet!”

Dallas Fort Worth – Where to Go & What to See

Some of these are standard staples of north Texas, but some are lesser-known, all recommended by a lifetime resident.

If you’ve never been to DFW or maybe just have a weekend in the metroplex, it can feel fairly daunting. Considering there’s so much to do and both Dallas & Fort Worth (not to mention the mid-cities) lay sprawled before you (having a car is very much recommended), it’s nice to know beforehand what a native might recommend. From the experience of showing newbies around, here are five of the favorite things to do and destinations to seek out:

1. Drinks at Reunion Tower

The first night in, if possible, approach Reunion Tower (300 Reunion Blvd., 214 651 1234) from I-35S (the exit for Reunion Tower is just before Central Expressway, I-75), where it bends around as you approach Dallas, offering a great view of the entire city. You’ll see a giant ball atop a tower in the landscape–the final destination.

Reasonably priced parking is across the street (Reunion Tower is mostly a Hyatt Regency Hotel). Sometimes you can view the city from the tower itself, but it’s often reserved for wedding parties. No matter, the bar just below revolves and offers a great view of the city–from towering buildings and jammed highways (avoid smug smirks for karma’s sake) to desolate fields. The drinks are more than reasonable for Dallas, but be careful when stepping off the “runway”.

2. A Tour of the Stockyards and Billy Bob’s

The Fort Worth stockyards may not sound terribly enticing, but it’s worth it to see the longhorns driven around at 11 am or 4 pm each day–it’s a small group but they make for a very impressive spectacle. There are several little shops in the area, not of huge interest unless one is seeking cowboy paraphernalia –save a few shops offering exclusively Texan nibbles, notably Dublin Dr. Pepper (the real thing) and freshly scooped Blue Bell ice cream.

Just a skip away is Billy Bob’s, a giant honky-tonk–a place that offers rodeo on the weekends, a dance floor with a rhinestone-encrusted saddle, a plethora of pool tables, and some of the cheapest beer you will ever encounter. A very good time is easily had–all types are genuinely welcome. Even if cowboys and rodeos are not your usual order, it is really worth it to immerse yourself in Fort Worth and this atmosphere for at least one day–it’s a very good time and has an unmistakable character that is impossible to dislike.

The stockyards are easily mapped using the address: 130 East Exchange Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76164. The mainline is (817) 625-9715.

3. Dallas World Aquarium

It is vastly apparent that much love and attention has gone into every detail of this establishment. Admission is a little pricey, but it’s more than worth it. The entrance reveals a large rainforest, vast and majestic, which will take your breath away. It replicates the scene of the Orinoco River Basin in South America, complete with monkeys, toucans (countless birds, to be honest), and crocodiles.

From the rainforest, you’ll soon find yourself in the aquarium itself, even grander (85,000 gallons!) and even more worldly than the rainforest with its variety of specimens. One of the most impressive highlights (aside from the predators, of course) is the 22-gallon tunnel with its panoramic view.

Located in downtown Dallas (1801 N Griffin St, 214-720-1801), it’s near some of the art museums, easily made into a day. The aquarium is open from 10 am-5 pm all week, but go at noon and you can see them feed the penguins.

4. Fort Worth Japanese Gardens

Fort Worth has several gardens, some of which charge a small fee. Easily the one most worth the while is the Japanese Gardens (usually around $3 admission fee), housed within the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. A trip during the week proves far less crowded, but even on the weekend, it’s gorgeous enough to tolerate larger crowds. The large tea house, pavilion, giant zen garden, and Moon Bridge offer great views of the changing leaves, big ponds of koi, and a peaceful getaway. Despite its relaxing setting, the Japanese Gardens are easy to find and quite close to the cultural district (the Modern Art and Kimball Museums, for example).

It’s almost worth it just to go to feed the koi–they are some of the biggest specimens and they are always disturbingly ravenous for the fish food bought from little dispensers at $0.25 a pop. Hours vary–usually, 7 days a week from 8 or 9 am till dusk, depending on the time of year. The main garden telephone line is (817) 871-7686, located at 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd in Fort Worth.

5. Entertainment–Theatre, Symphonies, & Opera

If possible to coordinate ahead of time, pick a show (mostly comedians and musicians) at the Bass Performance Hall (4th and Calhoun Streets, Fort Worth, TX, 817-212-4200) in Fort Worth (it’s worth just driving by this gorgeous building), a theatre show at the Dallas Theatre Centre (alternatively, all the mid-cities offer bountiful community theatre if the price is a concern–and the shows do not disappoint), musical performances at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (439 Northpark Ctr, Dallas, TX, 214-692-0203, symphonies on Sunday at the Nasher Sculpture Center are a big hit) or relaxing (slightly pricier) evening at the Dallas Opera (909 1st Ave at Parry, Dallas, TX, 214-443-1000).

