Dallas: Making the Best of It

Chris was sent to Dallas for a Technical Writing class through work, so Noah and I tagged along to get away and do some sightseeing. We stayed in a very nice hotel, the Crowne Plaza in Addison, where Noah enjoyed the Disney channel and other channels that randomly showed tractor pulls, monster trucks, etc. Basically, all that stuff no one watches but they get as part of a package with the stuff they want to watch. I digress.




Noah in the hotel room

 

We arrived Tuesday night and after a decent night's sleep and breakfast at McDonald's (I know, but Noah likes it), we split from Chris and went to the Dallas Galleria. Noah liked playing in their little play area, and I liked doing a little shopping!



Noah is distressed that someone else wants to play where he is

After Noah's nap, Chris finished his class and we met Diana and Eileen for dinner at Mariano's Hacienda. Delicious! It was great to spend a couple of hours catching up with my sister and Eileen, a long-time friend of Chris' from Chicago.

Thursday morning, Noah and I had a delicious breakfast at the hotel restaurant. When we arrived, Noah immediately told the waiter "I 'ant pancakes!" Our waiter Lawrence took great care of us and had a special order of pancakes with peanut butter made up just for Noah. He was so charming, Lawrence said the pancakes were on the house. That child gets free stuff weekly. After breakfast, Noah and I drove to Fair Park to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science, mainly for the Children's Museum I had read about. It was fantastic, and Noah could have played there all day, forgoing a nap and lunch. We also saw an IMAX movie about Sea Monsters--Noah's first movie theater-type experience, and I unfortunately neglected to check what the movie was going to be about before we saw it. It was very scary, with CGI prehistoric sea creatures jumping straight at the audience and eating each other, etc. Noah started out pretty nervous but got really into it and we didn't have to leave, thank goodness. Later, in describing it to Daddy, he explained, "BIG. Fish swimming. I cry. Youd." Oh, well.



Noah on the "puter" at the Children's Museum

That evening we went to a big opening party for a Ducati shop in Dallas. It's a long story, but the owner is a friend of Mark's so we were all invited, and when we heard Wolfgang Puck was catering, we were all over that. Jamie, Drew, Jimmy, Steph, and Brent all came, and Diana also met us there. Noah wore a leather jacket and driving cap in deference to the occasion and got almost as much attention as the Ducati girls.

Friday, Chris joined Noah and me for breakfast with our new waiter friends, and Lawrence ended up comping both Noah's and my meals this time. The breakfast buffet is $13.99! Not bad! Mom picked us up around 10 and we went to the Children's Medical Center. I know, kind of odd for sightseeing, but it was worth it! We paid $2 to park and got to see this amazing model train exhibit they have set up in a two-story room. Noah loved it, and we spend about 30 minutes watching all the trains. We then met Diana for lunch and headed back to Arlington, where Chris will eventually return this evening after his battle with Dallas traffic.

Lots of fun, for Dallas! :) Glad to be home and much closer to Fort Worth. TCU plays its last home game of the season tomorrow for the Mountain West Conference Championship. Go Frogs!

For all the pictures, click on the link:

November 2010