Dallas!!!

So, when Rachel moved to Dallas, I knew I'd be needing to see her new place ASAP. I mean, she was 1/2 a country closer to me now for heaven's sakes!! I pictured taking all the kids with me over Spring Break or something and that just made me tired. THEN, it occurred to me that I could just go for a weekend or something and make it a GIRLS trip! Yup. That sounded perfect. I was "due" a girls trip anyway since that week long hunting trip last fall. ;)

Every once in a while, Doug gets a Friday off, so once he had his schedule for March, Rach gave me a call and I booked my tickets! I left on a Thursday afternoon and got home late Sunday night. Travis only had to take one day off of work and I got the longest and best kid free break of my life! I say best, because I didn't have to pack them any bags or ship them off to any relatives. Nothing better than Dad being in charge at home!

 

It's always a luxury to travel without children. I listened to talks, read my People magazine, and enjoyed just taking care of myself!  

Rach picked me up around 8:30pm. She lives in Allen, Texas which is about 30-40 minutes outside Dallas. It was so fun seeing her new, gorgeous house! Man, the houses in Texas are BEAUTIFUL!! None of this ugly stucco or adobe style dwellings. Bring on the brick and the arches! The kids were in bed, but Doug was up working on ortho cases! I told him nothing has changed since school. That man is always working! ;)  It was so fun to visit with both of them!! I wished we had days to do just that!

 

Rach had me all set up in Gavin's bed that had a cute basked with treats and bath salts, lotions, etc. on top of it. She likes to give the royal treatment. I had a hard time falling asleep after stuffing my face with Sweet Tarts and chocolate covered acai berries! But the best part was waking up to cute Gavin and Liam wanting to give me hugs. I love those boys. She said they were so excited I was coming. It reminded me of how my boys love when we have visitors.

 

Call us masochists, but we started the day with P90x3. I think we just knew how much we'd be eating that weekend! I was DYING. Like, pouring sweat. I think I grabbed too heavy of weights. Rach fixed us up some yummy green smoothies and we were on our way to our massage appointments!

This place is so close to her house and it was AMAZING!!! $30 for a 70 minute massage. And it wasn't sketchy or anything! It was actually a really nice place. Clean and professional. I think this is only my 3rd massage but every time I get them I wonder why I don't get them weekly! Or at least monthly. Oh yeah, I live in Gallup. It would be dangerous if I lived here! It just felt so good. Sooo relaxing. And they don't try to talk to you. They just do their thing. The only part that WASN'T so great was when he was doing my back. I suddenly felt like I was in a Chinese action movie and was getting the life squeezed out of me. Seriously, he pushed so hard I thought he was trying to kill me. Other than that- perfection. ;)

Right after the massages, we basically drove up the street to this fun, beach themed, nail salon. We got pedicures and gel nails done. Again, I think this is my 3rd pedicure of my life and again, wondering why I don't do it more often. These nasty, calloused feet sure needed it. I got the chocolate, mint pedicure. Cuz, I like to salivate over the stuff going on my toes.  

The nail salon was right next to a Pei Wei and a place called Torchy's Tacos. We were starving so even though I love my Spicy Chicken Salad, I decided to go for something I can't get in Mesa. BEST decision ever!! This might have actually been my favorite meal all weekend. We got the queso dip and chips as an appetizer. Ohhh yummy. Then I got a shrimp taco and jazzed up beef taco. The Democrat was it's name, I believe. HEAVEN. Absolute heaven. See the sign?? Yes. I concur. Damn Good.

After our late lunch, we headed back to the house to shower and get ready then load the car up with our bags to start our official weekend in Dallas! On the way there, though, we just had to stop at the outlet stores. I found some fun shoes. I pair of grey boots and black, lace up heels. Oh and leopard Birkensocks. I went there. Didn't think I'd be down with that trend so soon, but I hopped on board! Rach got a pair too, so we're matchy matchy now. ;) Then, I also went a little nuts with girls clothes at Osh Kosh and Carters. Got the kids stocked on summer sandals at Children's Place. And just stared at watches at several stores. Because who can really pay $150 for a watch! Ugh! I think I'll be hitting up Target for my latest replacement.  

Mid-shop (is that a word?) we might have passed the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. And a caramel Apple Pie apple might have jumped into our mouths. Might've.

 

After that it was off to din din! Rach took us to this fun restaurant called Whiskey Cake Kitchen. It's a farm to fork place that was obviously super popular. Luckily, she knew to call ahead of time or we'd have been waiting an hour and half. The surprises never end... I ordered a burger. Rach got a salad and we went halfsies on it. Then we just had to try it's name sake for dessert. I'm going to assume that whiskey baked off?? Eh, Rach said it was OK. I trusted her. :) 

It was pretty late by then, (9:30pm, but that's late for us Moms) so we headed to the hotel. I booked a Doubletree in Uptown Dallas. Getting these cookies is seriously reason enough to stay at a Doubletree. Over the whole weekend, I believe I ate 5. That's 90 grams of fat, folks. I rolled myself back to Gallup. But it was the perfect treat to accompany our late night of talking and crying and catching up. Therapy. That's what Friday night was. Best girlfriend therapy. 