Fort Worth: Cowtown with Culture

The Kimbell and Amon Carter museums, Stockyard Station Market, Log Cabin Village, Casa Manana, and huge murals are a sampling of this historic frontier town’s attractions

In its youth, Fort Worth was a dusty and lawless frontier town. But gradually it got tamed.

Today, it’s a well-heeled cowtown with more than a touch of class, boasting a symphony orchestra and some of the finest museums in the Southwest. But along with the culture, the city has retained its western flavor. You’ll see real cowboys and buildings that were standing when Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid came into town for recreation and relaxation.

Frontier Architecture

The best place to start poking into the past is at Sundance Square, an area with its original red-bricked pavement and more than 20 commercial buildings that date back to the turn of the 19th century. You can shop and eat as you sightsee, for the buildings now house boutiques, shops, restaurants, and a bakery.

While you’re walking around the square, be sure to pass by the Jetts Building at 400 Main Street, with its trompe l’oeil mural of “The Chisholm Trail” spanning the building’s façade. And don’t miss the Sid Richardson Collection. Housed in a splendidly restored brick building at 309 Main Street, it is one of the largest collections in the United States of paintings by western artists, Frederic Remington and Charlie Russell.

Fort Worth Stockyards

After you’ve explored Sundance Square, follow the route of the Old Chisholm Trail a couple of miles north to the Stockyards, which in its heyday was the second-largest stockyard in the country. Gussied up a bit, the Stockyard Station Market, the only hog and sheep pens in America that have been converted into a shopping mall. Now the space that formerly housed animals – it’s on the National Register of Historic Places – has been converted into 20 shops and restaurants, while retaining its early-day roots.

Log Cabin Village & Cattleman’s Museum

To find out more about how the West was settled, go to Log Cabin Village (just off Colonial Parkway southwest of downtown) where a working grist mill and cabins of six pioneer families who settled in Tarrant County have been restored and furnished with period antiques. The Cattleman’s Museum on Seventh Street traces the history of ranching and cattle rustling in Texas. By pressing a series of buttons, museum visitors hear stories as though they were told by early-day cowboys and members of their families.

Kimbell Museum

The Kimbell Museum is the brightest gem in the city’s cultural crown. Philanthropist Kay Kimbell, a school drop-out at 13, went on to make his fortune in oil, agriculture, and other business ventures. His exquisite collection of European art – Rembrandt, Velasquez, Titian, El Greco et al — is housed in a Renaissance-style building designed by Louis Kahn.

Amon Carter Museum

Across the lawn at the Amon Carter Museum – designed to resemble an American Indian lodge – the accent is on American art, with such important works as “The Hunter’s Return” by Thomas Cole, Georgia O’Keeffe’s abstract landscapes, and Winslow Homer’s watercolors. Other important artworks in the city include a monumental Henry Moore sculpture outside the Amon Carter and the Alexander Calder maquettes at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Fort Worth Symphony

The Fort Worth Symphony Association presents more than a dozen different programs during the September-May season. In summer, there’s Shakespeare at Trinity Park’s outdoor amphitheater. Casa Manana, the country’s longest-running theater-in-the-round is the setting for performances of Broadway hits. There are also musical comedies at Casa Manana’s off-shoot, the 120-seat Casa on the Square (Sundance Square).

Downtown Fort Worth is 24 miles from The Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The city is also served by bus and/or train from Canada and Mexico and all parts of the U.S.A.

Farmersville, Texas, the birthplace of Audie Murphy, offers a bewildering variety of restaurants for its size. Farmersville, Texas, a small but vibrant main street town to the north-east of Dallas, has a wealth of history and many popular antique shops but is worth a visit just for the excellent range of cuisine it offers in its many restaurants.

Farmersville: a Texas Treasure

Farmersville, Texas, a small town about an hour’s journey north-east of Dallas, has a wealth of antique shops, old buildings, and quaint frame houses. On the first Saturday of every month, it holds a “Farmers’ and Fleas’ Market” and every month a different Country artiste performs at the local Opry. The history of the town dates back to 1849 and is reflected in the many antique shops: there is even a monument to the Confederate dead. The town won Main Street status in 2003 for its beautifully preserved main square with its original brick cobbles and 19th Century buildings.

Farmersville: Audie Murphy’s Home Town

Audie Murphy, the USA’s most decorated hero in WWII, was born near Farmersville and spent his youth there. The town square includes a museum commemorating him and, every year, holds a celebration in his honor with speeches and a parade of vintage cars, driven by veterans, and floats – a fun afternoon out. This year, Audie Murphy Day is being celebrated on Saturday, June 18th.

