A Former New Yorker (by way of rural Georgia) arrives in Dallas, Texas.
A blog about the home life, cooking, cheese, day trips and weekend getaways from Dallas, interactions, news, and, of course Texas.
Showing posts with label Dallas Day Trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dallas Day Trip. Show all posts
You know that sadness that hangs in the air after a house-full of out-of-town friends departs for the airport? Yeah, me too. That's why, just after they all took off, I did too. In typical Sunday fashion, Dan and I went on an adventure. Destination: Garland, Texas.
To those of you in the Dallas area, Garland is just another suburb. Sure, it has its series of stripmalls and stoplights, but do a little digging (or just read this blog...) and you'll find some gems. Garland happens to hold several superlatives and oddities: Texas's biggest municipal golf course, a nickel arcade, the only tract of land in the world where eight types of oak trees grow together in the same ecosystem, a New York pizzeria, and (!) a Mennonite restaurant.
Our first stop was Firewheel, Texas's largest public golf course. Because it's the off-season, you can golf for next-to-nothing, especially on weekdays after 3 p.m. But, it was freezing outside, so we opted to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range ($7), which shot the husband's happiness level through the roof. From there, we drove 2.5 miles to Spring Creek Park Preserve, an old-growth forest with a well-maintained walking path that skirts a limestone-lined creek. What better place to go after a brief stint of nature-inspired solitude than a nickel arcade? Upon entry, Nickelrama appeared to be just like any other arcade—teeming with giddy children, flashing lights and screeching sound effects emanating from rows of video games and Skee-Ball consoles, several Disney cartoon-themed birthday parties simultaneously underway. The difference is that here you pay to play in nickels, and the most expensive attraction—a roller coaster ride simulator—costs 6 nickels, or thirty cents.
In need of sustenance after the hour of intense gaming, we went next door to Sali's Pizza and Pasta, which we had read about on Yelp before we took off. First of all, the cheese slice I ordered was the closest thing I've had to New York pizza since I moved to Dallas. I'm talking about the kind of New York pizza that's cheap, greasy, piping hot, and available 24 hours a day at pizzerias in the city. (for the record, I've had good pizza in Dallas, but it's good in a different over-topped or brick oven-baked kind of way) Back to my cheese slice: it cost $1.45. Reason No. 2 why I liked it so much. In a somewhat bizarre turn of events, Dan and I weren't in the mood to drink, but the smoky wood bar in the back was serving drafts for $2.25 and pouring wine for $2.95 a glass. Pitchers were $6.95. Reason No. 3.
While we were leaving the shopping center a previously unheard of establishment caught my eye: Marlo's House, An Authentic Mennonite Restaurant. Unfortunately we were full of pizza, and the place was closed, but holy smokes, what a find! Marlo's bills itself as "the finest Mennonite restaurant in all of North Texas," also admitting that "actually, we are the only Mennonite restaurant in North Texas that we are aware of." The menu is decidedly meat-and-potatoes-ish, but with a few surprises, including the indulgent Canadian delicacy poutine, a plate of french fries smothered with gravy. All I know is next time I'm jonesin' for a bowl of Wareniki or a platter of Perogies, I'm heading to Garland...
Yesterday, while the rest of Texas was sinking into the sofa for the Cowboys game, we were driving north on 75 for the next in our series of day trips from Dallas. Our destination? McKinney, Texas, where, on the weekend before the third Monday of each month, hundreds of vendors set up shop at Third Monday Trade Days. Should you be in the market for a handcrafted oak cutting board, an old license plate, or a puppy —this is the place for you. And should you grow weary from browsing, a bounty of state-fair grub—corn dogs, turkey legs, tater tornados—is available for the noshing. We managed to keep to our shoestring budget, picking up only a $1 wall-mountable bottle opener and two wooden bowls ($3 each).
Shopped out, but with plenty of daylight hours still left to burn, we headed to McKinney's downtown square, where we encountered a historic village,
(surprise!) antique shops —and, thankfully, a wine bar where we could take a breather. Now, it was time for our final stop, Rockwall, abutting the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard—30-some-odd miles southeast. We ended our adventure at the Flying Saucer, a taphouse on the water.
While my typical New Year's Day is spent watching movies on TBS and nursing a hellacious hangover, this year I decided to bring in 2010 with an adventure (and that's partially because I didn't have a hangover). Dan and I settled on a road trip to a place that would thrill most six-year-olds (and minimally excite most 26-year-olds)—Dinosaur Valley State Park, home to some of the most well-preserved dinosaur tracks in the world. At the first site within the park, we hiked right down to the bed of the Paluxy River, where, right next to three idle fishermen, were two bonafide dino footprints. For real! If the water were a little warmer in that bright blue swimming hole, we would've gotten right in to stick our feet inside the three-toed tracks. At the next site, we hopped rocks to cross the river and arrive at the older-than-ancient evidence of a dinosaur chase. Archeologists have concluded that here, some 113 million years ago, a meat-eating carnosaur ran after an unassuming sauropod (which looks like a brontosaurus). I have concluded that the outcome probably wasn't pretty (and that I'm beginning to sound like a dorky eight-year-old). The nearly-two-hour road trip led us past the kind of wide open spaces that reminded us of our trip home from San Antonio. Ahhh, the open road.
A few weeks back while we were tooling around a farmer's market in Austin, we picked up a flyer for the Homestead Craft Fair, held annually in the itty bitty town of Elm Mott, Texas, near Waco. So, after a hellacious post-Thanksgiving travel day, we decided to sink into a simpler way of life. The event takes place at Brazos de Dios, a 510-acre "homesteading community." It's essentially a living history museum; except that the people you see spinning wool and milking goats actually live the colonial life within their own homes as well. It's part of their belief system, which I found to be best explained here.For us, it was a fantastic few hours of good clean fun—we watched rope making and soap making, sat in on a mozzarella-making demo, sampled hot apple cider, and listened to some staggeringly good fiddle-playing. The village is open year-round and offers classes to the public—from beekeeping and basketry to weaving and woodworking. Guess which one I'm signed up for?