With no alarms set, we just let ourselves sleep the next day and sleep we did. When I finally looked at my phone it was 10am! Don't even regret it. After getting ready we were pretty hungry. I mean it had been like 10 hours since we had had sugar!! We had looked up "Best Donuts in Dallas" the night before and this place made the top of one list. So off we went! It was indeed good. Nothing fancy, but the lightest, most delicious donuts I've had in a long time!

That's not a country fried steak I'm holding... it's a fritter!

A view of Dallas as we drove in!

After breakfast we drove into downtown to visit the 6th floor Museum at Delaney Plaza. This is the "JFK Assassination Tour". This showed up on ALL the "Must Do" lists for Dallas. I had no idea JFK was shot in Dallas. Well, there's a whole MUSEUM dedicated to it. It's a guided tour with headphones inside the building where the shooter sat. It was a book depository building back then. The tour told about his presidency, then went into detail about when he was shot. He was doing a publicity tour in Dallas for his campaign to be reelected. He was sitting in an open limo, next to his wife, Jackie O, when 3 shots were fired. One missed and the other two shot him. Another man in the limo was also shot but didn't die. The limo raced off to the nearest hospital but he was pronounced dead within half an hour. And just two hours later, Johnson was sworn in as President with Jackie standing next to him. The shooter was a man named Lee Harvey Oswald. He got away, but shot a police officer later that day and was arrested. That night a club owner shot him on national television while he was in police custody. It all seemed so crazy. It went into the conspiracy theories a little but I didn't get those at all. Mostly, it was just astounding to see how the whole world mourned his loss. But we weren't allowed to take any pictures, so this was the only one we got on the next floor. Overall, the tour took 3 hours, so it was a big chunk of our day!

Here is the outside of the building. The second window down from the top, on the corner column of windows, is where the shooter sat.

There's even X's on the road where the limo was when the shots were fired. Cars were definitely coming when I did this!

There's a separate memorial structure up the block that I guess his wife was in charge of. Super strange if you ask me!

Reunion Tower was another "Must Do" on all the lists. And it was within walking distance of Delaney Plaza so off we went. We saw it the night before all lit up like the New Year's Eve ball in Times Square. It's basically a sky scraper hotel with a rotating 360 degree view from the top. Only, the floor we paid to go on, didn't rotate. I wonder if it was just the Wolfgang Puck restaurant on the top that spins. Anyway, it was a glass elevator, so that was kind of cool. And it was a great view of the city. I just don't know if it was $16 cool.

They give you a complimentary picture though! Hahah. Stellar pic of us. Also, I'm sure you've noticed that the Jolly Green Giant has to hunch over for all pictures. And I'm in flats!

 

The only restaurant I was recommended in Dallas was from someone who travels a lot and eats at a lot of places and she said this is the best steak you'll ever eat. At III Forks. Well, you can't turn that down! So we made a reservation and showed up ten til 5. Mind you, we hadn't had anything since those donuts! Well, by the looks of the place and the two valets, we started to wonder if we were underdressed. Rach was particularly stressing in her baseball tee. But she had a nice looking pea coat that she put on. As we entered, she noticed a sign that said Appropriate Dress Required. Well, what the heck does that mean?! All the women had on black dresses and the men were in penguin suits. It was swanky. Maybe the fanciest place I've ever eaten. They weren't even ready for us because the place doesn't technically open til 5!

They had a wall of their rich and famous guests. I knew good ol' Jorge wouldn't lead me wrong! ;)

Don't know if I've ever been in a restroom that offers an individual hand towel for each person!!

Well, I got the filet and I'll admit, it was tasty. BUT, I still don't think it topped my filet at the Blue Bayou in Disneyland! I know, crazy! Disneyland for heaven's sakes! The loaf of bread they brought out beforehand rocked my world though. OK, tell me if this is weird, but shortly after we started eating, another waiter stopped by with a tray of sliced tomatoes and whole green onions. Now, I love tomatoes, but declined these. I mean, since when did a stem of green onion become a side dish??! Is this a southern thing? I don't know. We let it slide. I think the funniest part was when the host asked if he could take Rachel's coat and she awkwardly declined, then mumbled something about the chilly weather... you know being inside and all. Hahaha! I think this was a meal we won't soon forget!

 

The second movie in the Divergent series came out the day before so we thought it would be a fun movie to go see! And if you can believe it, we also had popcorn, Sour Skittles and a Diet Coke. Honestly, even as I wrote that I was embarrassed for us! Haha! I don't even know how we ate all of that. It was a binge day for sure.