Farmersville is also the birthplace of Monty “Hawkeye” Henson, 3 times world champion rodeo cowboy, and Herb Ellis, the jazz guitarist. On a less salubrious note, Tex Watson, a member of the Manson family and involved in the murder of Sharon Tate, grew up in nearby Copeville and attended Farmersville’s schools.

Where to Eat in Farmersville, Texas

The town is well worth a visit for its monthly market, history, and antique shops alone but it also knows how to titillate the tastebuds of its residents and visitors with a wide variety of restaurants, including a (genuine) 50’s diner and some of the very best Italian cuisine in Texas, all at country prices.

As you enter the main square itself, on your right, near the Post Office, you will find Tony’s Mexican restaurant, independently owned and offering a good variety of excellent Mexican cuisine at reasonable prices.

On the right-hand side of the main square itself, nestled among the antique shops, is a genuine 50’s diner, Daddy-O’s Doo Wop Diner, serving country cuisine including chicken fried steak and chicken, and pork chops, in an ambiance celebrating the music stars of the ’50s and early ’60s, including original vinyl jukebox EPs under glass on the tables. A blue plate special is available every weekday.

At the head of the square lies the Sugarhill Country Kitchen providing a buffet and à la carte menu in an upscale environment with prices to match. The restaurant is housed in a complex of three interconnected buildings housing a function room, a boutique, and an antique store.

To find some of the best Italian food in Texas, however, you do not need even to enter the center of town. Victor’s Italian Kitchen lies on US Highway 78, just before the First National Bank and the turnoff into Audie Murphy Parkway. The restaurant, converted from a small service station, has a rustic ambiance reminiscent of the little restaurants that dot the Italian countryside where the cuisine is equally superb. The chef/owner has 25 years of experience in cooking Italian food and it shows. There is an extensive and very economical lunch menu – try the Princess pasta in pink vodka sauce or any of the dishes served with Victor’s home-made tomato Pomodoro sauce. The dinner menu offers even more, with huge portions – try the Chicken Marsala or Sicilian Chicken. The restaurant is also a favorite for its home-made pizza to eat in or to go.

Pizza is also available from Mr. Jim’s Pizza further up on US 78 and Pizza Street on US 380. More comfort food is also available in the same block as Mr. Jim’s at Charlie’s Old Fashioned Burgers, which also sells Italian ice cream, and at Just Donuts. This small selection of food outlets is now complemented by a Chinese restaurant due to open its doors very shortly.

Every town of note should have a Dairy Queen and Farmersville is no exception. Well-placed on US Highway 380, it offers a Blue Plate Special every weekday, burgers for $1.00 every Monday from 5.00 PM, and tacos for $0.89 every Tuesday evening.

The local Sonic is also on US 380, as will be the proposed ubiquitous McDonalds to be constructed in the new out-of-town retail park near the Brookshires supermarket. The local Subway restaurant, some 4 miles along US 380 in the direction of Greenville, is currently closed, awaiting rebuilding following a disastrous fire.

If your tastes tend towards catfish and steak, Catfish Heaven awaits you on US 380 beyond Lake Lavon in Princeton, along with more fast food outlets. More well-recommended Mexican cuisine can also be found south on US 78 at La Flor and a little further on, in the direction of Wylie, pizza lovers will discover Pizza Getty (no relation, I am told).

Lastly, aficionados of Mexican cuisine will discover the Casa Vieja, another restaurant worth a visit, north on US 78 near Blue Ridge, a small township where country cooking can also be enjoyed at the Cattleman’s Café on W. James Street in the center of town.

How to Reach Farmersville

Farmersville lies at the intersection of US Highways 78 and 380, a few miles from the edge of the Dallas conurbation at Wylie, traveling north alongside the lake on Highway 78. On Highway 380, Farmersville is located midway between McKinney and Greenville close to the northern border of Lake Lavon, on the eastern edge of Collin county.

Restaurant Addresses

• Charlie’s Old Fashion Burgers, 604 Tx-78 N, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-7900
• Daddy-O’s Doo Wop Diner, 117 McKinney St, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-7341
• Dairy Queen, 201 Audie Murphy Pky E, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-8492
• La Flor Mexican Cozina, 701 State Highway 78 S, #120, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-7950
• Mr. Jims, 602 Tx-78 N, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-7333
• Pizza Street, 1203 Us-380 E, #106, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-7601
• Sonic Drive-In, 770 Audie Murphy Pky W, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-7738
• Sugarhill Country Kitchens, 115 S Main St, Farmersville, TX (972) 784-2121
• Tony’s Mexican Restaurant, 201 McKinney St, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-6370
• Victor’s Italian Kitchen, 205 State Highway 78 S, Farmersville, TX (972) 782-8002