Dallas – Days 3 & 4 – April 2017

After a late night the day before (catch up here) I was in no rush to get out of bed on Friday morning, despite being my last full day in the city. It looked like I probably wouldn’t be seeing Amber again on the trip, which was disappointing, but it gave me a day to do whatever I pleased.

Not that there was much I particularly wanted to do, with the exception of going up Reunion Tower I’d seen much of what I wanted to in Dallas. I figured I’d go and check out a museum or two in the city. I made my first stop of the day the Dallas Museum of Art which was about half a mile away from my hotel. It meant I got a nice little walk in the Texas sunshine on route.

Soon enough I’d arrived at the museum and made my way in. It was quickly apparent that I’d be sharing the museum with a school group so I let them determine which way I’d be going. You’re all heading off to the right? Great, it looks like I’m going left then!

FYI: kids are loud! This wasn’t exactly brand new information I’d only just come to realise but dare I say it – kids from Texas are particularly loud. I don’t know if they were extra hyped because it was a Friday and the weekend was close but it didn’t take long for the screaming and running teenagers to find me despite my best efforts to repeatedly escape them. I’m pretty sure they were duplicating along the way as they just kept popping out from nowhere.

Company aside, I quite liked the museum itself. Some of the art and exhibits were cool and it was a fun way to enjoy my morning. It’s not too big as some museums are either, you can definitely spend a decent amount of time looking around but still feel like you’ve seen most of the museum’s contents in one trip. Content that I’d seen all I wanted to, I moved on and attempted to escape the hordes of school children.

Close to the museum was Klyde Warren Park which I’d heard was a pretty nice spot within Dallas. I imagine it probably could be, however on this particular Friday morning it was ridiculously busy. It’s not the biggest park, it’s pretty small actually, and it just seemed like every patch of grass was occupied by somebody doing something. Kids running around, people doing yoga, people throwing a ball around or something. It wasn’t a spot to take a breather and relax so I didn’t really stick around for long.

By this point Amber had messaged me, suggesting she would be free after all and perhaps we could go to Reunion Tower in the evening along with her family. I wanted to see Amber and I wanted to visit Reunion Tower too so it was a no brainer – of course! It did somewhat change my plans though. Originally I’d figured I’d go see Reunion Tower earlier in the day and then spend my evening visiting some bars I’d had recommended to me.

With a change of plans I figured I’d wander over to those bars now and pick up some lunch at the same time. The two places I’d had recommended to me were both in the Lower Greenville area, about 3 miles away from where I currently was. I’m sure there are better means of transportation to get yourself there but I’m of the belief the best way to travel a new destination is on foot. It might seem crazy to some people perhaps but I decided to walk it.

It might have been a three mile walk but there was actually very little to catch my eye. This was as mundane as most walks come. It was nice to see more of a real side to Dallas, opposed to the touristy downtown views but I can’t say the walk had really been worthwhile. Nevertheless I managed to find the odd landmark or building that peaked my interest, took a quick photo and before I knew it I’d arrived at the bar I was particularly intrigued by – “Truck Yard”.

It was instantly apparent why this place is so highly rated. The place was quirky and full of character and somewhere I quickly adored. Outside was just a jumble of mess really. You had a little lighthouse and long benches, a stage with a guitar hanging from the roof, an old Chevrelot which doubled up as a table to sit at. It reminded me a little of Szimpla Kert in Budapest but with a bit more American feeling to it.

I picked up a beer menu, ordered one of the (many) beers that sounded particularly tempting and I found myself a bench to sit at outside. Also outside were my lunch options! At the back of the ‘yard’ were a bunch of food trucks, adding a bit of substance to the name of ‘Truck Yard’. There were a few different options and I think I ended up grabbing food from at least two of them in my afternoon there.

After finishing off my lunch and my beer I contemplated what else to do with my day and came to the conclusion there probably wasn’t anything I really wanted to do. As I said in my day one post, Dallas isn’t really a touristy city. Reunion Tower was the last ‘must see’ for me and that was already scheduled in for later so I decided to stay put. There wasn’t much left of my trip before I had to go home so why not soak it up and enjoy it? It was a beautifully sunny day, I had a nice spot to sit and relax and that beer menu also looked particularly tempting for an afternoon of drinking.