As we pulled out of the parking lot we sort of talked about how it might be fun to still go do something, but we had no idea what. Stores were closed, much too full for dessert, etc. So we figured we'd just head back to the hotel. Then, Rach saw some lights and noticed a Ferris Wheel! A carnie was in the parking lot!! Scorrrre!! We bought just enough tickets for one ride on the Ferris Wheel, laughing like we'd had too much to drink. As it got started, I suddenly remembered how much I HATE Ferris Wheels. They totally give the freaks! It was all good until we reached the top and started going backward. Then I was all squeals, closing my eyes and hyperventilating breathing!! Rach was cracking up and we were both laughing so hard we had tears rolling down our cheeks. I swear the attendant kept it going longer than normal, just to keep his entertainment going! It was a riot! Well, we couldn't leave without some cotton candy, so cotton candy we got! 

 

Then, as we turned towards our car, there was the roller coaster. I LOVE roller coasters. And this was a dinky, little one that looked like a good time. Why not?! So off we went to get just enough tickets again. We barely squeezed into the second car, two little boys in front of us. And it started. OH MY LANTA IT STARTED. You would have thought by the sound of it, it was a million years old and held together by the cheapest metal. We creaked up the hill and clanked down the rails so fast I just KNEW I was going to die on this thing!! Forget the Ferris Wheel, THIS was the real death trap!! I started screaming my head off, but then tried to maybe not sound like I screaming the scream of a woman being tortured. I don't think the boys in front of us were buying it. Rach said they kept looking over their shoulders with worried expressions. How was I to notice?? I was too busy freaking out! You usually get like 3 go arounds on these things. It must have been bonus night because I swear we went around like 10 times! Each time I was sure it was over, we'd gain momentum and go again and I'd turn to Rach and scream, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" Again, we were laughing SO HARD, the tears were flowing and my sides hurt. We could not have picked a better way to end the night. 

After consuming a couple more cookies, we chatted not quite as late as the night before and hit the hay. We were pretty proud of ourselves for being up and out of the hotel the next day by 9am.

 

I had seen much ado made about the Dallas Farmer's Market, and we obviously love food, so that was our first stop! The produce looked amazing, but ironically, we just sampled a bunch of it and spent our dollars on some amazing fresh Italian pastries, homemade jam, gourmet cheese, artisan scones, homemade soaps and to die for toffee! I felt like I was in heaven. It's like fancy food shopping. As we walked away I saw some huge sausage hot dogs that made me wish I hadn't eaten anything else so I'd have some room left!!!

 

Next up was the famous, Dallas Arboretum. Just don't ask me to pronounce it!

Again, this made the top of all the lists. Lucky for us, Doug's office just started offering free tickets!

There was a tulip festival going on. So pretty.

These trees might have been my favorite thing! I mean, how do they do this?! A natural, covered archway. The trunks were so smooth they looked artificial. 

Well, I guess we all can't resist a romp in the tulips!

The stars at night, are big and bright!! Clap clap clap clap!

Deep in the hearrrrt of Texas!

I know I'm a nerd, but the George W. Bush, Presidential Library also popped up online a lot, and we all know how I love a library. ;)

It was on Southern Methodist University's campus. Also a pretty cool place to drive through!



The building itself was a little underwhelming, especially considering the amazing architecture elsewhere on campus, but inside stepped it up! ;)

It was essentially a museum dedicated to his presidency. It's a self guided tour that is filled with lots of videos and facts about his life, family, background and policies and programs he instituted as president. Such as No Child Left Behind, some tax break legislature, and AIDS relief in Africa.  And since he was in office during 9/11, a good section was dedicated to videos, pictures and coverage of that event. You really couldn't help but fall in love with the good morals and hard work ethic of this down home, baseball playing, Texas president! There was SO MUCH information. I think we spent 2-3 hours there. One cool part was an exact replication of his Oval office!

Apparently, the past 16 presidents all have a "Presidential Library" somewhere in the country! They get to choose where, but it's usually their hometown. And it's not technically a library, except that the basement is filled with all the documents, books and information pertaining to their presidency. And like 70 Terabytes of emails and other online information. 

We were famished, but our last meal was a hard choice. I wanted to try some Texas BBQ, but the Grand Lux was nearby and I have a pretty dedicated love affair with their caramel chicken. And lets not forget the freakin' amazing ranch that I dip my chicken, bread and face in. It met ALL expectations. :) It was in an legit mall, so we did a little shopping and maybe got some Haagen Daz, knowing I was heading back to diet land. :(

 

We fit so much in, but it still felt so short when it was time to say goodbye! I think it's safe to say we both needed this trip. How grateful I am for a competent, selfless husband that made it all possible. On the first morning I text him to ask how it was going and got a quick reply, "Good. Just leaving the doctor's office." Um, what?! So I called him and I guess Weston had had a rough night. He'd been battling a fever for several days, but that night he woke up with a bloody nose and said his ear hurt. Sure enough, it was an ear infection. Travis also went down to a new preschool that just opened up, that I heard about on my way to the airport. He got him all registered and signed up for that! They went on a hike, he painted nails and even did some legit pig tails on Miss Olive! I was so impressed. I kept texting him that he was showing me up big time!!! Haha! They weren't going to want me back! I love how he can talk it all in stride, never make me feel guilty for being gone and even more so, thank ME for taking some time off and having a good time. Who is this guy?!! I am SO crazy, stinkin' lucky!!

Olive's teeth.... YUM! ;)