We recently made a short trip to Dallas. Our daughter was attending a gymnastics camp at Texas Woman's University in nearby Denton, Texas, so we took this time to explore Dallas. Dallas is the 3rd largest city in Texas (behind Houston and San Antonio) but the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the 4th largest metropolis in the country.
Dallas is also H O T. When we were here the temperatures were in the high 90s with a heat index of 111. The mugginess and humidity can be tough for those not used to it. So be prepared if you visit during the summer.
We started our Saturday morning by visiting the Dallas Farmer's Market. Municipally owned since 1941, the Farmer's Market has been a staple for the area for almost a century. The Dallas Farmer's Market consists of "The Shed", "The Market" and restaurants/stores/pop-ups within the area. We started at "The Market", an indoor space with a food hall and vendor space. The Market is open daily with a really great selection of food choices.
Next we ventured to the neighboring Shed. The Shed is only open on weekends and is a covered, open air pavilion. Fresh fruits and vegetables, hand made items, small batch artisans, and crafts fill this space. Here you could sample salsa, fruit juice, jerky, barbecue and more. Visiting the Dallas Farmer's Market was a great way to start our morning.
After our visit to the Farmer's Market, we made our way to the The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which records the assassination and honors the legacy of President John F. Kennedy. Located in the former Texas School Book Depository, visitors navigate through a series of pictures and videos before approaching the "corner window". There is glass around this window and it is replicated to look as it did when Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed the President. Visitors can look out of the windows beside this corner window and see two Xs painted on the street to mark where the first and the second shot hit JFK.
There is a parking lot next to the museum ($12 per day). Museum tickets can be purchased online or on the first floor of the building, which is what we did. It seems they manage the crowd and only let small groups up at a time so we did have a short 10 minute wait before we were allowed to go into the elevator. The elevator goes directly up to the 6th floor where the exhibit is housed.
After finishing the 6th floor, you can walk up the stairs to the 7th floor where a series of videos were put together to serve as a timeline of JFK's arrival in Dallas through his arrival at Parkland Hospital (and possibly more....we stopped watching at this point). In this space, there were chairs aligned so you could get comfortable while watching this film.
We both felt this museum was well worth the $18 entrance fee. The museum is mostly reading, with a few artifacts (Oswald's wedding band, a replicate of the gun, Jack Ruby's hat, etc) so we don't feel this museum is suited for young children as they could get bored. (No worries, there are TONS of child-friendly places within the city.)
The "grassy knoll" can easily be accessed from the 6th floor museum. I had envisioned the grassy knoll being larger and father away from the street where JFK was shot, however, I was really mistaken. The grassy knoll is simply an embankment that leads directly into Elm Street.
After grabbing some lunch, we headed to the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the SMU campus. Once on the campus, there is great signage leading you to the library as well as where to park. There is a parking lot adjacent to the library which was very convenient ($10 to park). The entrance fee for the library is $26 for adults and $24 for youth. (We felt this was a bit steep, especially considering the $10 parking charge.)
Politics aside, Presidential Libraries are American history. So far, this is our 3rd Presidential Library to visit (Kennedy was first, and Clinton was our second). As you enter through the huge lobby you will see gifts that were given to the Bushes. Some of the jewelry is absolutely beautiful. The Bush museum is on the left side of the lobby with rotating exhibits on the right side.
The museum is nicely done. The most impacting part to me (and probably everyone) is the section remembering 9/11. In addition to 2 of the World Trade Tower steel beams on display, all the names of those who lost their lives due to the terrorist attack are listed. It's a very moving exhibit.
Additionally, there is the replica of the Oval Office, an exhibit for the Bush pups, and a section devoted to "No Child Left Behind", which was especially interesting to me. As a teacher, I remember NCLB very well.
No matter what you think of Bush politics, I think everyone can agree that the Bushes believe in family. This is evident throughout the museum. I think we could also agree that the Bushes are good people, with good hearts. This is also visible, as there is a display discussing how religion has guided Bush along the way.