The bar was surprisingly busy for a Friday afternoon, aided by about a dozen people in their 20’s walking in who’d just finished some charity event and presumably wanted to celebrate with a beer.

So far today I’d experienced a museum full of school kids, an overly crowded park and now a collective of fellow day-drinkers. It did beg the question if anyone in Dallas is actually productive on a Friday? Is anyone in school or work or whatever?

It seemed not! After a few beers I decided I’d better head back downtown, again choosing to walk the few miles to my hotel. The walk was a good way to sober up, in addition to stopping for a snack somewhere on the way.

Back at my hotel I dropped Amber a message to see what time she wanted to meet up, I had a bit of a wait so decided I’d just chill out at my hotel and temporarily “rest my eyes”.

I was quite conscious that with a few beers in me I might fall asleep, so I sensibly set an alarm just incase I dozed off. However it did little to avoid the inevitable happening and I woke up to darkness and a combination of a number of messages and miscalls from Amber – oops!

Fortunately I was staying close to Reunion tower, within walking distance infact, so a short while later I was apologetically arriving and meeting up with Amber and the family who’d made their way in to Dallas for the evening.

Reunion tower offered 360 degree views overlooking Dallas. I’m quite glad it ended up being one of the last things I did in the city, even better seeing it at night and in the midst of a thunderstorm. The lights of the city and the lightning flashing over it made for great viewing.

Unfortunately my afternoon nap had somewhat scuppered / delayed our dinner plans so following on from our fun at the tower we made our way out to dinner at some place with ridiculously sized meals. The added perk to eating here was that it was family friendly and there was a little play area, a little arcade like, so it kept Amber’s little girl (Blakely) amused and we found a few things to enjoy too!

Sadly with a little one our evening had to come to an end and as did my adventure seeing Amber. Amber drove me back to my hotel where we said our goodbyes and she headed home. It had been long overdue finally meeting and I was sad it had gone by so quickly.

I’d hoped to end my evening with a few drinks with our other friend Lanie, however it didn’t really materialise and we ended up taking a rain-check. Luckily only postponing things until the morning where we squeezed in a quick breakfast date before I left Dallas. We ended up going to some place that specialised in donuts so maybe not the healthiest breakfast but an enjoyable one! Haha.

It was nice to hang out again before I left Texas and we ended up having a good chat over a donut or two. Lanie kindly offered to drop me off at the airport which was also a good opportunity to listen to the end of Hamilton and also see how the other half lived! Our little detour on the way to the airport took us through what was a rich neighbourhood of fancy houses and mansions – vastly out of our price range but fun to look at all the different houses nonetheless. I didn’t get any photos but trust me when I say, some of them were beautiful!

Sadly I had to leave eventually. It had been a lovely end to my time in Dallas but like the night before, over far too quickly.

Overall I’m not too sure how Dallas rates as a city in its own right. I don’t feel like I did that much and additionally I don’t really feel like I missed out on anything else I’d wanted to do. It was fine as a city break but not somewhere I’d ordinarily feel I needed to visit again.

All that said, I have a fondness of Dallas and certainly think back fondly on this portion of the trip. It was a fun place to go out, there was cool street art throughout the city and given it’s a big city it doesn’t really have that touristy feel to it. I’ve no doubt most of the people I encountered were locals which makes it a worthwhile place visiting in my book.

On a personal note it was undoubtedly a highlight of my 2017 and I know it’s a city / state I’ll be returning to in the future. The company made it a wonderful few days and I’m craving a return to see some of my favourite people! Thanks again to Amber, Lanie and Macie for making it such a memorable first visit to Texas.

Sadly Dallas was the last of my three stops on this particular trip. I was asked a few times on my return what my favourite place had been and you really can’t compare the three. DC, Nashville and Dallas all offered amazing memories but they’re all incredibly different cities and nothing alike – once again showcasing how diverse the USA is. I’d recommend all of them for vastly different reasons and I’m likely to go back to all three at some point.

However as far as this trip is concerned it’s done and dusted so I’ll wrap this up here. Next up on the blog? Exciting news regarding my 2020 plans!

Stay tuned!

Jason