Meeting my mom in Dallas at the tail end of her work conference definitely had its perks. I was able to be her guest at her last work event before getting our weekend started. We went into AT&T Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play and were able to eat, drink, and even play on the field a bit.
Friday, we decided to rent a car and drive to Fort Worth [about a 30 minute drive]. We explored downtown a bit before we almost melted, thanks 105 degree heat, and ate at Bird Cafe. It was delicious and had healthy options, which was nice because it was too hot to eat anything heavy. After eating, we made our way to Fort Worth stockyards. This was definitely a lot more touristy than I expected, but we made the best of it. After exploring the toursity shops and only buying overpriced candy we decided to sit in the shade and wait for the cattle drive at 4pm. Once this was over we walked over to Billy Bob’s because you have to go there when you’re in Fort Worth. It’s the largest honky tonk in the world and had air conditioning so we were sold. After paying the $2.00 [daytime] cover we went inside and this place is way bigger than we were expecting. We decided to split some fried catfish before having a cold beverage. We both had a Texas beer and played a game of pool before deciding to make our way back into the heat. It was almost time for us to see our first rodeo. The beginning of the rodeo was great because it was a constant slew of cowboys being bucked off of bulls. I didn’t care for the parts after because I didn’t like seeing the animals being pulled on, etc. Even though this made me cringe and often turn away, it was an eye opening and fun experience. We ended the night by ordering room service at midnight and then passing out from exhaustion.
Saturday, we woke up early-ish to go to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens because I knew it was only $1.00 to get in during the time of our visit. Hell yes. We were looking at the gardens while almost everyone else was looking for Pokemon. After this we drove around a bit and stopped at Mustang Donuts. This is a must do if you’re in the area because they have incredibly delicious donuts. After driving around a bit more we decided to return the rental car and Uber the rest of the trip. So we Ubered to Truck Yard. If you like live music, beer, and food trucks then you’ll love this place. It was great and shaded too so we weren’t as sweaty. After this we decided to grab a popsicle across the street at Steel City Pops…yum. The next Uber took us to Uptown where we did some shopping before stopping for a bite to eat at Urban Taco. We had cheese, as you do in a Mexican restaurant, but this cheese was so different and so delicious. After stuffing our faces with food and tequila we made our way to The Rustic. Another awesome spot to hangout with more live music. We grabbed a [huge] beer and a spot on their massive patio and hungout until the band started. This is the way Dallas should be experienced.
Sunday was met with relaxation. We ventured out to grab breakfast and explore a bit closer to our hotel and reluctantly made our way to the airport. There’s plenty to do in Dallas, just make sure you’re ready to handle the 100+ degree temperatures if you go in the summer!