It took us about an hour to go through the Bush side of the museum. The rotating exhibit on the right was "Freedom Matters". It wasn't near as interesting so we zoomed through this part of the museum pretty quickly.
I am glad we made this a stop during our visit to Dallas. However, it was more expensive than I was expecting and compared to other Presidential Libraries.
The Bishop Arts District is a great way to spend the afternoon in Dallas. There are so many cute shops and restaurants. We really enjoyed wandering down Bishop and Davis streets to take in the people, the culture, the arts. We bounced in and out of several stores admiring what they had to offer. There were musicians playing, murals abound, and a fun vibe.
Across the street from our hotel was Pioneer Plaza. This is a 4 acre park with bronze statues of longhorn cattle and a few horses symbolizing the spirit of Texas. The statues have so much detail and just when you think you've seen them all, there are more.
You can tell the area has has a serious erosion problem with many of the foundation points for the statues exposed. I hope they remedy this soon because the park really is beautiful. On the hill, there is an old cemetery, which we found intriguing. While I don't think this is park is a destination on it's own accord, it is certainly something to see if you are in the area.
At this point we needed some fuel. We were looking for a specific restaurant when we saw some locals and we decided to ask them for directions. They pointed us in the right direction, but mentioned that if we wanted good food we should head over to City Tavern. The way they worded it made us assume one either worked there or was a part of management. It was only about a 6 minute walk so we made our way.
City Tavern looks like a typical bar. You can tell that is a true locals place. Dave, bartender/server, was incredibly personable. His biggest problem was that he was an Auburn Tiger graduate/fan. (Roll Tide, Dave) They had a good beer selection.....but we were really surprised by the food. The food exceeded our expectations. Granted, we only shared the tacos....but what we had was really good. And the folks were really nice. And the restrooms were clean.
A half block away from City Tavern, you can find this quirky sculpture. We happened upon it. There is a fence around it and you can't enter the area. Later, we did a bit of research and it seems this piece is permanently fenced off but was put there by the neighboring hotel. This eye, simply called Eye, was created by artist Tony Tasset and modeled after his own baby blues.
After dinner, we grabbed the car and headed over to the neighborhood of Deep Ellum. Deep Ellum has a unique history....but music has been their main claim to fame. Not sure what to expect, we were hoping to have an equal experience to that of the Bishop Arts District. This was completely different. This area was popping with live music venues. Traffic and parking was chaotic as folks were everywhere. Not really in the mood to sit and take in music (although we are sure it would have been wonderful....we just wanted to see and do more in Dallas), we drove through appreciating the history and significance of this neighborhood.
The next neighborhood we sought was the Oak Lawn neighborhood, billed as one of the most LGBTQ friendly neighborhoods in America. Not sure if this area was vibrant because of it being Pride month or if the neighborhood is always spirited, but there was certainly a sense of Pride and excitement in the air. There was roof top dancing, folks walking the sidewalks out on a bar crawl, and all the flags waving proudly.
After returning back to the hotel to park the car, we headed out on foot once more. This time we landed in the AT&T Discovery District. Essentially, this is an outdoor event space with a HUGE screen/wall plus an impressive food court called The Exchange. (We weren't impressed with the food that we purchased, but the amount of restaurants and the different types of food is what is impressive.)
One thing that you can't miss is The Globe, a 30 foot tall light feature.
But more impressive is the 104 foot media wall that wraps around the side of the building. In addition to using it to share lots of different media, the wall is used to play movies during their movie nights. Y'all, this thing is HUGE (did I say that already?).
That is how we spent a great day in Dallas. Was it fast and furious? Yes. Did we feel rushed? No. Was it hot? Hell yeah.
The Travel Gritty: First, the traffic in Dallas is CRAZY. Hold on tight and be prepared to zoom, otherwise you will get ran over. Dallas is a fun city to visit. Homelessness is a problem and human feces is abound. AT&T Discovery District is cool. If you want to eat there, grab some food from a local restaurant and take it with you. Hot and need a beer? City Tavern is the place to go.
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