Blog 50 – Couldn’t Stay Away, Part II

Off to Dallas, Texas we go

We don’t really care for Texas. It is a big state with too much desert and too much concrete; yet it is where Aj lives. So, we go to Texas.

We arrived on a cold (50 degrees) and cloudy day – temperature-wise, still better than the 20-degree temps we left in Pelican Rapids. And, while it never got hot while we were there, the weather brought sunshine and warmer temperatures every day, a nice break from both Minnesota and the Netherlands in fall.

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Continuing to practice our ‘together apart’ strategy, we were able to do a few things with Aj and Aaron in the Dallas area. A few times, they simply brought us their favourite take-out foods and then we used a couple tables in the hotel lobby to chat and eat together, apart. Even after several trips to Taqueria Escobar in Pelican Rapids (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g43415-d4840148-Reviews-Taqueria_Escobar-Pelican_Rapids_Minnesota.html) we were still craving Mexican food. Aj literally delivered Torchy’s Tacos (www.Torchystacos.com ) Yummy! He also introduced us to Cris and Johns Vietnamese Street Food which has a twist of Mexican. (https://www.crisandjohn.com/) Also yummy!

Other food and drink related trips included an evening at the Cider Cade (https://www.cidercade.com/home) which combines all-you-can-play arcade games with in-house cider, wine, and kombucha. This is a large warehouse-type facility as half of it is used for the production of their drinks. The other half is an unbelievable amount of games; including Star Wars Pod Racing, old style pinballs and early electronics like Centipede and Galaga.

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Another night we went to the self-described Come as You Are Beer Garden and Adult Playground; The Truckyard at the Colony. (https://truckyardthecolony.com/)  This is a Texas-sized mostly outdoor venue with a Toilet Seat Museum (https://truckyardthecolony.com/museum), live music, drinks, food, tables, chairs, and fire pits. A perfect spot to stay socially distanced while enjoying cheese steak sandwiches and adult beverages.

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Of course, we did more than eat; but we did also eat some darn good bar-b-que (some say the best in Texas) at the Pecan Lodge (https://pecanlodge.com/ ) in the Deep Ellum area. We were on our way to visit the Bishop Arts District (https://www.bishopartsdistrict.com/) where Aj has designed a whole apartment block, incorporating an existing building. The complex is in its final stages of construction with apartments now leasing. (http://www.liveatmagnolia.com/homes/tx/bishop-arts/bishop-highline/)

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Aj and I walked the dog, Parker, at Celestial Park; a lovely neighbourhood park not far from where Aj and Aaron live. (https://addisontexas.net/parksrec/celestial-park)  A few days later, we added Andy to the dog walk, continuing from Celestial park on the trail around White Rock Creek. A different time we all met at Addison Circle Park. (https://addisontexas.net/parksrec/addison-circle-park) It was not supposed to include playing in the fountains, but a change of plans was called for when Parker rolled in another dog’s poo. For open air and exercise without the dog, we headed to White Rock Lake Park (https://whiterocklake.org/) with its nine mile long trail around the entire lake.

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On our last afternoon we headed back to White Rock Lake, but this time stopped at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. (https://www.dallasarboretum.org/)

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And, then we came back to Amsterdam again. Just in time, as the next day the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Rutte, announced that there should be no more travel abroad until mid-January. Holy cow, this may result in a lot of ‘book trail’ blog postings – I hope ya’ll are ready for that.